The Evening Report - April 15th
Good news today for people in hospital in Denmark and their families
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A day after Denmark kicked the AstraZeneca vaccine to the curb we are getting an idea what they might do with the roughly 202,000 doses sitting in Danish freezers. According to the World Health Organization’s Regional Europe Director Hans Kluge, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is looking into options for sharing its AstraZeneca vaccine doses with other countries.
This comes as DR is reporting that Denmark’s health minister has asked health officials for a proposal on finding a way to give the AstraZeneca vaccine to citizens who might want it.
Health Minister Magnus Heunicke
“I have asked the health authorities to clarify the advantages and disadvantages of a model where the AstraZeneca vaccine can be prescribed to citizens who actively want to be vaccinated with it.”
According to DR, the National Health Board will come back with more information on Monday.
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People who are hospitalized across most of Denmark can now have family and friends come and visit them once again. Hospital visitations have been severely restricted due to the outbreak situation since the beginning of last fall.
Today the Danish Agency for Patient Safety decided to let those restrictions expire. Agency Director Anette Lykke Petri says they saw no reason to extend the measure.
"We currently have low infection rates. The oldest and most vulnerable have been vaccinated, and a high proportion of social and health personnel in the country's hospitals have also received the first vaccination dose. Therefore, we believe that it is now safe to open hospitals for visits again. But of course we encourage you to still comply with all guidelines during visits to the hospitals.”
She adds that seeing friends and family again is of vital importance for the mental health of people who are hospitalized.
However, the lifting of visitation restrictions does not apply to hospitals in high infection areas, for example in Copenhagen’s west side. Both Herlev and Hvidovre Hospitals will have visitation restrictions extended until at least May 12th.
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Infection numbers in Saint Pauls Parish in Copenhagen have risen above the benchmark triggering all schools, leisure centers, and cultural activities to close. The parish is located by Rosenborg Slot and has several schools including a large gymnasium with over 1,200 students.
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Denmark is reporting 798 COVID infections and two more coronavirus deaths in the last day.
Yesterday there were 432,050 total corona tests done, 201,329 PCR and 230,721 rapid, for a (PCR only) positivity percentage of 0.39%.
COVID hospitalizations (191) continue to fall (-13) while the number of people in an ICU (37) also declined (-4). The number of people on a ventilator (29) is unchanged.
Denmark’s Health Minister Magnus Heunicke celebrated what he called a “fantastic” vaccination milestone today with first dose inoculations passing the one-million mark.
On the vaccination effort to date, 1,007,166 1st dose vaccinations (17.2% of the population) have been administered while 479,185 people (8.2%) are now fully vaccinated.
Yesterday there were 22,724 coronavirus vaccinations.
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The Sjælland Health Region (the rest of the island outside Metro Copenhagen) is continuing to reach people with mobility challenges to get them vaccinated. Another 128 people were vaccinated in their own home today. The regionhas been partnering with family doctors to get vaccines to those who, for a variety of reasons, face challenges in getting to a vaccination center.
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With the Olympic summer games in July and more delays to the vaccine schedule after the announcement about Astra Zeneca yesterday, concerns are being raised about Danish athletes not being vaccinated in time. Organizers are lobbying for olympians to get to the front of the vaccination line once the priority groups are done.
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Denmark is currently one of the least infected countries in Europe. Henrik Ullum, Director of the Staten Serum Institut, admits “we are a little surprised at how well things are going.”
Ullum says Danish sensibilities have certainly played a role.
“Danes have a good understanding of this epidemic, and therefore listen and accept the instructions that have been given from the authorities. And then we are a nation with a high social trust. We do things for others.”
He says while vaccinations have certainly played a part, Denmark’s massive testing regime should also get credit.
“We have a very effective system for both slowing down chains of infection through infection detection, but also for reporting where we have outbreaks, so you can react locally with further testing and, even if it hurts, with shutdowns.”
That said Ullum cautions Danes not to get complacent and assume the game has been won. He says the battle is far from over and complacency could be a killer.
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Sweden has added 7,095 infections and 41 more corona deaths since yesterday’s update.
To date, 1,603,903 1st dose (19.6% of the population) and 638,556 2nd dose (7.8%) vaccinations have been administered.
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Sweden has again failed to protect seniors in care homes. The Swedish Public Health Agency believed it had learned from the mistakes of the first coronavirus wave and put enough additional protections in place. However, Radio Sweden is reporting that an analysis of the numbers show the proportion of COVID related care home deaths was just as large in the country’s second wave as it was in the first. State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who admitted they failed seniors in care homes in the first wave, told Radio Sweden that the additional measures “were not as effective as had been hoped.”
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The Swedish Public Health Agency says infection activity is increasing across the country, including among children. The agency says the increase in infections among young people is likely due in part to increased testing among children and the more contagious U.K. variant.
Agency Department Head Britta Björkholm:
“We know that children of all ages are susceptible to the virus and can spread it further. But children do not spread the infection to the same extent as adults, and they often become less ill.”
Björkholm says yes, infections are happening in schools but schools themselves are not major infection sources. She says instead infection activity in schools is reflective of the virus spread in the surrounding community.
The agency is looking to update contact tracing guidelines for dealing with students in school and after-school programs. Among the proposed changes will be a requirement to test asymptomatic children with close contacts who are infected.
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Finland’s numbers continue to fall, registering just 289 new infections and another four coronavirus deaths.
Hospitalizations (161) also continue to drop (-19) while those in an ICU (37) increased slightly (+3). The number of people in an ICU has noticeably eased as well.
The Finnish vaccination campaign, which is clearly prioritizing 1st shots over 2nd, has administered 1,230,792 1st dose vaccinations (22.1% of the population) to date while 109,909 people (2%) are now fully vaccinated.
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The Finnish Health Institute says the country’s lockdown has been very effective in wrestling down its variant driven infection curve. The agency says in the last two weeks there were about 5,700 new infections, a decrease of 3,100 from the two week period prior. The COVID incidence rate is also down from 160 per 100,000 residents to 104. The health institute pegs Finland’s coronavirus contact number (reinfection rate or R0) at 0.95.
It notes that between April 5th and April 11th, new infections were highest among young people aged 10 to 19 years old. In most of those cases the kids were either infected at home or through social contacts.
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Norway has added 277 infections and one more virus death since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (247) are down (-13), ICU numbers (73) inched up (+1), and ventilator numbers (55) are also up (+2).
To date, 17.84% of Norway’spopulation has had a first vaccine dose and 5.54% have had both.
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Today Norway abandoned the AstraZeneca vaccine. You can read the details in a story we published earlier today on Informeret HERE.
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Norway has joined Sweden and Denmark in suspending any use of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Norwegian Public Health Institute says it will await the results of a safety review by the European Medicines Agency due next week. The EMA is looking into reports of post vaccination blood clots in the United States.
Norway has 24,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on ice. The health agency says if the vaccine is not cleared for use soon it could result in a seven week delay in Norway’s vaccination schedule.
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Germany reported 27,340 new infections and 291 more corona deaths today.
Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn says the country administered 738,000 vaccination doses yesterday. He says 17.8% of the population has had one dose and 6.3% have had both.
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Poland continues to suffer the highest number of coronavirus deaths of any country in the E.U. with 840 yesterday and another 682 today. It also added another 21,130 infections today.
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In Canada the numbers keep rising. The country reported 8,596 new infections and 53 more virus deaths yesterday.
On the vaccination front to date, 8,058,263 1st vaccine doses (21.20% of the population) have been administered while 840,602 people are fully vaccinated.
Ontario has recorded its highest ever number of new COVID infections today per Health Minister Christine Elliott on Twitter, “Ontario is reporting 4,736 cases of COVID19 and nearly 65,600 tests completed. Locally, there are 1,188 new cases in Toronto, 983 in Peel, 526 in York Region, 342 in Ottawa, 216 in Durham and 215 in Niagara. As of 7:00 p.m. yesterday, 3,528,404 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.“ There were 29 more deaths.
Quebec reported 1,513 infections and 15 more corona deaths today.
In the Atlantic provinces, Nova Scotia had three infections. Newfoundland and Labrador had two. New Brunswick has yet to report today but registered 16 cases yesterday.
Manitoba recorded 86 new infections and three more corona deaths yesterday.
There were 193 infections and one more death in Saskatchewan yesterday. As variant infections continue to increase, the province’s health ministry is now advising against all unnecessary travel province wide.
Alberta registered 1,412 new infections and eight more corona deaths yesterday. There are 420 people in hospital with 92 in an ICU. The positivity percentage in the province is 9%.
B.C. reported 1,168 infections yesterday along with six corona deaths. Hospitalizations have now hit a record high of 397 with 120 people in an ICU.
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The CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, has said that people will “likely” have to have a third shot, a booster dose, within 12 months of being fully vaccinated. He also raised the possibility that COVID vaccination boosters might become a yearly shot. The reason is due to rapidly evolving corona variants.