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In Italy, strict lockout rules must be applied during the Easter holidays. This was announced by the government of the country. From April 3 to 5, the rules of the so-called red zone apply. Bars and restaurants can only sell take out orders. People can only move within their region. According to the government of the former head of the ECB Mario Draghi, visits are only allowed once a day and a maximum of two to another home.
As of Monday, the weekly incidence value for the regions is also decisive. If you exceed the limit of 250 corona cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the red zone rules are automatically applied to a region, regardless of other measured values, such as the reproductive value (R-value). Initially, the rules should be valid until April 6.
The government of the country with around 60 million inhabitants wants to counteract the imminent third wave of infections with stricter measures. For this reason, many Italians will have to give up traveling during Easter. The reopening of cinemas and theaters could also be on the brink, which is scheduled for March 27 in the current Corona decree, media reported.
Novavax vaccine is 96 percent effective according to study
The American pharmaceutical company Novavax announces that its vaccine is 96 percent effective against the original corona virus and 86 percent against the British variant. According to the company, the figures were compiled within a study Novavax was conducting in the UK. This means that the company has come one step closer to approving the vaccine.
The vaccine could be approved for use in the United States from May if US authorities find that the UK data is sufficient, the company said.
Austria criticizes the distribution of vaccines in the EU: references to the “bazaar”
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz harshly criticizes the distribution of coronavirus vaccines in the European Union. The distribution of drugs among EU member states is unfair, contrary to the stated goal of fair share, it said on Friday. Since there are notable differences in vaccination progress between member states, he and other heads of government compared national delivery dates. The result was: “Deliveries are not made to key population.”
“When I shared this information with some heads of state and government yesterday, many could not believe what they saw and heard,” Kurz said. “These delivery programs clearly contradict the political objective of the European Union, that is, that all member states should receive their share of per capita vaccination doses.” This was decided at the EU summit in January.
However, apparently at the same time and in clear contradiction to this, other agreements had been made with pharmaceutical companies in a steering committee of health officials. “The contracts of this body are secret and, therefore, I myself do not know them,” said Kurz. “But there are indications that there should have been a so-called bazaar where additional agreements have been made between member states and pharmaceutical companies.”
Pfizer and Biontech want to produce more cans than planned
Pfizer and Bionech want to produce up to 20 percent more doses of their jointly developed corona vaccine in 2021 than originally planned. Instead of the planned two billion doses, it should now be 2.3 to 2.4 billion, says Pfizer boss Albert Bourla. Worldwide, up to 20 percent more cans could be produced than was supposed to. Bourla even predicts three billion cans by 2022.
EU approves Johnson & Johnson vaccine
The European Union has approved the vaccine from the US manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. What the president of the Commission shared Ursula von der Leyen with. Therefore, the Commission follows the recommendation of the European Medicines Agency (Ema). The Amsterdam-based authority paved the way for the fourth crown vaccine in the EU on Thursday.
The vaccine was developed in the Netherlands by Johnson’s subsidiary, Janssen. It has great advantages over the previously approved preparations from Pfizer / Biontech, Moderna and Astra Zeneca. Most importantly, you only need to inject once. In addition, the preparation does not have to be stored frozen. The refrigerator temperature is sufficient.
The EU Commission has already ordered vaccination doses from Johnson & Johnson for 200 million people. Germany would receive 36.7 million of this. Deliveries to the EU are scheduled to start in April and 55 million cans will be distributed by the end of June. However, there are fears that the company may not be able to deliver on time due to its complicated supply chains. However, the manufacturer has assured that it will adhere to the agreements.
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