Health
Germany plans Covid booster shots from September: draft text – FRANCE 24
Issued on: 01/08/2021 – 17:40
Berlin (AFP)
Germany plans to start offering Covid-19 booster shots to the elderly and at-risk from September 1, according to a draft document seen by AFP on Sunday, as concerns grow about the spread of the Delta variant.
The plan also recommends promoting vaccination for those aged 12-17, which would go further than earlier guidance issued by the country’s vaccine regulator.
Health Minister Jens Spahn and Germany’s 16 regional health ministers are expected to finalise the plans, drawn up by ministry officials, in a meeting Monday.
Mobile vaccination teams will be sent into care and nursing homes to offer Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna booster shots to residents, regardless of which vaccine they had originally, says the document.
Doctors will also be able to administer the booster jab to those who qualify, such as the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
The text justifies the initiative by citing recent studies showing that protection from infection declines with time, putting vulnerable people at risk again.
Although Germany is currently enjoying relatively low infection rates compared with neighbouring countries, case numbers have been creeping up in recent weeks mainly because of the more contagious Delta variant.
There are also concerns about a slowdown in the country’s vaccination rate, with just over 52 percent of the population fully jabbed.
– ‘Safe return’ to school –
In an effort to get more younger people vaccinated, health ministers want to widen access by opening all the country’s vaccination centres to 12- to 17-year olds.
Schools and universities should also offer the jabs, the draft resolution says.
Germany’s STIKO vaccine commission disappointed many in June when it officially recommended the vaccine only for 12-17 year olds if they had pre-existing conditions, or lived with people at high risk from Covid.
Although adolescents who don’t fall into those categories are still allowed to get vaccinated, in consultation with their parents and doctors, the cautious STIKO guidance has slowed take-up.
Within the European Union, the European Medicines Agency has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna shots for all over-12s.
Health Minister Spahn tweeted on Saturday that so far one in five of Germany’s 12-17 year olds had received their first coronavirus shot.
“There’s enough vaccine for all age groups: anyone who wants to, can get vaccinated,” he wrote.
If Spahn and his regional peers sign off on the draft text, their decision to encourage all adolescents to roll up their sleeves would essentially see them bypass STIKO, which has said it needs more data before issuing a more general recommendation.
According to the draft, getting children and teenagers vaccinated could “contribute significantly to a safe return to classrooms after the summer holidays”.
Germany’s Robert Koch health institute reported 2,097 new daily coronavirus cases on Sunday and one death.
Since the pandemic started, Germany has recorded more than 3.7 million cases and 91,659 deaths.
© 2021 AFP
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Alberta Health Services (AHS) has confirmed a case of measles in Edmonton, and is advising the public that the individual was out in public while infectious.
Measles is an extremely contagious disease that is spread easily through the air, and can only be prevented through immunization.
AHS says individuals who were in the following locations during the specified dates and times, may have been exposed to measles.
- April 16
- Edmonton International Airport, international arrivals and baggage claim area — between 3:20 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- April 20
- Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Department — between 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- April 22
- 66th Medical Clinic (13635 66 St NW Edmonton) — between 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Pharmacy 66 (13637 66 St NW Edmonton) — between 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- April 23
- Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Department — between 4:40 a.m. to 9:33 a.m.
AHS says anyone who attended those locations during those times is at risk of developing measles if they’ve not had two documented doses of measles-containing vaccine.
Those who have not had two doses, who are pregnant, under one year of age, or have a weakened immune system are at greatest risk of getting measles and should contact Health Link at 1-877-720-0707.
Symptoms
Symptoms of measles include a fever of 38.3° C or higher, cough, runny nose, and/or red eyes, a red blotchy rash that appears three to seven days after fever starts, beginning behind the ears and on the face and spreading down the body and then to the arms and legs.
If you have any of these symptoms stay home and call Health Link.
In Alberta, measles vaccine is offered, free of charge, through Alberta’s publicly funded immunization program. Children in Alberta typically receive their first dose of measles vaccine at 12 months of age, and their second dose at 18 months of age.
Health
U.S. tightens rules for dairy cows a day after bird flu virus fragments found in pasteurized milk samples – Toronto Star
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Infected cows were already prohibited from being transported out of state, but that was based on the physical characteristics of the milk, which looks curdled when a cow is infected, or a cow has decreased lactation or low appetite, both symptoms of infection.
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