The Evening Report - May 3rd.
Denmark proposes another path to get inoculated with shelved vaccines
🇩🇰
The Danish Agency for Patient Safety says there has been an outbreak of the U.K. variant with the E484K mutation at an unnamed business in the Copenhagen metro area. While it doesn’t say how many employees are infected, the agency says 200 close contacts and their close contacts are all being isolated and tested. It adds “the outbreak is under control.”
-
Denmark has given the boot to the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine as it joins AstraZeneca on the shelf. The decision means the vaccination calendar has once again been delayed. The deadline to get at least one dose into everyone who wants a vaccine in Denmark has now been pushed to the end of August.
-
However, people in Denmark will still be able to get their hands on both the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
The Danish government and a majority of parties in the parliament have agreed today to allow people to access both vaccines outside the state inoculation system.
Health Minister Magnus Heunicke says a draft executive order is coming to get the alternate vaccination system up and running as soon as possible, hopefully sometime this month.
“Today we have been able to establish broad political support for establishing a model so that citizens who actively want it can be offered the EMA-approved vaccines that the National Board of Health has chosen not to be included in the COVID vaccination program, namely the vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The scheme will be an opportunity for an individual citizen who wants a faster vaccination to choose another option for faster access to vaccines than you will get in the vaccination program. ”
While details of exactly how it will work still need to be hammered out, it will be private vaccination clinics who will be able to administer Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. The model will likely be along the same lines as that for influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations under private auspices currently available across the country. It will also require a medical consultation and prescription to get the vaccines.
Denmark has 243,500 AstraZeneca doses sitting in a freezer with another 199,000 arriving this week.
-
Denmark is reporting 761 COVID infections and while suffering no new coronavirus deaths in the last day.
Yesterday, 409,757 corona tests were done, 151,115 PCR and 258,642 rapid, for a (PCR only) positivity percentage of 0.50%.
COVID hospitalizations (184) are up (+5), while the number of people in an ICU (42) also increased (+5). Of those, the number on a ventilator (21) inched down (-1).
On the vaccination front to date, 1,367,495 1st dose vaccinations (23.4% of the population) have been administered while 669,970 people (11.5%) are now fully vaccinated.
The impacts of the vaccination campaign continue to be reflected in the number of new infections over the last seven days. COVID infections in those over the age of 60 continue to fall like a rock. New infections are now concentrated almost entirely among those under the age of 60, the population yet to be vaccinated.
-
The Southern Denmark Health Authority has extended opening hours at PCR testing facilities in Tønder, Haderslev, Grindsted, Fredericia, Middelfart, and Nyborg.
-
Billund Airport sees a light at the end of a very dark tunnel as Denmark reopens and eases COVID travel restrictions. In April, the airport saw 17,438 travelers pass through which is a mere 5% of the passenger traffic in April of 2019 but also 17,438 more travelers than April of last year when the world shut down.
Airport Administrative director Jan Hessellund says that while global travel will take time to return to something like normal, the easing of restrictions on business travel is huge.
“Normally, more than one-million business travelers come through Billund Airport every year, and therefore, the softening in relation to business travelers is important. Both KLM and Lufthansa currently connect Billund Airport with their respective hubs in Amsterdam and Frankfurt, which means that business travelers can travel to over 540 destinations worldwide from Billund.”
While passenger traffic has languished during the pandemic, it is the opposite story for air freight traffic. At Billund Airport, cargo freight increased by 42% year over year. Three quarters of that are Danish goods being shipped abroad.
-
Among the many impacts of the ongoing pandemic in Denmark is a substantial drop in traffic fatalities this year. The Danish Transportation ministry says there were 22 people killed in car crashes in the first three months of 2021. That is a 40% decrease from the same period a year ago.
Minister of Transport Benny Engelbrecht says the pandemic is likely the root cause noting that as people stayed home under a strict lockdown, the number of cars on the road also plummeted.
“It is good news that there are far fewer traffic fatalities this year than in previous years. It is obvious that the large decline has a connection with the corona situation. Unfortunately, more cars on the roads also means more traffic accidents, and I therefore hope that passengers will eventually return to public transport in line with the reopening of society.”
The ministry also notes there was a 26% decline in injuries related to vehicular accidents.
🇫🇮
Finland registered 537 infections and just one virus death over the weekend. There were 288 infections reported Saturday, 132 on Sunday, and another 117 today.
COVID hospitalizations (120) are down (-6) while ICU numbers (28) also dipped (-3).
To date in Finland, there have been 1,698,107 1st dose vaccinations (30.4% of the population) while 168,689 people (3%) are fully vaccinated.
🇳🇴
Norway has added 1,471 infections and three corona deaths over the weekend.
COVID hospitalizations (151) are down (-3). ICU (50) and ventilator numbers (35) also inched down (both -1).
To date, 25.48% of Norwegians have had a 1st vaccine dose and 6.81% have had both.
-
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has investigated to figure out how the U.K. and South African variants slipped by Norway’s formidable border control measures. Using genome sequencing, the agency found that, despite shutting down flights from the United Kingdom, travelers from other European countries brought the variant with them. The institute says those infected travelers set off chains of infections resulting in large clusters. This set the virus on a path to becoming the dominant COVID strain in Norway.
Chief Physician Trude Arnesen:
“The analyzes show that it is not possible to prevent imported infection completely, but that much can be done to prevent further infection within the country. Together, it appears that the entry measures, enhanced testing, isolation, infection tracing, quarantine, and other general infection control measures have effectively limited further spread from the imported variant cases in the last couple of months.”
The South African variant was brought into Norway via infected travelers from several African countries. However, its spread was fairly limited compared to the U.K. strain.
Norway has gradually introduced stricter travel measures to prevent imported infections. These now include strict entry conditions including tests both before and after arrival, quarantine at government facilities, and advising unnecessary travel.
🇸🇪
Sweden won’t update its coronavirus numbers until tomorrow.
-
The Swedish government announced today it is donating one-million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the COVAX initiative, which provides life saving vaccines to poor countries.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus:
“Sweden’s announcement is a superb gesture that must be replicated urgently, and repeatedly, by governments around the world to accelerate the equitable rollout of vaccines globally. Such support will ensure that people in vulnerable countries, especially, in Africa, will be able to receive their second doses through the COVAX initiative. Sweden’s generous support is very timely as it comes at a time when the world needs it most.”
COVAX is facing a shortfall of some 20 million vaccine doses due to the tragedy unfolding in India where COVAX has its main supplier of AstraZeneca doses. Those doses are now being swallowed by massive demand in India as it battles a catastrophic variant driven infection wave.
The WHO is urging countries to also contribute to the effort to ensure people in 3rd world countries can also get vaccinated.
🇩🇪
Germany continues to administer COVID vaccinations at speed. German Health Minister Jens Spahn says that over 1.3 million vaccinations were administered over the weekend. He says currently 23.5 million people in Germany have a first vaccination dose (about 28% of the population) while 6.65 million (8%) are fully vaccinated.
Spahn says they anticipate administering another five-million vaccines doses this week.
-
The outbreak situation in Germany may be showing signs of easing as infections seem to have peaked and pressure on hospitals lets up a little bit.
-
News Agency DPA is reporting the German government will introduce rules this week giving vaccinated people much more freedom. The new rules would exempt fully vaccinated Germans and those who have had COVID and recovered from the country’s tough pandemic restrictions.
-
For a 2nd year in a row the famed Munich Oktoberfest has been cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic.
🇪🇺💉
The European Medicines Agency has received an application from Pfizer/BioNTech to expand the use of its COVID vaccine to young people aged 12 to 15 years old. Currently the vaccine is approved for use in Europe for people as young as 16. The EMA says it will now carry out an “accelerated assessment” of the application. A decision is expected in June.
🇬🇧
The U.K. continues to drive its infection curve into the ground thanks to a mammoth vaccination effort and strict coronavirus restrictions. The country recorded just one COVID death in the last 24 hours.
🇨🇦
In Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended today that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine be used for people over the age of 30. However, the committee also added a caveat saying it is up to those Canadians to decide whether to take it or wait to be vaccinated with either Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna due to rare but potentially serious and sometimes fatal adverse reactions.
-
Canada reported 7,147 infections and another 39 deaths coronavirus yesterday. Its positivity percentage is currently 4%.
On the vaccination campaign to date, 12,715,588 1st dose vaccinations have been administered (33.46% of the population) while 1,094,608 people are now fully vaccinated.
As for Ontario today, Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted “Ontario is reporting 3,436 cases of COVID19 and nearly 33,200 tests completed. Locally, there are 985 new cases in Toronto, 714 in Peel, 351 in York Region, 271 in Durham and 194 in Hamilton. As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 5,378,249 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.“ There were also 16 deaths.
Quebec reported 798 infections and two more corona deaths today. The province also expanded vaccine eligibility to those 45 years old and up today.
In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia recorded 146 new infections. Newfoundland and Labrador had four. New Brunswick has yet to report.
Manitoba registered 281 infections and two coronavirus deaths yesterday as the number of variant infections grows.
There were 238 infections and another virus death in Saskatchewan yesterday.
Alberta recorded 1,731 infections and three more corona deaths yesterday. There are 648 people in hospital with 155 in an ICU. The province currently has a positivity percentage of 10.3%.
B.C. doesn’t update its numbers over the weekend and will table three days worth of coronavirus data later today.
🇯🇵
Elsewhere in the world, Japan is emerging as a COVID hot spot as the Summer Olympics host country gets hit with a fourth infection wave.
