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There are 3,384 more cases and 68 more deaths from covid-19 in the last 24 hours in Portugal, according to data from the situation report of the General Directorate of Health (DGS) this Wednesday (December 2).
These data point to the fact that the number of new cases has risen again, after five consecutive days in which the curve of new infections decreased. Compared to Wednesday of last week, there are 1906 fewer cases, a fact that may be the result of the containment measures adopted in this period.
It should be noted that since the start of the pandemic, Portugal has registered a total of 303,845 infections and 4,645 deaths caused by covid-19.
The data now released also shows that, in the last 24 hours, A further 2,569 patients were reported to have recovered.
Another 63 patients were admitted to Portuguese hospitals, for a total of 3,338 hospitalized. Compared to the previous day, there are four new admissions to intensive care units, which now have 525 patients.
The northern region continues to be the most affected at this time, since in the last 24 hours 1857 new cases were detected and 36 deaths were registered.
Already Lisbon and the Tagus Valley reached the round of 100,000 infections this Wednesday, the result of 939 new cases registered in the last 24 hours, during which 23 deaths were confirmed.
The central region had 401 new cases and seven deaths, while in Alentejo there were 85 new infections and two deaths.
Without registered deaths are the Algarve, Azores and Madeira, which added 74, 22 and 6 new cases of infections, respectively.
At a time when vaccination is expected to begin worldwide, the European Commission guaranteed this Tuesday that it is ready, “in a matter of days”, to give commercial authorization to the candidates for the covid-19 vaccine. However, the process has yet to successfully pass the European Union expert assessment stage.
If the European Medicines Agency responds positively after the very detailed analysis of the efficacy of the candidate vaccines, the Commission will do everything in its power to make a quick decision ”, guarantees the Health spokesperson. , Stefan De Keersmaecker, on “a decision that, of course, must be taken urgently.”
Here are two steps, for logistical reasons, to take the vaccine to all the countries of the European Union. And at this stage, for the sake of logistics, there must be an agreement between the member states and the manufacturers, “said the spokesman, anticipating, in certain cases, a second stage for the vaccine to be available.”
“It may happen that, within the country, the authorities want to transport these vaccines from one storage center to other vaccination centers in the Member States,” said De Keersmaecker.
The spokesperson responded to a question about next steps, until a vaccine is available, now that the European Medicines Agency has received a request for authorization for the emergency use of Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna. The agency is analyzing the effectiveness and safety of the candidate vaccines.
Brussels and European agencies are working to get the license approval process in place in line with the urgency imposed by the pandemic, and the commissioner has said that everything possible will be done to ensure there are no delays.
The Global Alliance for Vaccines has already announced that its objective is “for the most acute phase of the pandemic to be under control by the end of 2021”, according to information collected by the DN of the future president of the organization, José Manuel Barroso, who admitted however, it is necessary “to be prepared in case of new accidents, as in the tests”.
Barroso admits that the hypothesis of “having already used the vaccines during the first half of next year is not too optimistic,” suggesting a possible authorization as early as December.
Further ahead is the United Kingdom, where the vaccine from the North American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the German BioNTech was authorized. “A historic moment” in the fight against the new coronavirus, Pfizer Chairman Albert Bourla was quoted as saying by The Guardian newspaper.
With this approval, the United Kingdom becomes the first country in the world to begin vaccinating the population against covid-19 next week, according to the British Ministry of Health in a statement.
“The Government accepted today [quarta-feira] the recommendations of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to approve the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine, “announced an executive spokesperson, adding that” the vaccine will be available throughout the UK from next week. “
It should be noted that the United Kingdom bought 40 million doses of the vaccine, the results of which in the final phase of clinical trials demonstrated 95% effectiveness. The first doses, about 800 thousand, should arrive in the next few days.
