What you need to know about coronavirus on Wednesday 29 January

What you need to know about coronavirus on Wednesday 29 January

by

The German vaccine watchdog is not concerned that the vaccine poses a threat to older people. It merely argued that the number of elderly people who participated in the clinical trials was not large enough to draw conclusions about the efficacy and safety of the elderly.

In response to the announcement, AstraZeneca, which developed the vaccine with the University of Oxford, said the latest analyzes of clinical trial data “support efficacy in the age group over 65 years.”

The announcement by Germany raised eyebrows because the United Kingdom, whose regulator approved the AstraZeneca vaccine almost a month ago, vaccinated people over 65 with the shot. The CEO of the British Drug Regulator, dr. June Raine, said data so far show a strong immune response at age 65. ‘

The news also came at a sensitive time. The European Union, of which Germany is an influential member, and AstraZeneca have been embroiled in a dispute over delays in supplying the vaccine to the bloc. The spate has increased rapidly and as a result, the European Commission is expected to announce stricter regulations on the export of vaccines, which require companies wishing to export coronavirus vaccines from the bloc to notify national governments and await authorization.
There is good news amid arguments over the stock: another new vaccine may be on the horizon. The biotechnology company Novavax announced yesterday that Phase 3 trial shows that the Covid-19 vaccine has an efficacy of 89.3%. The shot was found to be 95.6% effective against the original new coronavirus and 85.6% against the variant first identified in the UK known as B.1.1.7. The company also announced that a Phase 2b study conducted in South Africa, where another variant was first identified, showed 60% efficacy for participants who were HIV-negative.

YOU ASKED. WE ANSWER.

Q: Can dogs detect coronavirus?

A: The Miami Heat are bringing out ‘coronavirus detection dogs’ to examine people as they arrive at the reopened AmericanA Airlines Arena – though science is not yet clear on whether the animals can detect Covid.

Canine experts emphasize that although research on coronavirus detection dogs looks promising, it is not yet definitive. Studies investigating how reliable dogs are in detecting an active coronavirus infection continue – and there are still many questions to be answered. Read more about the research here.
Send your questions here. Are you a health worker fighting Covid-19? Send us a message on WhatsApp about the challenges you face: +1 347-322-0415.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TODAY

New coronavirus variants are still appearing. Here’s what we know about them

A variant presumably helping to provoke a coronavirus surge in the Amazon region of Brazil appears in Minnesota. Another concern of concern in South Africa appears in two places in South Carolina.

Scientists are not surprised to see how the coronavirus changes and develops – after all, that is what viruses do. And with so much uncontrolled spread across the US and other parts of the world, the virus is getting ample opportunity to do so. Four of the new variants are of particular concern, writes Maggie Fox.

About one in eight – and perhaps as many as a third – of the U.S. population currently has some degree of protection against Covid-19

Between vaccination and natural immunity among those who have recovered from an infection, about 12% – and perhaps as many as a third – of the U.S. population may have some protection against Covid-19, according to a CNN analysis .

About 6% of the U.S. population has been vaccinated and another 8% have been officially reported to have the disease, meaning they probably have some protection against Covid-19. However, the CDC estimates that only a fraction of the total Covid-19 cases have been reported in the US. The latest estimates show that the total business stood at 83 million by December.

Violence and insults of some of the ultra-Orthodox Jews of Israel in a battle over coronavirus connections

Clashes between ultra-Orthodox Jews and the authorities over the refusal of some to comply with strict lock-up regulations have become an almost daily routine in Israel.

Gathering regularly in large numbers is a central part of the cultural life of the communities. The consequences are deadly: according to the Ministry of Health, the percentage of deaths associated with Covid among persons older than 65 among the ultra-Orthodox is about 3.6% higher than the Israeli norm.

ON OUR RADAR

  • A trio of Democratic lawmakers are demanding a racial split of vaccines against Covid-19 to ensure vulnerable communities are not left behind.
  • Health workers trapped in the snow in Oregon administered vaccines to stranded drivers.
  • English National Opera singers help “tall Covid” patients breathe.
  • A team of investigators from the World Health Organization investigating the origin of the coronavirus pandemic met with Chinese scientists today.
  • Thailand has arrested 89 foreign tourists for violating Covid-19 rules.
  • Maskless crowds tackle the Australian Open tennis exhibition in Covid-free Adelaide.

BO-WENK

The layer of your face is in – but not as a fashion statement. It can only save a life. Public health officials are proposing dual masking as a way to increase protection against the coronavirus and its more frequent, more contagious variants.
A man wearing a double mask when he visited Times Square in New York on December 10, 2020.

TODAY’S PODCAST

“We know certain things about the coronavirus, like we know how it enters the body, how it can attack the lungs … this idea that at the time this invisible thing just swept through cities and killed all these people … is frightening to think about. ‘– Wendy Zukerman, science journalist

An adventurous Swedish doctor gets a decade-long medical mystery: what exactly was the 1918 flu? This week we share an episode of Science Vs, a podcast from Gimlet, a Spotify studio. Listen now.

.Source