In this file photo taken on Jan 14, 2022, a boy receives the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19, at the Clinicas hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP)
MADRID / BERLIN / BUENOS AIRES / PARIS / LOS ANGELES / SAO PAULO – COVID-19 infections and deaths have dropped across most countries and territories in the Americas over the past few weeks but the risk of further surges cannot be ignored as restrictions are relaxed and 240 million people remain unvaccinated, the Pan American Health Organization said on Wednesday.
"Many countries and territories in the Americas have scaled back public health measures, and some have done so prematurely," PAHO director Carissa Etienne said, noting that case counts have risen recently in places that rely on tourism, especially in parts of North America and the Caribbean where vaccination coverage is low
"Many countries and territories in the Americas have scaled back public health measures, and some have done so prematurely," PAHO director Carissa Etienne said, noting that case counts have risen recently in places that rely on tourism, especially in parts of North America and the Caribbean where vaccination coverage is low.
The region continues to record more than 620,000 new cases every week, she said at a press conference.
Etienne also noted that the number of deaths have risen in some countries, but adjustments in data may account for part of those increases as some countries are reclassifying past deaths as COVID-19 related.
More than 685 million people have completed their vaccination schedules in the region, but "despite all our efforts, 240 million people in the Americas have yet to get a single shot of COVID-19 vaccine," Etienne said.
The PAHO director underscored that countries must continue to monitor the virus to "stay prepared for what is coming."
"This means making tests easily accessible for everyone everywhere, to prevent new outbreaks and to prepare our health systems if cases surge."
Argentina
The epidemiological situation in Argentina against COVID-19 is "very favorable" at the moment, Minister of Health Carla Vizzotti said Wednesday.
"We are in a very favorable epidemiological situation, with a sustained decline in the number of cases and deaths," the official told local media, according to the state news agency Telam.
"Currently, we have less than 500 people hospitalized in intensive care units," she added.
Vizzotti highlighted the importance and progress of the country's immunization campaign against COVID-19. "We have applied two doses to over 80 percent of people and more than 17 million booster shots," she said.
Canada
Canada's Ontario province said Wednesday it will start offering a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines to people aged 60 and over as well as to all adults in indigenous households from Thursday.
An official Canadian panel recommended a second vaccine booster for some Canadians on Tuesday, as coronavirus infections rose in many parts of the country.
Canadian health officials say the highly transmissible BA.2 sub-variant of the Omicron coronavirus and waning vaccine immunity may be contributing to an increase in coronavirus transmission.
This file photo taken on June 11, 2021 shows the entrance of the European Medicines Agency headquarters in Amsterdam. (FRANCOIS WALSCHAERTS / AFP)
EU
EU health agencies said on Wednesday there was no evidence to support the use of a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna in the general population, but they recommend a second booster for people aged 80 and above.
There is no clear evidence in the European Union that vaccine protection against severe disease is waning substantially in adults with normal immune systems aged 60-79, the European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in a joint statement.
They cautioned, however, that it may become necessary to consider a fourth dose in this age group if the epidemiological situation changes.
Both agencies agreed a fourth dose can be given to adults 80 years of age and above.
France
The current COVID-19 wave hitting France has now reached its peak, which means the country's hospital system is not in danger, Health Minister Olivier Veran said in an interview with RTL radio on Thursday.
"We are still at a high level, with 150,000 new cases per day, but the trend is going down since five days," Veran said.
A man waits at the reception of testing station in Duisburg, western Germany, on Nov 12, 2021, amid the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
(INA FASSBENDER / AFP)
Germany
Germany will not end mandatory isolation for most people who catch COVID-19, the health minister said on Wednesday, reversing course after concerns were raised that lifting quarantine restrictions would suggest the pandemic was over.
"Coronavirus is not a cold. That is why there must continue to be isolation after an infection," Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Twitter, adding he had made a mistake by suggesting an end to mandatory quarantine.
Under the existing rules, people with COVID-19 must isolate for at least seven days
Under the existing rules, people with COVID-19 must isolate for at least seven days. Lauterbach suggested last week a shift to a voluntary five-day period of self-isolation with the recommendation of a COVID-19 test at the end of that time.
The idea of ending quarantine, except for medical staff, had emerged after COVID-19 cases soared in recent weeks, hitting staffing in hospitals and many other workplaces.
Lauterbach said he had made the proposal to try to ease the burden on the health authorities that have to order quarantine and isolation, but he said on Wednesday that it sent the wrong signal that the pandemic was over and the danger was past.
"That is not the case," he told a news conference, noting that more than 300 people were still dying a day.
People who have had contact with an infected person will no longer be compelled to quarantine from May 1, although they will still be strongly encouraged to do so.
Daily infections have fallen in the last week or so, with 214,985 new infections reported on Wednesday, about 20 percent fewer than a week ago. That took total cases since the pandemic began beyond 22 million, with 130,708 deaths.
Lauterbach has come under fire for the policy reversal, but he said on Wednesday he would not resign.
The government has also been under pressure for a failure to reach a cross-party consensus on making vaccinations mandatory.
Lauterbach said he expected parliament to approve legislation on Thursday that would compel those over 60 to be vaccinated by Oct 1, leaving it open whether shots might still be made compulsory for younger people at a later date.
A member of staff checks the European COVID-19 passport on a woman's phone at a restaurant, in Pamplona, northern Spain on Nov 29, 2021. (ALVARO BARRIENTOS / AP)
Spain
Spain will lift a requirement to wear face masks indoors except on public transport and in hospitals and retirement homes from April 20, Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Wednesday.
Since the Omicron variant of the coronavirus drove up infections to record highs in January the caseload has receded sharply and COVID-19 patients now account for just 3.5 percent of hospital occupation.
She said advisers have recommended lifting the obligation after the Easter long weekend.
Spain stopped mandatory outdoor mask use in early February but a significant number of Spaniards still choose to wear one in crowded areas. "A recommendation to wear masks responsibly will be issued when there are gatherings of people," she said.
On Tuesday, Spain's two week COVID-19 infection rate among over 60-year olds – the only age group for which the government publishes data – stood at 426 cases per 100,000 people, roughly the same as a month earlier.
Food and Drug Administration building is shown Thursday, Dec 10, 2020 in Silver Spring, Md. (MANUEL BALCE CENETA / AP)
US
Top US Food and Drug Administration officials on Wednesday said the agency is aiming to decide by June whether to change the design of COVID-19 vaccines in order to combat future variants, even if it does not have all the necessary information to measure their effectiveness.
"We're going to have to think about this in a way that is less than optimal because we're not going to have all the data that we'd like to have," Peter Marks, director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said at a meeting of the agency's scientific advisers to discuss the issue.
Marks also conceded that future COVID-19 booster campaigns likely need to be less frequent. The FDA recently approved a fourth round of shots for older Americans.
"We simply can't be boosting people as frequently as we are and I'm the first to acknowledge that this additional fourth booster dose that was authorized was a stopgap measure," he said.
The panel of outside experts was convened to discuss how and whether to use additional vaccine boosters after data from Israel showed a fourth dose lowered rates of severe COVID-19 among older people.
The FDA said it was hoping next generation vaccines would be to tackle multiple variants.
Meanwhile, over 12.8 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.
Over 130,000 of these cases have been added in the past four weeks. Since the first week of last September, there have been nearly 7.8 million additional child COVID-19 cases, according to the report.
Children represented 19 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the report.
