The Netherlands set another record in daily registered COVID-19 cases, with health authorities reporting 20,829 new infections and 44 coronavirus-related deaths over the last 24 hours. Since November 13, all non-essential shops must close at 6 pm while supermarkets, bars and restaurants can work for an additional two hours. The restrictions were announced by the Dutch government last week in response to the worst-ever outbreak in the country to date. Continue reading “Netherlands sets record in daily COVID-19 cases”
S. Korea posts its second-highest COVID caseload
SEOUL (XINHUA) – South Korea reported 3,187 new cases of Covid-19 as of midnight Tuesday (Nov 16) compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 402,775.The daily caseload surged from 2,124 in the previous day, marking the country’s second-highest daily number since the first case was found in January last year. The recent resurgence was attributed to cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area. Of the new cases, 1,432 were Seoul residents. The number of newly infected people residing in Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon was 956 and 157, respectively. The virus spread also raged in the non-metropolitan region. The number of new infections in non-capital areas was 618, or 19.5 per cent of the total local transmission. Twenty-four cases were imported from overseas. The number of infected people who were in a serious condition was 522, up 27 from the previous day. Twenty-one more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 3,158. The total fatality rate stood at 0.78 per cent. Since the mass vaccination was launched on Feb 26, the country has administered Covid-19 vaccines to a total of 42,062,748 people, or 81.9 per cent of the total population. The number of fully vaccinated people was 40,243,219, or 78.4 per cent of the population.
Germany’s coronavirus situation is dramatic, Merkel says
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany’s coronavirus situation is dramatic, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, calling for a push to distribute booster shots faster and appealing to those sceptical of vaccination to change their minds. Germany reported 52,826 new infections on Wednesday – a jump of a third compared with a week ago and another daily record, while 294 people died, bringing the total to 98,274, as the pandemic’s fourth wave tightened its grip on Europe. “It is not too late to opt for a first vaccine shot,” Merkel told a congress of German city mayors. “Everyone who gets vaccinated protects himself and others. And if enough people get vaccinated that is the way out of the pandemic.” Only 68% of people in Europe’s most populous country are fully vaccinated – lower than the average in western Europe due to a tradition of vaccine hesitancy, while 5% of the population has had a booster shot. Merkel, governing in a caretaker capacity during negotiations to form a coalition government after an election in September, said there needs to be a national effort to get mass distribution of vaccine booster shots underway. She also appealed to federal and regional leaders meeting on Thursday to introduce a measure that would trigger tighter restrictions based on the number of infected people who have to go to hospital in a week. Continue reading “Germany’s coronavirus situation is dramatic, Merkel says”
ear off…. No matter your age vaccines wear off
People’s ages had no effect on the vaccine’s waning, meaning that the vaccine waned for everyone and not just older people
People vaccinated with two shots of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in January and February had a 51% increased chance of contracting the virus in July compared to those who were vaccinated in March or April, a new Israeli study published in Nature Communications has shown.
The team of researchers from KI Institute worked with doctors from KSM Research and Innovation and used data provided by Maccabi Health Services to conduct a retrospective cohort study comparing the incidence rates of breakthrough infections and COVID-19-related hospitalizations between people vaccinated toward the beginning of the country’s campaign (January and February) and those vaccinated toward the later stages (March and April). The study included more than 1.3 million records.
Continue reading “ear off…. No matter your age vaccines wear off”
99% of COVID infections Delta variant – WHO
- Almost all of the up to 900,000 Covid cases sequenced worldwide over the last 60 days originated from the delta strain, Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on Covid, said.
- Europe accounted for roughly 60% of the more than 3.3 million new cases in the world last week, Van Kerkhove said.
- Covid cases worldwide have been increasing over the last four consecutive weeks, she added
Continue reading “99% of COVID infections Delta variant – WHO”
Fauci: US could be at beginning of COVID wave
White House Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci said the United States could be at the beginning of a new COVID-19 wave and called on Americans to get vaccinated or receive booster shots if eligible. He pointed out the rising numbers of coronavirus infections across Europe, attributing the surge to the decision to end restrictive measures in most countries. Fauci warned cases in the US are “creeping up into the 80,000 per day,” explaining that the rise is “entirely predictable when you have about 60 million people who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not gotten vaccinated.”
Pressure on Dutch hospitals mounts as COVID cases break records…. Colorado hospitals overwhelmed by young, ‘dramatically ill’ unvaccinated COVID patients…… Boston school returns to remote learning amid COVID-19 outbreak…. Surging COVID Cases Taking A Toll On Rural Minnesota Hospitals.. 20 states report rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations….
Norway plans third vaccine dose for all adults, “corona passes”
Why is COVID surging in Ireland despite high vaccine uptake?… So I can win my bet with Jim of course
Waterford, in southeastern Ireland, epitomizes the country’s coronavirus conundrum. Why is there an increase in COVID-19 in a nation where about 92% of adults are fully vaccinated? A massive 99.5% of adults over the age of 18 in Co Waterford are double-jabbed. That’s thought to be one of the highest rates of any region anywhere in the world. But, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, the county now tops the national infection league table, with a 14-day incidence rate of 1,294 per 100,000. Tom Gallagher can’t believe his native Waterford City is the current epicentre of Ireland’s fourth COVID wave. Earlier in the pandemic, he was nearly killed by the disease. Tom spent 66 days in the local hospital, including two stints on a ventilator in intensive care. His brother and sister also caught the disease. “I walk past the hospital all the time”, he tells Sky News. “I look up at it and just think…there are still people in there with this virus.” Tom now suffers from long COVID, and scans have shown his lungs are scarred from his bout with the disease. The 55-year-old agrees that almost everyone he knows in Waterford has been fully vaccinated, but thinks that that has led to a degree of behavioural complacency setting in.
Study shows dramatic decline in effectiveness of all three COVID-19 vaccines over time
As the Delta variant became the dominant strain of the coronavirus across the United States, all three COVID-19 vaccines available to Americans lost some of their protective power, with vaccine efficacy among a large group of veterans dropping between 35% and 85%, according to a new study. Researchers who scoured the records of nearly 800,000 U.S. veterans found that in early March, just as the Delta variant was gaining a toehold across American communities, the three vaccines were roughly equal in their ability to prevent infections.But over the next six months, that changed dramatically.
By the end of September, Moderna’s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, measured as 89% effective in March, was only 58% effective.
The effectiveness of shots made by Pfizer and BioNTech, which also employed two doses, fell from 87% to 45% in the same period.
And most strikingly, the protective power of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine plunged from 86% to just 13% over those six months. Continue reading “Study shows dramatic decline in effectiveness of all three COVID-19 vaccines over time”