Preprint: Omicron incompletely escapes immunity induced by the Pfizer vaccine
Laboratory research from South Africa strongly suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant escapes antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) vaccine, but that considerable immunity is retained in people who were both vaccinated and previously infected.
South Africa: Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 – “One has an S-gene dropout, the other not”
Well that escalated quickly…
Omicron, BA.1, and BA.2 – We need to follow them closely. One has an S-gene drop out the other not. Genomics surveillance and qPCR are essential to control it as it spreads widelyl.
Norway: “situation is more worrying now than in previous pandemic waves”
“The threat from Omicron is enormous”. NIPH director Camilla Stoltenberg says the Omicron variant of the coronavirus can cause a lot of infection and disease, “perhaps more than before in the pandemic”.
Norway: Social restrictions reintroduced to combat Covid infections
The Norwegian Directorate of Health recommends a maximum of 10 people in private homes, one meter social distancing and bar closures.
Norway: “The number of corona inpatients who need intensive care is higher than before, and it seems to be increasing”
“The death toll has increased week by week now… we are falling behind in the fight against infection,” said the chief physician at the University Hospital of Northern Norway, Mats Gilbert. “The number of corona inpatients who need intensive care is higher than before, and it seems to be increasing”.
Spain: Malaga hospital christmas party superspreader – nearly 70 medics infected
Everyone who was infected had antigen tests or third booster jabs before the party.
Preprint: Brain imaging before and after Covid in UK Biobank
We identified .. a more pronounced reduction in grey matter thickness, and … a greater reduction in global measures of brain size and increase in cerebrospinal fluid volume.
FFP2 masks more effective at preventing Covid infection than vaccines
Max Planck: “When both wear a surgical mask, while the infectious is speaking, the very conservative upper bound remains below 30% after 1 h, but, when both wear a well-fitting FFP2 mask, it is 0.4%”
Denmark Omicron: “We have to break patient guidelines, there is nothing else we can do”
The outbreak with the corona variant Omicron is now so widespread in Viborg Municipality that the municipality can no longer stay within the Danish Agency for Patient Safety’s guidelines.
Denmark: ‘We have no control over the epidemic’
Viggo Andreasen, associate professor at Roskilde University who specializes in mathematical epidemiology, said he believes that the current picture shows that we have no control over the epidemic in Denmark.
Norway: ‘We have no control over the Omicron variant’
On Monday morning, 6th December, Norway’s assistant health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad says that they have no control over the new variant.
Norway: Omicron infections rise to 120 130 in “unstoppable” Christmas superspreader event
Up to 120 people have so far been confirmed infected with corona after the Louise Restaurant, Oslo, Christmas table. The health authorities take no chances and consider all those infected to be unchromically infected until the sequencing results should prove otherwise.
Denmark: 53 infected with Omicron after Christmas lunch in Viborg
A Christmas lunch with 150 guests in Viborg, Denmark, has given rise to an outbreak of infection with the new Omicron variant. 53 people at the party have been confirmed infected with Omikron, the Danish Agency for Patient Safety informs TV2.
Norway: 42 infected in SECOND Christmas dinner superspreader event – Omicron suspected
42 people have so far been diagnosed with Covid following a Christmas dinner at Maarud on Saturday 27th November. It includes company employees, hosts, entertainment actors and a few household members for people who attended the Christmas table.