California vaccinations could start Today

The vaccination campaign in the USA can begin: The first vaccination centers are to receive the corona vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer at the start of the week. The US Medicines Agency had previously granted emergency approval.

Corona Vaccination Could Start In the US on Monday

After the approval of the first corona vaccine in the US, vaccination could start there on Monday. The existing doses of the approved vaccine from German pharmaceutical company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer are currently being packaged, a White House representative said on Saturday. On Sunday, these cans would initially be delivered to more than 600 locations.

The first vaccine should be approved in the EU as early as December or at the latest in January. But then comes the next challenge: vaccinating broad sections of society as quickly as possible. Health Minister Spahn already fears distribution conflicts.

According to a first draft of the Ordinance on the right to vaccination of the Federal Ministry of Health, from which the German Medical Journal cites, risk groups and people who work in certain facilities or are treated or cared for there should first receive a vaccination. This probably means employees, patients and residents of inpatient and outpatient facilities, such as hospitals, old people's homes and doctors' offices.

Mass vaccination against the corona virus in Moscow

Dozens of clinics in the Russian capital are open to risk groups. Vaccination with the Sputnik V vaccine is voluntary and free of charge. Moscow is considered the epicenter of the corona epidemic in Russia.

The vaccine Sputnik V has been approved in Russia since August, although it is still in the final phase of clinical tests. In Moscow, health and education workers as well as social workers can now get vaccinated against the coronavirus in one of 70 centers.

Corona Vaccination Only With the Corresponding Law?

The first groups in Germany will soon be vaccinated against the corona virus. But there is another hurdle. Experts strongly recommend that a corresponding law be passed beforehand.

The federal government wants to regulate the vaccination against the corona virus only by regulation. But according to an elaboration of the Scientific Services of the Bundestag, this is the wrong way to go. In the paper that is available to the German Press Agency, it is somewhat cumbersome: The prevailing view that the prioritization of certain population groups for access to vaccines requires a formal law that regulates at least the essential criteria for the distribution of a scarce vaccine, is to be agreed.

What about Russian or Chinese vaccines?

There are four advanced vaccine projects in China and one in Russia - they are all vector vaccines. CanSino's Chinese vaccine candidate is based on an existing, so-called vaccine platform that is already being used against the Ebola virus.

The Russian vaccine called Sputnik-V was stated to be the first, available and safe vaccine. At this point in summer, however, phase III data were not yet available. This study is currently ongoing. It is contrary to common practice to make final statements about the effectiveness or safety without the data of thousands of test subjects.

When is there a vaccine?

 Every day there are reports about new vaccines against the corona virus SARS-CoV-2. But nobody has been admitted yet. In the long run, it boils down to multiple vaccines anyway.

The first vaccinations are allowed, they have been applied for elsewhere:

The UK granted Pfizer and Biotech’s mRNA vaccine emergency approval on December 2nd. An application for emergency approval has been submitted to the US FDA and the European Medicines Agency for conditional approval. The EU authority wants to decide on the vaccine on December 29th - this decision also applies to Germany.

Vaccine Receives Emergency Approval

 

When will a vaccine against the corona virus be available? Who will get it first and who will decide? Who finances the research, which benefits? The NDR is investigating these and other questions and is publishing its research on corona vaccine development here.

Clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine approved in Germany

The Paul Ehrlich Institute, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedical Medicines, has approved another phase 1 clinical trial of a vaccine against COVID-19 in Germany. The current vaccine candidate is a so-called vector vaccine. The testing of vaccine candidates in humans is a significant step on the way to the approval of safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19.

Controversial Corona Advisor to Trump Files Resignation

Advisor Scott Atlas' contract would soon expire anyway. He used the resignation speech to defend himself against criticism.

The controversial corona advisor to incumbent US President Donald Trump, radiologist Scott Atlas, has submitted his resignation. In a letter to Trump that Atlas posted on Twitter, he wrote, I've worked hard and focused on one thing - saving lives and helping Americans get through this pandemic.

European Medicines Agency EMA has started second rolling review process of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate for Europe

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has started the second rolling review for a vaccine against COVID-19 for Europe. The purpose of the procedure is to accelerate the assessment process with the aim of obtaining COVID-19 vaccine approval by starting the assessment of data packages for the non-clinical and clinical development of a vaccine candidate before all the data required for an application for approval have been collected and submitted. The rolling review process will continue until the data provide sufficient evidence to enable a formal application for approval and a risk-benefit assessment. Despite the acceleration, the requirements for quality, safety and efficacy of the drugs in question remain high. The vaccine is a COVID-19 vaccine candidate from Biotech.

Great Britain wants to approve Biontech's corona vaccine as early as next week

In Great Britain, the corona vaccine from the Mainz Company Biontech and the US group Pfizer will apparently be approved as early as next week.

Then the delivery should begin immediately, reports the British Financial Times. Pfizer and Biontech recently applied for emergency approval for their vaccine in the United States. According to the government, vaccinations will begin there in mid-December. The EU has also negotiated contracts with Biontech and Pfizer as well as the two vaccine manufacturers Moderna and AstraZeneca for hundreds of millions of doses.

Information on the state of development of COVID-19 vaccines

Biotech and Pfizer announced the first indications of the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2 in a press release on November 9, 2020. They are the result of an initial interim analysis of a large phase 3 clinical trial. An analysis of the data collected by Biotech / Pfizer had not been published in a scientific journal or submitted to the European Medicines Agency at the time of the press release. The press release is encouraging, but an in-depth assessment by independent regulatory authorities is not yet possible.

Take a Breath, Despite the Mask Requirement

In our hectic times it is usually difficult to take a deep breath in between. For everyone who is currently obliged to cover their face due to Covid-19, this condition is even worse. Therefore, many are looking for a suitable alternative with which they can get a good breath despite the mask requirement and thus supply themselves with sufficient oxygen.

How does the body react to a lack of oxygen?

Breathing is a biological process that ensures our survival. Every adult person breathes in and out around 10,000 to 20,000 times a day. This happens because living things need oxygen to supply the body's cells with energy. Not enough oxygen can lead to the following symptoms in particular:

Medicines against COVID-19: The Different Approaches

One to one and a half years should pass before an approved vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is obtained. Many hopes are currently directed towards drug therapy

Research is currently in full swing worldwide to find drugs to treat Covid-19 disease. Many drugs are used for this, which are already known from other diseases. As a result, the researchers usually do not have to start from scratch. However, there will probably not be the one drug, since an infection with the new type of corona virus (Sars-CoV-2) can take very different courses (see also phases of a Covid-19 disease). Therefore, when testing new drugs, consideration is also given to the phase in which they could best be used.

Remdesivir: First Drug against Covid-19 Approved In the EU

The drug Remdesivir for the treatment of patients with Covid-19 has also been approved in Europe in certain cases. When it is used, how it works, what side effects are known

Remdesivir - first approved drug against Covid-19

Remdesivir was approved by the European Commission on July 3, 2020 for the treatment of the disease Covid-19 caused by the novel coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2), after the Human Medicines Committee of the EMA (European Medicines Agency) recommended the active ingredient for conditional approval . Remdesivir should be the first drug against COVID-19 to be used in adults and adolescents from 12 years of age under certain conditions.

General Treatment Options for Covid-19

So far there is no specific therapy for the disease Covid-19. Here you will find an overview of the current general treatment options

What are general treatment options?

General treatment options are the therapy that treats the symptoms of a disease. So it is not specific, like a certain antibiotic against a certain pathogen, but helps in general if you suffer from certain symptoms. For example, if you have difficulty breathing - whatever the cause - oxygen can help. In short: General medical measures are the supportive administration of medication and applications to help the body.