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"Omikron will hurt": Fewer free intensive care beds than ever before
03.45 a.m.:
According to the intensive care
doctor
Christian Karagiannidis, the number of free intensive care and ventilation beds in Germany has fallen to the lowest level recorded so far.
That worries him, especially with regard to the Omikron variant, said the scientific head of the Divi intensive register of the dpa news agency on Wednesday.
The new corona variant will prevail at high speed.
In the Divi intensive care register, around 2250 intensive care beds were shown as free on Wednesday afternoon (1.8 per location), 921 of which were specific for Covid-19.
At such a level, Omicron would "hurt, even if it shouldn't make you quite as sick," Karagiannidis said.
He spoke of the variant as a threatening "great unknown".
Bahn is increasing its range of
long-distance trains
at Christmas time
3:05 a.m.:
Deutsche Bahn (DB) wants to increase its long-distance train offer at Christmas time.
"Around Christmas, from December 22nd to January 2nd, we are also running around 100 special trains, especially on the connections that are in high demand," said DB Fernverkehr CEO Michael Peterson to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
"This means that by the end of this year we will have more long-distance trains on the rails than ever before."
"If you have to travel during the days, you should be able to do it safely and with a good feeling," Peterson told the Funke newspapers.
More and longer trains would allow passengers more space and distance on the trains.
The special trains are to be used on busy routes such as Berlin-Stuttgart, Berlin-Munich, from North Rhine-Westphalia to Berlin or Hamburg-Karlsruhe.
The tickets can therefore already be booked.
Resistance in the US Senate to
Biden's
vaccination requirements for companies
02:56:
The government of US President Joe Biden is also meeting resistance in Congress with its efforts to ensure extensive vaccination requirements in the fight against the corona pandemic. The US Senate voted on Wednesday evening (local time) with the votes of the Republicans, supported by two Democrats, to overturn Biden's vaccination requirements for large companies.
In order to actually abolish the compulsory vaccination, a corresponding vote of the other Congress Chamber, the House of Representatives, would be necessary - which is considered very unlikely.
And even if both chambers of congress speak out against the vaccination rule, the president could veto the resolution.
So the advance does not really have a chance.
But he shows some displeasure with Biden's course on the issue, even among individual party colleagues of the democratic president.
Unicef
: 100 million more children slipped into poverty because of Corona
02.15 a.m
.: According to a study by the United Nations Children's Fund Unicef, the corona pandemic has plunged an additional 100 million children worldwide into poverty. That was ten percent more than in 2019 within less than two years, the organization reported on Thursday. Even before the pandemic, one billion children worldwide did not have sufficient access to education, health care, shelter, food, sanitation or clean water. Such a crisis has not occurred in the 75 years since Unicef was founded.
"As the number of children starving, not going to school, being abused, living in poverty or being forced into marriage increases, the number of children who have access to medical care, vaccines, adequate food and essential services is falling," shared Unicef boss Henrietta Fore with.
In the best case scenario, it will take seven to eight years for the setbacks to be made up for in many areas.
At times, 1.6 billion children did not go to school during the Corona period due to lockdowns.
Almost 80 percent of face-to-face classes were canceled last year.
Wüst calls for better supplies of Covid drugs
1:28 a.m.:
Before the federal-state meeting this Thursday, the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) calls for better supply of the clinics with Covid drugs.
“Vaccination is and will remain the most powerful weapon in the fight against the virus.
At the same time, we need a drug strategy coordinated between the federal and state governments, ”the chairman of the conference of prime ministers told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Medicines could prevent severe disease and thereby relieve the health system.
Early treatment of corona patients is crucial, which is why a strategy of procurement, more speed in approval and logistics, and targeted funding of drug research are needed.
Denmark
is reintroducing restrictions because of the Omikron variant
12.10 a.m.:
In the fight against the Omikron variant, Denmark is introducing restrictions again.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says that the school children will be sent to the Christmas holidays on December 15th.
Night clubs should close on Friday.
In addition, employees should increasingly work from home again.
More than
200
million
fully vaccinated US citizens
12:01 a.m.: So
far, more than 200 million people in the US have been fully vaccinated.
The CDC announced this.
In total, over 475 million doses were administered.
More than 237 million people have been vaccinated at least once.
Around 328 million people live in the United States.
Around 49 million people received a booster vaccination.
USA allows drugs with artificial
corona
antibodies
12:00 a.m.:
The US health authorities have approved the use of a drug with synthetic antibodies to protect people against corona infection.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency approval for the AstraZeneca drug Evusheld on Wednesday.
The agency emphasized, however, that the drug was "no substitute" for people for whom the vaccination is recommended.
The drug should only be used in people with a weakened immune system or those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons such as a strong allergic reaction to vaccines.
In these limited cases, the drug can be given to those 12 years and older.
The FDA approval is based on a clinical study conducted in unvaccinated people over the age of 59 or with a chronic illness or high risk of infection.
During the 3500-person study, around half of the participants were given a placebo.
The study showed that the treatment reduced the risk of developing Covid-19 by 77 percent.
jok / aar / dpa / AFP / Reuters / sid / AP