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Published: 09:59, July 20, 2022 | Updated: 18:18, July 20, 2022
More EU countries consider 2nd booster jab amid COVID surge
By Agencies
Published:09:59, July 20, 2022 Updated:18:18, July 20, 2022 By Agencies

A nurse administers a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a man in Prague, Czech Republic on July 18, 2022. (DANA KESNEROVA/XINHUA)

MEXICO CITY / NICOSIA  / LJUBLJANA / HARARE / MOSCOW - Slovenia has authorized the second COVID-19 vaccination booster shot to all adults after the number of new daily infections reached the highest level since spring, the National Institute of Public Health said Tuesday.

The country reported 2,764 new infections on Monday, the highest level since April 4.

So far 58 percent of Slovenians, or 2.1 million people, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19

"The second booster shot is mainly recommended for people with a higher risk of a more difficult course of COVID-19 ... but can be given to anyone aged 18 or above," the institute said on its website.

It said there must be at least three months between the two booster shots.

So far 58 percent of Slovenians, or 2.1 million people, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Slovenia abolished all measures against COVID-19 at the end of May after the number of daily cases had started to go down from the all time high of 24,258 cases reported on Feb 1.

For the time being, the government is not planning to introduce any new restrictive measures but recommends vaccination.

Health authorities in Lithuania also announced on Tuesday that the second booster jab will be available as of August 1 to people who are at increased risk for severe disease. People over the age of 60 years and those suffering from chronic diseases, regardless of age, will be offered the second booster dose if their health condition increases the likelihood of serious illness after consultation with their family doctor.

Finland and Denmark have also recommended a 4th vaccine dose amid surging COVID-19 infections.

In the past week, close to 3 million new COVID-19 cases were reported in the European region, accounting for nearly half of all new cases globally, the World Health Organization said in a press release Tuesday.

Romanian Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said the health system must be prepared for a sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic by autumn.

"We must be prepared to respond to the challenges of this sixth wave, generated by more transmissible variants," he said at a public debate Tuesday.

Romania reported 7,658 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, as against 4,370 from the previous day. This is the highest number in the eastern European country since March 9, when the authorities halted all previous pandemic prevention and control measures.

Romania has so far reported 2,974,880 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 65,824 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic first hit the country in early 2020.  

Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades welcomes Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer (left) at the presidential palace in the capital Nicosia, on July 13, 2022. (IAKOVOS HATZISTAVROU / AFP)

Cyprus

Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades has tested positive for COVID-19, government spokesman Marios Pelekanos said on Tuesday.

Pelekanos said that Anastasiades was diagnosed positive for the coronavirus disease during a routine check-up on Tuesday morning.

Anastasiades, aged 75, developed mild symptoms and his health is considered to be "very good," Pelekanos added.

The spokesman said that President Anastasiades, in line with health protocols, will abstain from his duties for a day.

Cyprus reinstated the anti-coronavirus regulation of wearing masks indoors and advised the use of masks in crowded meetings outdoors about two weeks ago, as coronavirus infections showed a marked spike.

Health specialists said that bringing back the use of masks indoors had a positive effect, as new infections marked a clear downward trend in the last few days, after peaking at 15,386 during the week that ended on July 14, in a population of less than one million.

Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said after conferring with the scientific advisory team earlier this week that further measures, such as the reintroduction of a safe pass denoting a full vaccination, a negative test or a recovery from a COVID-19 infection are out of the question, given current pandemic data.

A woman receives her first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 in Mexico City on August 10, 2021. (ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP)

Mexico

Mexico is showing a decline in some indicators amid the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion Hugo Lopez-Gatell said Tuesday.

The official explained that the drop refers to the number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths caused by the virus.

"The daily and weekly increase is already less than the previous 14 weeks," Lopez-Gatell told journalists at the National Palace in Mexico City.

He added that hospital occupancy in beds without ventilators is currently 18 percent and 5 percent in those with ventilators, while the average number of deaths per day is 33.

Lopez-Gatell noted that progress in vaccination against COVID-19 is contributing to the fact that the disease is not causing a serious situation.

As of Monday, Mexico had accumulated 6,454,263 COVID-19 cases and 326,523 deaths.  

Russia

Five cases of the COVID-19 subvariant Omicron BA.2.75, or "Centaurus," have been detected in Moscow, the country's consumer rights and human well-being watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said Tuesday.

"Five genomic sequences assigned to the BA.2.75 subvariant of the Omicron strain have been added to the VGARus (Virus Genome Aggregator of Russia) database," it said in a statement.

Rospotrebnadzor said the samples were taken in July in Moscow, adding the patients all have a mild form of the virus and have not been hospitalized.

"Centaurus" was first detected in May in India and is believed to be highly transmissible. 

Switzerland

Switzerland has agreed to buy just over 1,200 doses of AstraZeneca's tixagevimab/cilgavimab, a combination drug designed to both prevent and treat COVID-19, the government said in a statement on Wednesday.

The drug, originally only for preventive use, has also been found to be effective in treating people who already have COVID-19, the statement said citing recent studies.

This is Switzerland's second contract with the British pharmaceutical company to reserve the product, which has not yet received authorisation but may be used to treat patients while the authorisation procedure is ongoing, the government added.

In this Nov 6, 2020, file photo, Certified Nursing Assistant Angelica Corral constantly changes her personal protective equipment (PPE) as she travels from room to room at the El Paso Long Term Acute Care hospital in central El Paso, Texas. (MARK LAMBIE / THE EL PASO TIMES VIA AP)

US

The BA.5 subvariant of Omicron was estimated to make up 77.9 percent of the circulating coronavirus variants in the United States for the week ended July 16, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.

BA.5, which has shown to be particularly good at evading the immune protection afforded either by vaccination or prior infection, have been driving a surge of new infections globally.

Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwean government on Tuesday lamented the wide gap that exists between first and second dose coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country.

Zimbabwe was among the first countries on the African continent to roll out COVID-19 vaccination in February last year after receiving a donation of vaccines from China and had targeted to reach herd immunity by December last year.

That goal, however, remains elusive as vaccination lethargy creeps in among the population.

The government has tried various initiatives to ramp up vaccination, including launching a vaccination blitz in March this year targeting children from 12 years and above. With that blitz, the government had hoped to reach 70 percent of the total population by the end of July 2022, but the national coverage still remains below 60 percent.






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