In Germany, the shutdown has been extended until the end of March. Vaccines have reduced mortality in the elderly, France has changed its attitude towards AstraZeneca, scientists are urging to return to the issue of COVID-19 in children. Statistics in the USA are rising again, epidemiologists do not rule out a fourth wave. “Eurovision” will take place, but under strict rules. These and other news about the development of the pandemic situation in the world can be found in our review.
According to Johns Hopkins University, during the year of the pandemic, 114.5 million people worldwide were infected with the coronavirus and over 2.5 million died.
Twitter plans to flag as questionable posts in its Middle East segment that contain unverified and misleading information about the coronavirus. The spread of false information about the disease and vaccines has become a major concern for many countries in the region, with some introducing fines and penalties for publishing fake news.
Vaccines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca reduce the risk of hospital admission in the UK over the age of 80 by more than 80% after just one dose, according to Public Health England (PHE). The overall statistics are slightly lower. In the age group 70+, the first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine protects against severe disease by an average of 60%, AstraZeneca’s by 60-73%.
In Spain, elderly people are mainly vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, but EU countries are experiencing serious disruptions in the supply of the drug. Pfizer’s vaccine has also been shown to reduce deaths from Covid-19 in the elderly by more than 80%. Similar data are not yet available for AstraZeneca.
The use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been approved by the European regulatory authority, but many EU countries are refraining from using the vaccine in the 65+ age group, citing a lack of clinical trials. But on Tuesday, the French Ministry of Health gave AstraZeneca the green light. According to French officials, this is due to increasing information about how the drug affects the older body. However, according to doctors, the decision was also dictated by delays in the supply of other vaccines – Pfizer and Moderna. Similar delays are occurring across Europe, and there is reason to believe that other EU countries will follow France’s lead and approve AstraZeneca for all age groups.
At the same time, experts around the world are concerned that new strains of coronavirus could jeopardize vaccination campaigns and significantly reduce the effectiveness of existing vaccines. A new surge in infection rates has been recorded in the U.S., with the average daily number of people infected reaching about 70,000 last week, with about two thousand deaths.
According to the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, the slight improvement in recent statistics has ended and the numbers are high again. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. The number of episodes should remain the same. End of story. Advertising Podcasts. “I want to be very clear: with this level of statistics and the spread of new strains, we risk losing the advantage we have gained in the tough fight against the virus,” said the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, Rochelle Walensky. “These strains pose a real threat to our nations and our progress.” Experts say the virus has mutated many times, but the most virulent strains – British, South African and Brazilian – are causing the most concern. American virologists believe that the United States is facing a fourth wave of infection, but existing vaccines are still effective enough against them, and the most important thing at the moment is to accelerate the vaccination process.
At the same time, Michael Ryan, head of WHO’s Emergency Department, says that even with promising prospects for vaccination, it is unlikely that we will be able to control the virus by the end of the year. “The only thing we can deal with, if we act wisely, is the burden on hospitals, the mortality and various tragedies associated with the pandemic,” he said. Ryan noted that global infection rates have begun to rise again after six consecutive weeks of decline. The United States has suffered more than any other country from the pandemic: more than 28.5 million people infected, more than half a million deaths – one-fifth of all deaths worldwide.
British scientists are calling for a return to the issue of coronavirus in children. It has long been established that children are at much lower risk of infection, almost never become seriously ill (mostly asymptomatic) and rarely become carriers. However, scientists say that this does not mean that this age group does not face the consequences of COVID.
According to the latest data from the UK Office for National Statistics, 13% of children under 11 and approximately 15% of children aged 12-16 were still experiencing at least one symptom of the disease five weeks after being diagnosed with Covid-19. This means that the so-called “long COVID”, which manifests itself mainly in fatigue and some respiratory abnormalities, is also present in children. It is important to bear in mind that there are no vaccines for children, and the effect of available drugs on this age group has not been tested. British schoolchildren will return to face-to-face teaching on March 8 after nearly two and a half months of distance learning.
According to a report by Save the Children, the pandemic has had a detrimental effect on children’s education and therefore their future – especially in poor countries. According to the organization’s calculations, children around the world lost an average of 74 days of schooling due to lockdowns. But when we look at different regions, the situation is even more dire.
International children’s organizations are concerned that the education gap in poor countries will be difficult to fill during the pandemic. In wealthy Western European countries, the lag is about 38 school days, while in poor countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia it is 110. In each country, there is also a significant gap between urban and rural children (this is not the case in developed countries, where the technologies work equally well in the cities and in the provinces), and between children from families with different incomes. The number of computers in the family often plays a significant role in the effectiveness of homeschooling.
Doctors in Sweden encountered a rare case when a pregnant woman came in complaining of severe abdominal pain. They discovered that the fetus had a slow heartbeat and was deprived of oxygen, so they immediately performed a Caesarean section and saved the baby. Tests showed that the mother, who was infected with the coronavirus, had transmitted it to the baby before birth. However, it was then discovered that the child had developed a new strain called A107G in addition to the mother’s virus. Because the baby was completely isolated and could not have acquired it from outside, doctors concluded that this is the first known case of a genetic mutation of the coronavirus acquired before birth and undergoing genetic changes in the first five days of the baby’s life. According to researchers, this could have occurred as a result of the impact of the external environment, different from the mother’s womb. Fortunately, the mother recovered quickly and was discharged from the hospital 4 days after delivery. The child, who had a mild form of the disease, was also able to recover on his own as his immune system quickly produced the necessary antibodies to fight the virus. Although cases of mother-to-newborn transmission of coronavirus are quite rare, and complications when coronavirus causes oxygen deficiency in the fetus are even rarer, experts say the current approach to pregnant women with coronavirus may need to be reconsidered and they may need to be placed in a higher-risk group.
The European Broadcasting Union, in collaboration with the National Institute for Public Health of the Netherlands, has developed a set of sanitary rules for the Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place in the Netherlands this year from May 18 to 22. Last year’s event had to be canceled due to the pandemic, but this year’s organizers are determined and believe that with strict measures in place, the competition can be held safely.
First of all, the scale of the event has been significantly reduced: the delegations accompanying the artists will be limited; choreographers have been asked to minimize the use of ballet; only 500 journalists will be accredited on site, several times fewer than usual. Another thousand press representatives will be able to cover the competition from a special media center. Everyone involved, from performers to crew members, expects regular testing. Five days prior to departure to the Netherlands, delegations must be isolated and tested no later than 72 hours prior to travel. The decision on whether the public will be able to attend the show and which events will be held in Rotterdam in connection with the competition will be made later. In the event that an infected person is identified during the competition, a plan for isolation, a system for tracking the infected person’s contacts, and other measures are in place. The organizers also do not exclude the possibility of canceling the event at the last moment.