The EU medicines agency Ema has approved the Covid drug Paxlovid. The Ema announced in Amsterdam that the drug from the US manufacturer Pfizer could prevent serious illness in adult patients after a corona infection. ‘Paxlovid’s safety profile was favorable and side effects were generally mild,’ the Ema experts stated. Data from laboratory studies suggested that it would also work against omicron and other variants. Now the EU Commission still has to approve the approval, but that is considered a formality. It is still unclear when the drug can be bought from the pharmacy on prescription.
Including Paxlovid, there are now seven medicines available to treat Covid-19 patients in the EU, but Paxlovid is the first medicine that patients can take orally at home. The Covid pill is considered to be very effective, and it is said to reduce the risk of very serious illnesses by almost 90 percent, especially in people with previous illnesses.
According to Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), Germany has ordered one million packs of Paxlovid. The drug is particularly suitable for the treatment of unvaccinated high-risk patients. The active ingredient nirmatrelvir is intended to inhibit a Sars-CoV-2 protein and thereby stop the virus from multiplying. Possible side effects include an impaired sense of taste, diarrhea, high blood pressure and muscle pain.
“The active ingredient blocks one of the most important enzymes that the coronavirus needs to multiply,” said Daniel Kalanovic, Medical Director at Pfizer in Germany. EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides welcomed Ema’s recommendation. This drug could “make a real contribution to alleviating the consequences of Covid”. (27.01.2022)
The number of new infections in Italy and France falls slightly
In France, the number of daily infections is falling, albeit at a very high level. The authorities register 392,168 new infections, after 428,008 cases the previous day. On Tuesday there were more than 500,000 detected cases, and the threshold of half a million new infections was exceeded for the first time last week. 268 other people died in hospitals in connection with the corona virus. In total there are 102,612 deaths.
In Italy, the health authorities recorded 155,697 new infections within one day. The Ministry of Health announced that this was around 11,500 fewer than the previous day. 389 other people died in connection with the virus, compared to 426 the day before. Since the virus broke out in Italy in February 2020, 145,159 people have died – the second highest figure in Europe after Great Britain and the ninth highest worldwide. (27.01.2022)
More than 200,000 new infections
In Germany, the number of new infections detected every day increases to 203,136, as reported by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The seven-day incidence rises to 1017.4. The previous day the reading was 940.6. Both are new highs. The value is now more than 1000 in eight federal states: in Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland. In addition, dozens of urban and rural districts report incidence values of more than 1000. In five of the twelve Berlin districts, which the RKI reports separately, as well as in Offenbach am Main and in the district of Dachau, it is more than 2000. Experts expect more and more cases that cannot be recorded, partly because test capacities and health authorities are increasingly overloaded.
According to the RKI, the number of deaths increases nationwide by 188 to a total of 117,314. Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of more than nine million infections with Sars-CoV-2 have been detected. The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections go undetected. (27.01.2022)
Hospitals are expecting many new corona patients
In view of the skyrocketing number of corona infections, hospitals are preparing for numerous new patients. The current number of 200,000 newly infected people within one day will only have an effect in the clinics in seven to ten days, said the chairman of the German Hospital Society, Gerald Gass, on Thursday in the ZDF morning magazine. “That means we will continue to experience a high level of dynamics in new hospital admissions in the coming days and probably weeks,” he said.
In addition, staff are absent due to their own infections. “It puts a strain on the hospitals.” Half of the hospitals reported restrictions on occupancy last week due to staff shortages. “At the moment, however, it is not the case that the supply is at risk,” said Gass.
In the previous corona waves, the overloading of the intensive care units with corona patients had meant that operations on other patients had to be cancelled. “We don’t seem to have this situation in front of us at the moment,” said Gass, with a view to the often milder course of the disease in the corona variant Omicron. “But of course: The high occupancy in the normal wards also puts a strain on the staff and ultimately on the hospital as a whole.” (27.01.2022)
England lifts mask requirements and other measures
Despite the high number of corona cases, England has again lifted almost all of the pandemic measures that are still in force. Since Thursday, masks have no longer been compulsory in most indoor areas in the largest part of Britain, and vaccination or test certificates, which are only used at major events and in clubs, no longer have to be checked. The recommendation to work from home also no longer applies.
Boris Johnson’s government has phased out the so-called Plan B measures introduced because of the omicron variant after the number of new corona infections had fallen rapidly since the beginning of January. A number of backbenchers in the ruling Tory party expressed their rejection of the Corona measures with a rebellion in the House of Commons in December.
There will also soon be further simplifications for vaccinated travelers: From February 11th, the mandatory test that was previously required after arrival in the country will no longer apply. In the British capital London, however, masks are still compulsory on trains and buses. Some supermarkets continue to call on their customers to do so.
In the past few days, new infections have leveled off at a high level – between 80,000 and 100,000 new infections are reported every day, the seven-day incidence was around 945. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland decide independently about their corona policy and vote a more cautious way. (27.01.2022)
Göring-Eckardt expects the end of the special corona regulation for the Bundestag
Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens) assumes that the Bundestag will change the special corona regulation for those who have recovered. For the citizens, this has been reduced to three months, in parliament the period of six months applies through a general decree by Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD). “It wasn’t a good idea and that’s why it will be changed. I’m quite sure of that,” said Göring-Eckardt on Wednesday evening on the ARD program “Maischberger. Die Woche”.
“I understood that very well,” said the Vice-President of Parliament. “The (Bundestag) President decided that and decided according to the regulations that apply in Berlin,” said Göring-Eckardt. In the state of Berlin, the 2-G-plus rule with six months for those who have recovered applies to events. (27.01.2022)
