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EU proposes a Covid-19 ccertificate that would make travel easier for European residents.

Wed, 2021-03-17 20:30 — mike kraft

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/17/world/covid-19-coronavirus#to-save-the-summer-tourist-season-travel-certificates-are-proposed-in-europe

The European Union proposed a Covid-19 certificate on Wednesday that would allow people to travel more freely, a move aimed at saving the summer tourist season for member states that depend on it economically.

The proposed document, known as a Digital Green Certificate, would allow residents of member nations to travel at will within the bloc if they have proof of Covid-19 vaccination, a negative test result or a documented recovery from the coronavirus.

The certificates would be free and would be available in digital or paper format.

“The Digital Green Certificate will not be a precondition to free movement, and it will not discriminate in any way,” said Didier Reynders, the bloc’s top official for justice, adding that the aim was to “gradually restore free movement within the E.U. and avoid fragmentation.”

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White House resists pressure for vaccine passports

Wed, 2021-03-17 20:19 — mike kraft

Vaccine passports pose ethical thicket for Biden administration The White House says the government shouldn't issue the credentials or store the data. Darius Tahir POLITICO

States, airlines and tech companies are pressuring the Biden administration to develop a federal standard for vaccine passports — a policy that could speed the economic recovery but might also discriminate against disadvantaged groups and jeopardize privacy.

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Repeat COVID-19 infections rare, but protection not reliable, especially for older people

Wed, 2021-03-17 19:56 — mike kraft

Study: Repeat COVID-19 infections rare, but protection not reliable People who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection are likely to be protected from reinfection for at least six months, but according to a study published Wednesday, that protection drops dramatically for people over the age of 65. Nathaniel Weixel TheHill

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Simulations showing the importance of windows to the reopening of schools.

Wed, 2021-03-17 15:04 — mike kraft

Why Opening Windows Is a Key to Reopening Schools A simulation of airflow in a real New York City classroom shows how simple ventilation and filtration can reduce the probability of coronavirus exposure. nytimes

The C.D.C. is urging communities to reopen schools as quickly as possible, but parents and teachers have raised questions about the quality of ventilation available in public school classrooms to protect against the coronavirus.

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Experts: Virus surge in Europe should raise caution flags for the US

Wed, 2021-03-17 12:46 — mike kraft

Experts: Virus surge in Europe a cautionary tale for US Optimism is spreading in the U.S. as COVID-19 deaths plummet and states ease restrictions and open vaccinations to younger adults. But across Europe, dread is setting in with another wave of... AP NEWS

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WHO statement says the benefit of AstraZenca vaccine outweighs risk and recomends continuation

Wed, 2021-03-17 12:03 — mike kraft

WHO statement on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safety signals

Some countries in the European Union have temporarily suspended use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a precautionary measure based on reports of rare blood coagulation disorders in persons who had received the vaccine. Other countries in the EU – having considered the same information - have decided to continue using the vaccine in their immunization programmes.

Vaccination against COVID-19 will not reduce illness or deaths from other causes. Thromboembolic events are known to occur frequently. Venous thromboembolism is the third most common cardiovascular disease globally.

In extensive vaccination campaigns, it is routine for countries to signal potential adverse events following immunization. This does not necessarily mean that the events are linked to vaccination itself, but it is good practice to investigate them. It also shows that the surveillance system works and that effective controls are in place.

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AstraZeneca vaccine “did not show protection” against mild cases of variant found in South Africa,

Tue, 2021-03-16 19:27 — mike kraft

AstraZeneca vaccine “did not show protection” against variant found in South Africa, study says A small study of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in South Africa said the vaccine “did not show protection against mild-to-moderate Covid-19” due to the variant widely circulating there, according to results published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. By <a href="/profiles/nectar-gan">Nectar Gan</a>, CNN CNN

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Halting AstraZeneca vaccine across Europe weakens an already faltering rollout

Tue, 2021-03-16 19:13 — mike kraft

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/16/world/covid-19-coronavirus#halting-a-key-vaccine-across-europe-weakens-an-already-faltering-rollout

The suspension of the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine by most governments across Europe has further set back an already fraught inoculation campaign on the continent even as the bloc’s main drug regulator said there was no indication that vaccination has caused side effects such as blood clots.

No country in the European Union is on pace to reach its goal of vaccinating 70 percent of its population by September. Hundreds of millions of people across the continent are still constrained by some of the most severe coronavirus restrictions in the world, and millions more are facing the prospect of rules being tightened further to tackle a third wave of the coronavirus.

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Fear of needles prevents some people from getting Covid-19 vaccinations. There are ways to overcome the fear

Tue, 2021-03-16 12:39 — mike kraft

Most people aren’t particularly fond of needles.

But to a significant number of people, the fear of needles goes beyond merely inducing anxiety into a more dangerous area, in which the fear prevents them from seeking out needed medical care.

And as the world’s hopes of returning to a post-pandemic normal rest largely on people’s willingness to take a Covid-19 vaccine, experts and health care professionals are assuring those people that there are ways to overcome this fear.

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Explanation of blood clots and the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine

Tue, 2021-03-16 10:03 — mike kraft

Millions of people in dozens of countries have received the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine with few reports of ill effects, and its prior testing in tens of thousands of people found it to be safe.

But recently, blood clots and abnormal bleeding in a small number of vaccine recipients in European countries have cast doubt on its safety, although no causative link has been found between the patients’ conditions and the vaccine. The reports have prompted more than a dozen countries to either partly or fully suspend the vaccine’s use while the cases are investigated. Most of the nations said they were doing so as a precaution until leading health agencies could review the cases.

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