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Omikron: Hospitals declare a disaster - Johnson with a bitter prognosis

2022-01-04T14:37:45.438Z


Omikron: Hospitals declare a disaster - Johnson with a bitter prognosis Created: 01/04/2022Updated: 01/04/2022, 3:26 PM By: Tobias Utz, Katja Thorwarth, Anna Charlotte Groos The number of corona cases is increasing worldwide. The Omikron variant is primarily responsible. Measures to prevent a 5th wave are now discussed. The omicron variant * of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly around the w


Omikron: Hospitals declare a disaster - Johnson with a bitter prognosis

Created: 01/04/2022Updated: 01/04/2022, 3:26 PM

By: Tobias Utz, Katja Thorwarth, Anna Charlotte Groos

The number of corona cases is increasing worldwide.

The Omikron variant is primarily responsible.

Measures to prevent a 5th wave are now discussed.

  • The omicron variant * of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly around the world.

    Research into the corona mutation * is progressing.

  • The number of corona cases in the USA * is skyrocketing.

    Virologist Anthony Fauci speaks of a "vertical increase" due to the Omikron variant.

  • The news situation on the Corona variant Omikron at a glance.

+++ 3 p.m

.: What is happening in Great Britain is what should be prevented in Germany: Because of blatant staff shortages, numerous clinics have declared a disaster in the context of Omikron infections.

The BBC reports.

Those responsible announced that they could no longer guarantee necessary treatments.

In the UK, several hospitals have declared a disaster.

(Symbol photo) © Hauke-Christian Dittrich / dpa

Despite the fact that many employees have been asked to give up vacation days, the health system is currently in a "state of crisis," said Matthew Taylor, head of the national health service. Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacted to the news with dismay - and admitted that this state of affairs is likely to continue for several weeks. Nevertheless, attempts are being made to contain the corona wave by taking suitable measures, said Johnson.

Update from Tuesday, January 4th, 2022, 11.55 a.m.:

The Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) is hoping for nationwide corona rules from the Prime Minister's

Conference

on Friday in order to “not blindly run into a fifth wave”.

The heads of government should adopt measures on January 7th, "with which we can put a stop to the Omikron variant nationwide," said Holetschek of the Augsburger Allgemeine (Tuesday).

The state government will then examine "which levers we still have to turn in Bavaria and which further measures are important and necessary". 

Klaus Holetschek (CSU), Bavarian Health Minister, wants measures against a 5th wave.

© Tobias Hase / dpa

Omikron raises hope for herd immunity - virus variant areas deleted

+++ 10.15 p.m.:

In view of the spread of the Coronavirus variant Omikron in Germany, the federal government will remove numerous countries from the list of virus variant areas from Tuesday (04.01.2022).

Great Britain, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Eswatini and Lesotho would disappear from the list on Tuesday, the Foreign Office said in Berlin on Monday evening (03.01.2022).

The states would then continue to be classified as high-risk areas.

For people with a full vaccination against the coronavirus, it will make it much easier to travel to Germany from these countries.

Omicron variant raises new hopes for herd immunity

+++ 4.45 p.m

.: Authorities worldwide are reporting a significant increase in the number of corona cases, due to the spread of the Omikron variant.

This also applies to Israel *.

There the value of the seven-day incidence has increased eightfold since the beginning of December.

More than 5,000 new cases were reported on Sunday in the country with around nine million inhabitants.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennet expects a further increase in the coming days and soon up to 50,000 new infections daily.

"The wave has arrived and nothing can prevent it," Bennett said on Israeli television.

Since Tuesday, despite Omikron, many countries are no longer considered virus variant areas.

(Symbol picture) © Christian Ohde / Imago

But the government of Israel has not yet planned any strict corona measures, even if, in the face of the Omikron variant, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, every third Israeli could soon be infected.

Instead, the Bennet government wants to start the fourth vaccination for the elderly and high-risk patients as soon as possible.

If an infection cannot be stopped, at least the course of the disease should be made as easy as possible.

Omicron variant spreads: Israel hopes for herd immunity

In this way, the country could soon achieve herd immunity, said Nachman Ash, director of the Israeli Ministry of Health, recently.

He also placed his hopes on the ever new drugs in the fight against Covid 19.

In fact, the current wave of omicrons in Israel seems to have significantly less dire effects than feared.

The number of hospitalizations in connection with corona disease is increasing significantly more slowly than the number of infections.

According to official information, it is around 200 mostly unvaccinated or insufficiently vaccinated people.

Visitors to the Botanical Gardens in Jerusalem.

In Israel, hopes of a mild course of the omicron wave are increasing.

© Nir Alon / dpa

Omikron variant: "Vertical increase" in the number of corona cases in the USA

+++ 9.00 a.m.:

In the USA, the omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading very quickly.

For example, the health authorities reported a value of 440,000 new infections on New Year's Eve.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIAID), spoke of an "almost vertical increase" in the number of corona cases.

Previously, on Wednesday (December 29th, 2021), 490,000 new infections were reported.

"We are definitely in the middle of a very serious surge and upward trend in cases," Fauci told ABC television.

“Omikron is really everywhere,” Megan Ranney, professor of emergency medicine in Providence, Rhode Island, warned CNN.

Omikron: Joe Biden calls for vaccination

In view of the number of cases, US President Joe Biden renewed his call to heed the corona measures.

With regard to the start of school after the Christmas holidays in the USA, he emphasized the importance of being vaccinated and tested, as well as wearing a mask.

Omikron: Central Council of Muslims for Corona Vaccination Compulsory - "Ethics of Islam"

Update from Monday, January 3rd, 2022, 6.30 a.m.:

The Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD) is

calling

for a general vaccination

requirement

in the fight against the corona pandemic.

The ZMD chairman Aiman ​​Mazyek told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung: “I speak out in favor of such an obligation in Germany.” The fact that the vaccination rate is only increasing slowly is “annoying”.

Vaccination save lives and means solidarity.

This corresponds to "the standards of the reasonable citizen and the ethics of Islam".

According to Mazyek, the vaccination rate among Muslim citizens is slightly above the general average.

In some communities, according to their own surveys, it is 90 percent and more.

At the same time, however, the ZMD chairman emphasized: "We have to do more advertising and win even more mosques to take part." A vaccination campaign by the ZMD has been running since the summer, which includes regular Friday sermons, awareness-raising events and training for multipliers.

Corona variant Omikron: patient protection requires vaccination authorization for nurses

+++ 1.44 p.m.:

The German Foundation for Patient Protection demands that, in view of the Omikron danger, nursing staff may also vaccinate against the coronavirus. “The administration of syringes is part of everyday life for hundreds of thousands of nurses. You must therefore be included in the vaccination campaign immediately, "said the foundation's board of directors, Eugen Brysch, of the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung on Sunday (January 2nd, 2022).

It is completely absurd that pharmacists and even veterinarians are now allowed to vaccinate against corona, but those who are closest to the risk group in clinics, homes and in outpatient care are not vaccinated. The vaccination authorization for nurses would make it possible to vaccinate or boost hundreds of thousands of very old people and those in need of care who cannot make it to the family doctor or the vaccination center on their own at home or in homes and clinics.

"If the protection of the risk group is important to you, the nursing staff must be involved in the vaccination campaign," emphasized the patient advocate.

The authorization to vaccinate nurses would also be "an important step to finally upgrade the profession, which has been talked about for years," said Brysch.

It cannot be that the medical profession prevents this further in order to defend its benefice.

Omikron: Germany is working on emergency approval for Paxlovid - Lauterbach confidently

Update from Sunday, January 2nd, 2022, 9:35 a.m.:

The federal government wants to get approval for the corona drug Paxlovid from the US company Pfizer in January.

"I am confident that we will have put together the necessary package by the end of this month, so that we have received deliveries of the drug and obtained emergency approval," said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) of Welt am Sonntag.

“The product is particularly suitable for the treatment of unvaccinated risk patients.

This group is large and particularly at risk, ”said Lauterbach.

The Federal Ministry of Health has already contractually secured one million units of the product from Pfizer and has given an option to deliver a further million units.

Paxlovid is an antiviral that prevents the virus from reproducing.

The preparation has not yet been approved in the EU, but the EMA supports the use of paxlovid in emergencies.

The US drug agency FDA has already given the corona pill emergency approval for high-risk patients aged twelve and over.

Virologist Christian Drosten sees "German special problem"

+++ 8.35 p.m.:

The Corona variant Omikron usually ensures milder disease

courses

.

A new study with hamsters and mice has now provided an indication of why this could be: Apparently Omikron no longer attacks the lungs as strongly * as other variants.

+++ 4.10 p.m.:

How will the year 2022 be in view of the Omikron variant?

After the virologist Christian Drosten, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is also cautiously optimistic.

In the ZDF New Year's Eve show, Lauterbach said that there would be “light at the end of the tunnel” for 2022.

The Omikron variant will be another difficult challenge, "but it looks as if this variant is a little less dangerous than the Delta variant," says Lauterbach.

That is already a ray of hope.

However, it is not yet known for sure whether this also applies to unvaccinated people.

Just like Drosten, Lauterbach also assumes that Germany has the chance of an endemic situation.

"But it is only a chance, it is not a certainty."

Omicron variant of the coronavirus: Christian Drosten with prognosis

Update from Friday, December 31, 2021, 10.15 a.m.:

Christian Drosten, virologist at the Charité in Berlin, has expressed a cautiously optimistic forecast regarding the Omikron variant in circulation (see update from 8.25 p.m.). In it, the scientist referred, among other things, to data on Omikron from South Africa, which are "reassuring". The number of new infections there has recently been on the decline. In addition, Drosten commented on studies from Great Britain, where there have been fewer admissions to hospitals after Omicron infections in the past few weeks.

The central factor, however, is the corona vaccination rate, which is still too low in Germany.

The fact that the willingness to be vaccinated or boosted is not yet sufficient is a "special German problem" with a view to vaccination rates in Denmark or Great Britain, said Drosten in the ZDF's "heute journal".

Omikron variant: Drosten is cautiously optimistic

+++ 8:25 p.m.:

Christian Drosten sees reason for cautious optimism in the further development of the corona pandemic in Germany.

The background is data from South Africa, where the particularly contagious virus variant Omikron initially spread: “In a way, that can calm us down.

South Africa is certainly a glimpse into a future, into an endemic situation that is just emerging there, ”said Drosten on Thursday evening in the ZDF“ heute journal ”.

"Unfortunately, we are still a long way from it."

The transition from a pandemic to an endemic situation means that the virus will continue to spread, but is less dangerous - comparable to the typical cold viruses, which also include other coronaviruses.

The development in Great Britain with regard to Omikron is also encouraging, said Drosten, "because the number of serious illnesses seems to be lower".

However, the virologist believes that politics in Germany will continue to be challenged, "maybe until Easter".

Experts reckon that the peak of an omikron wave in Germany is still to come.

"Sudden increase" in the number of corona cases due to Omikron: RKI warns of "overload"

+++ 2.30 p.m.:

The Omikron variant of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus is currently spreading in Germany. The RKI reported current data in this regard on Thursday afternoon (see update from 1 p.m.). In the latest weekly report, the institute now warns of a "sudden increase" in the number of corona cases. In the course of this, according to the RKI, “the health system and other care areas could quickly become overloaded” in Germany.

Update from Thursday, December 30th, 2021, 1 p.m.:

The number of corona cases with the Omikron variant, which is considered particularly contagious, has increased further. As the Robert Koch Institute announced on Thursday, the total number of cases recorded increased within one day by 28 percent to 16,748. There were 3619 cases more than on Wednesday. According to the information, late registrations from the past few weeks were also recorded.

Of the total number of those infected with Omikron, 208 people had to be treated in hospital, according to the RKI.

The institute registered another death in connection with the variant.

The total number of deceased in the Omicron count increased to five.

Omikron cases are recorded in the RKI statistics in which there is evidence by means of whole genome sequencing or a suspicion by means of a variant-specific PCR laboratory test.

According to the information, there may be several days or weeks between the first report of a corona case and the Labo result about the existence of a certain variant, depending on the detection method.

Virologist Streeck warns of reckless "contamination" with the Omicron variant

+++ 12.30 p.m.:

Virologist Hendrik Streeck warned on Wednesday morning of a "contamination" by the Omikron variant.

This comes one way or another, emphasized the scientist.

However, it is "dangerous" to bring them about "actively" at an early stage.

Too many people with vulnerable immune systems would probably suffer as a result.

Despite good news about Omikron, which virologist Christian Drosten also spread *, that infections with the Omikron variant probably lead to milder Covid-19 courses than with other variants, the risk of ending up in the intensive care unit is still real, according to Streeck in an interview with ntv.

"Drama of the situation" by Omikron: FDP General Secretary no longer excludes compulsory vaccination

+++ 9.15 a.m.:

The designated FDP general secretary left a decision on the general compulsory vaccination in Germany open.

He will look at the situation after various applications and “come to a decision afterwards”, said Bijan Djir-Sarai in the “Morgenmagazin” of the ZDF *.

Djir-Sarai said that compulsory vaccination could become a real option in view of the omicron variant that is circulating: “Today we'll see, in the summer I didn't know anything about the Omicron variant.

From my point of view, the drama of the situation as we have it now was not recognizable in the summer. ”At that time, the FDP politician was still against compulsory corona vaccination.

Omikron dominates corona infections in the USA

Update from Wednesday, December 29th, 2021, 8.15 a.m.:

In the USA, the number of new corona infections continues to rise rapidly. For Monday, the CDC health authority announced more than 440,000 new cases in one day - the highest reported daily value since the pandemic began. However, it can be assumed that this number is incorrect due to the holidays, as late registrations are likely to have come after Christmas. The data vary significantly - the New York Times even reported more than 500,000 new infections for the day.

States such as New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Maryland as well as the capital Washington had recorded high levels of new corona infections every day in the past few days. The Omicron variant now dominates the infection rate in the USA.

Even though the CDC recently revised its estimates of the spread of the new variant downwards, the proportion of the variant in new infections has increased significantly since the beginning of December.

Omikron is now the predominant Corona variant in two neighboring countries

+++ 7:25 p.m.:

The Omikron mutation has now established itself as the predominant coronavirus variant in Switzerland and the Netherlands.

On Tuesday (December 28th, 2021), more than 13,000 new infections were reported for Switzerland, of which around 55 percent of the cases of infection are due to the Omikron variant.

There were also around 40 cases nationwide in which sick people had to be admitted to hospital despite a booster vaccination, said Patrick Mathys, head of the crisis management and international cooperation section at the Federal Office of Public Health.

Omikron variant: Corona lockdown in the Netherlands until mid-January

The Netherlands recorded a decrease in new infections with 9213 cases on Tuesday, but are expecting a new increase due to the high risk of infection of the Omikron variant, according to the national institute for public health.

The Netherlands had imposed a new lockdown before Christmas *.

All non-essential shops, restaurants and bars, cinemas, museums and theaters will remain closed until mid-January - possibly with a positive effect.

Most recently, the number of hospital admissions had fallen from 256 in the previous week to 191 this week.

Omikron: Maximum antibody resistance - corona infections are increasing rapidly

+++ 4.30 p.m.:

The omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is spreading ever further, is largely resistant to current antibodies, according to Göttingen researchers.

A new study shows that antibodies from recovered people barely inhibited the omicron variant, said the Göttingen University Medical Center and the Leibniz Institute for Primate Research Göttingen on Tuesday.

The antibodies formed after two Biontech / Pfizer vaccinations were also significantly less effective against the Omikron variant than against the Delta variant.

Better inhibition, however, was observed after triple Biontech / Pfizer vaccination * as well as after cross-vaccination with Oxford-AstraZeneca and Biontech / Pfizer.

Omikron: Corona infections are increasing rapidly in Germany

First report from Tuesday, December 28th, 2021, 3:30 p.m .:

Berlin / Frankfurt - The number of Omikron cases * in Germany is increasing rapidly.

The new Corona variant is becoming more and more popular.

So far, 10,443 corona infections with the mutation have been measured.

This is based on data from the Robert Koch Institute.

This corresponds to an increase of 45 percent (3218 cases) compared to the previous day (Monday, December 27th, 2021).

According to the RKI, there have been four deaths in Germany so far that were related to Omikron infections.

The institute expects that the variant will soon develop into the predominant mutation of Sars-CoV-2 and replace the delta variant.

A total of more than 20,000 new corona infections were reported to the RKI by the health authorities on Tuesday (December 28, 2021). *

Corona variant Omikron: research with initial findings

The Omikron variant is considered highly infectious, in other words: It spreads further quickly.

Researchers have also found out what can lead to a kind of “super immunity” compared to Omikron. * In addition, there are scientific findings about the effect of corona vaccinations with regard to the Omikron variant.

It was found, for example, that a dead vaccine hardly works against it. *

Christian Drosten, virologist at the Charité in Berlin, also has "good" news about the Omikron variant. * (Tu / ktho / acg with dpa / AFP / epd / KNA)

* fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA .

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-01-04

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