Covid-19 has infected more than 270M people and killed over 5.3M worldwide. Here are some of the latest coronavirus-related developments:
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Omicron spreads faster and weakens jabs
The Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible than the Delta strain and reduces vaccine efficacy but causes less severe symptoms according to early data, the World Health Organization has said.
The Delta variant, first identified in India earlier this year, is responsible for most of the world’s coronavirus infections.
But South Africa’s discovery of Omicron – which has a large number of mutations – last month prompted countries around the world to impose travel bans on southern African countries and reintroduce domestic restrictions to slow its spread.
The WHO said Omicron had spread to 63 countries as of December 9.
Faster transmission was noted in South Africa, where Delta is less prevalent, and in Britain, where Delta is the dominant strain.
But it stressed that a lack of data meant it could not say if Omicron’s rate of transmission was because it was less prone to immune responses, higher transmissibility or a combination of both.
Early evidence suggests Omicron causes “a reduction in vaccine efficacy against infection and transmission”, the WHO said in a technical brief on Sunday.
Omicron infections have so far caused “mild” illness or asymptomatic cases, but the WHO said the data was insufficient to establish the variant’s clinical severity.
Covid-19 deaths reach 800,000 in the US
The United States has reached 800,000 coronavirus-related deaths, as the nation braces for a potential surge in infections due to more time spent indoors with colder weather and the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus.
The milestone of Sunday means the US death toll from this one virus now exceeds the entire population of North Dakota.
Even with vaccines widely and freely available, the country has lost more lives to the virus this year than in 2020 due to the more contagious Delta variant and people refusing to get inoculated against Covid-19.
Since the start of the year, over 450,000 people in the United States have died after contracting the virus, or 57 percent of all US deaths from the illness since the pandemic started.
The deaths this year were mostly in unvaccinated patients, health experts say.
Deaths have increased despite advances in caring for coronavirus patients and new treatment options such as monoclonal antibodies.
Berlin, other German states offer jabs to 5-11s
Children from 5 to 11 years old will be eligible to begin receiving vaccine doses this week in Berlin, health officials have announced, joining other German states in opening up appointments to younger children.
The children in that age group will be able to get a first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot in Berlin’s mass vaccination centers in schools, doctors’ offices and even at the city’s Natural History Museum.
The news on Sunday comes days after Germany’s independent vaccination advisory panel said Thursday it was recommending vaccination for children age 5 to 11 with preexisting conditions or who are in close contact with vulnerable people.
Children in this age group should receive two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine three to six weeks apart, the panel said.
The panel, known by its German acronym STIKO, added that young children without preexisting conditions can be vaccinated if there is an “individual desire” to do so — a step short of advising that all children in that age group get the shots.
Top government officials have pushed to make the vaccine available for younger children across the country.
“For many 5- to 11-yea r-old children and their families, this is a huge relief,” incoming families minister Anne Spiegel told the Funke media group in an interview published Sunday.
Other German states, including North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg and Bavaria, will also make shots available to the 5-11 age group in the coming days.
Fauci says three shots of Covid-19 vaccine is ‘optimal care’
Three doses of a coronavirus vaccine is the “optimal care” but two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or one of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remains the US government’s official definition of fully vaccinated, top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has said.
“For official requirements, it’s still two shots of the mRNA (Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna) and one shot of the J&J for the official determination of what’s required or not. But I think if you look at the data, the more and more it becomes clear that if you want to be optimally protected you really should get a booster,” Fauci told ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” on Sunday.
Italy reports 66 deaths, 19,215 new cases
Italy has reported 66 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours against 96 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 19,215 from 21,042
Austria ends lockdown restrictions for vaccinated people
Austria has ended lockdown restrictions for vaccinated people across most of the country, three weeks after reimposing strict rules to combat a rising wave of coronavirus infections.
The rules, which vary by region within the country, largely allow for the reopening of theaters, museums and other cultural and entertainment venues. Shops will follow on Monday.
Some regions are reopening restaurants and hotels, while others will wait until later in the month. In all cases, there will be an 11 p.m (2200 GMT). curfew for restaurants, and masks will still be required on public transportation and inside stores and public spaces.
Australia shortens wait time for booster doses as Omicron cases rise
Australia said it will shorten the wait time for people to receive a Covid-19 booster following a rise in cases of the Omicron variant.
Australia had previously said it would offer the booster to everyone over 18 who had had their second dose of the vaccine six months earlier.
But with rising cases of the Omicron variant, Health Minister Greg Hunt said the time interval will be shortened to five months after the second dose.
UK’s Johnson accused of breaching own Covid rules
Boris Johnson has faced fresh questions about alleged government breaches of coronavirus restrictions after a photo emerged of him at a Christmas event last year.
The British prime minister has faced a barrage of criticism and calls to quit over claims of an illegal Downing Street party on December 18, 2020.
He has repeatedly said he was assured the gathering complied with social distancing restrictions in place at the time and has ordered an internal investigation.
But the Sunday Mirror published a photograph of Johnson said to have been taken three days before that party, at a “virtual quiz” for his staff, in which four teams of six people took part to raise funds for charity.
Christmas lunches and parties that were “primarily social activity” were banned at the time, as Britain – one of the worst-hit countries by Covid-19 – battled a surge in cases of the Delta coronavirus strain.
Russia reports 1,132 deaths
Russia has reported 1,132 deaths from Covid-19 in past 24 hours.
More than 986,000 patients are still undergoing treatment in the country.
Germany records 132 deaths
Germany has reported 32,646 further coronavirus cases and 132 deaths.
Germany’s chief of doctors said a fourth booster vaccination campaign would likely be needed later next year for the country to manage the pandemic.
Brazil rules vaccine passport mandatory
A Brazilian Supreme Court justice ruled that all travelers arriving in Brazil must present a vaccine passport documenting that they have been vaccinated against coronavirus.
The decision from Luís Roberto Barroso challenges a more lenient rule announced by the government of President Jair Bolsonaro, who has opposed mandatory immunization against the virus that can cause Covid-19.
Barroso’s ruling must be reviewed by all 11 judges of the Supreme Court next week.
Brazil has registered 53 new coronavirus deaths, the Health Ministry said, bringing Covid-19 deaths in the country to a total of 616,744.
The country had 3,355 new cases of coronavirus over the last 24 hours, reaching a total of 22.19 million.
Turkey registers first Omicron cases
Turkey has reported the first cases of Covid-19 Omicron variant in the country.
Six cases of the variant have been discovered in two cities, Turkey’s health minister announced on Saturday in parliament.
“They are outpatients who do not have any problems and are with extremely mild symptoms,” Fahrettin Koca said, adding that the infected people have not been hospitalised.
Denmark sees Omicron surge
Denmark saw 1,840 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, health authorities said, up by 44 percent from Friday.
Earlier in the day, the Epidemic Commission raised the risk level for the spread of the infection to four, on a scale of five, indicating there is a “potential for a high disease burden”.
Covid-19 kills 5.3M globally
The coronavirus has killed at least 5,317,616 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to information provided by Worldometer.
Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid-19, the World Health Organization estimates the overall death toll could be two to three times higher.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
WHO: Omicron variant spreads faster and weakens jabs – latest updates
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