The Evening Report - Sept 2
The usual viruses are making a return in force as COVID restrictions vanish
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The Staten Serum Institut says there are an unusually high number of people who have been infected with the RS virus. That is a respiratory virus that mostly impacts children. The virus had pretty much vanished during the pandemic, as international travel all but ceased and restrictions vastly reduced social contacts. But it has made a return recently in higher numbers than is usual during the summer months, and it looks like the rising infections trend is continuing. The SSI says it recorded 510 new cases just last week, which is much higher than usual.
The institut is concerned about lower immunity to the RS virus and the other usual viruses we see on an annual basis after a year of virtually no exposure. The agency says this could mean that these viruses not only return but rather could come roaring back in much higher numbers than we have seen before. Over a year and a half of COVID restrictions, reduced social contacts, massive hand sanitizer use, and especially a virtual ending of international travel saw some of the usual virus seasons vanish.
Danish health authorities have recently rolled out plans for a major influenza vaccination campaign to begin next month. As it warns of a particularly awful looming flu season.
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On the vaccination front to date, 4,412,094 1st vaccine doses (75.3% of the total population) have been administered and 4,221,201 people (72.1%) are fully vaccinated.
Yesterday, just 12,989 total inoculations were done with 2,679 of them being 1st doses.
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Denmark is reporting 694 COVID infections and no new coronavirus deaths in the last day.
Yesterday, there were 114,832 total corona tests done, 58,345 PCR and 56,487 rapid, for a (PCR only) positivity percentage of 1.19%.
The number of infections today was the lowest seen on any day since the end of July.
Chief Physician at Odense University Hospital in Svendborg Joachim Hoffmann-Petersen spoke to Ritzau and called the numbers encouraging.
“It's very, very positive. Now the restrictions have gradually been lifted, and there is nothing to indicate that there is an increasing [infections] trend.”
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The number of Danish kommunes with COVID incidence rates above 100 per 100,000 residents has fallen to 29. Of those 12 municipalities have incidence rates above 200.
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COVID hospitalizations (132) declined slightly (-2) while the number of infected people in an ICU (25) is unchanged and of those the number on a ventilator (16) has edged upward (+1).
The Staten Serum Institut has begun publishing new statistics, including COVID hospital admissions by age. As you can see in the graph below, that overall in the pandemic, seniors have had much higher hospitalization rates. More recently, there have been increases in admissions for children two years old and under and three to five years old.
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As COVID restrictions vanish, music festivals are beginning to make a return in Denmark. DR is reporting that the first festival without any coronavirus restrictions will be the Skive Festival, which began today. The festival is making the most of not having to dance around all the COVID guidelines and has thrown open the door to guests, including those who can stay overnight. It threw together a festival camp to accommodate overnight guests at the last minute.
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Sweden has added 1,214 infections and had no new corona deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID vaccinations:
For the adult population 18 years old and older -6,724,794 1st doses (82.1%) and 5,797,244 2nd doses (70.8%) have been administered.
For adolescents 16 to 17 years old - 194,717 1st doses (55.4%) and 21,813 2nd doses (6.2%) have been done.
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In its Thursday COVID update, Swedish health officials confirmed a new ‘variant of interest’ classified as the Mu variant has been confirmed to be in Sweden.
Assistant State Epidemiologist Karin Tegmark Wisell:
“We have a total of 15 cases. They have been found a few months back in some regions. There will be a few occasionally per week, but no increase over time. The concern is that there is a spread of infection at all. We need to keep track of variants as well. But there is no concern about this particular variant.”
In its update, health officials said infection numbers are still rising and hospitalizations are now increasing along with them. However, the Swedish Public Health Agency says they aren’t seeing as steep an infection increase as seen in previous waves. As seen elsewhere, the Delta-driven 4th wave is resulting in much higher numbers of people who are not vaccinated getting sick and ending up in hospital. Among them are young people in Sweden under the age of 16 who cannot be vaccinated. Health officials are urging people to get off the fence and get their shots.
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A school in Region Skåne has been hit with a COVID outbreak, with 50 students testing positive. According to Skånska Dagbladet it is the Ringsjöskolan in Höör, which has moved impacted classes to distance learning. Students have also been divided into different areas of the school with the hope of preventing interaction and potentially enabling the virus to spread further.
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The Swedish Public Health Agency says while vaccination rates among healthcare workers and school staff are higher than the general population, they need to go even higher.
Among healthcare workers, the highest proportion of vaccinated people is among hospital employees, where 92% have one dose and 85% have both. The agency’s concern is vaccination rates in other health sectors, which are around 73% with one dose and 63% with two.
State Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell:
“It is important that regions and municipalities continue to monitor vaccination coverage in these groups and strengthen the numbers and accessibility to vaccinations; it is particularly important. They have come a long way, but need to go further.”
Among teachers, the gap is age based, with 90% of older teachers over the age of 55 being fully vaccinated compared to younger teachers 25 to 34 years of age, who have a much lower 48% full vaccination coverage. With a new school year beginning and concerns about infection spreading among younger kids who cannot be vaccinated, this is a problem. Health officials are urging teachers to go get vaccinated as soon as possible.
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Finland has registered 683 infections since yesterday’s update.
On the vaccination front, to date, 4,030,265 1st doses (72% of the population) have been administered and 2,835,244 people (50.8%) have been fully vaccinated.
Broken down by age, about 57% of adolescents aged 12 to 15 years old have one dose; for those 16 to 29 years old, the number is 71%, while more than 80% of those over 40 have one shot. The health institute says “the rate at which young adults are getting vaccinated has slowed down.”
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The Finnish Institute for Health has recommended booster shots for vulnerable and at-risk populations. The agency says there are between 50,000 to 100,000 people who might be eligible for a third vaccine dose. A final decision must now be made by the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
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In its latest weekly COVID assessment, the Finnish Institute for Health says the overall number of infections eased again week to week. There were 4,064 infections last week, about 300 cases fewer than the week before. The institute says the Delta variant continues to spread rapidly among unvaccinated adults and young people. It says “more and more cases have been reported among children.” 5% of all infections last week were travel-related.
The health agency says there was a record number of COVID tests administered last week, with 172,000. The positivity rate for the week was 2.4%.
There were 11,123 people in quarantine in Finland last week about 20% fewer than the week before. However, Finland is still struggling with staffing shortages that have caused major backlogs in contact tracing efforts.
The health institute says the crush of COVID cases in this 4th infection wave, which has seen record high infection numbers, has caused a “considerable burden” on the healthcare system. There are some impacts on people needing specialized care.
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Norway has added 1,594 infections and had no new virus deaths in the last day.
COVID hospitalizations (89) are up (+6) ICU numbers (25) inched up (+1) ventilator numbers (13) are unchanged.
To date, 72.01% of Norwegians have one dose and 58.72% have both.
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Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg announced today that once again the next phase of reopening has been postponed, again due to rising infection numbers. Solberg said it is just too risky right now to lift restrictions and enable more virus spread. She also said the next phase of reopening would be straight lifting of all restrictions and an outright return to normal, but she didn’t place a date on when that might happen.
The Prime Minister also advised schools in the country to move to ‘yellow’ in Norway’s traffic light COVID risk assessment system. That means students will have to observe social distancing, and will have assigned seating plans, and students from different classes cannot mix.
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Norway will begin to vaccinate adolescents between the ages of 12 to 15 years old, following through on a recommendation from the Norwegian Institute for Public Health.
NIPH Director Camilla Stoltenberg:
“Infection among children and young people is increasing, and young people tend to have many social contacts. The higher numbers of those who are infected will see a. Increase in the risk of being hospitalized. This can also lead to some people getting the rare and serious complication MIS-C, which is an inflammatory condition that can occur in some 2-6 weeks after coronary infection. That is why we made the recommendation to the government that the vaccination program should be expanded so that 12-15-year-olds are offered a vaccine.”
However, Norway is only going to administer a single vaccine dose to children.
“One dose provides good protection against serious illness, and the protection will probably be better in young people at this age than for older age groups.”
The NIPH will assess side effects, any new knowledge, and factor in the state of the pandemic situation before any recommendation is given to administer a second dose to adolescents.
Norwegian health officials are now working to get information to parents who must consent to have their children vaccinated. The different regions in Norway can begin vaccinating children more or less immediately, depending on their vaccine supply.
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Hospital admissions in Norway are following the rising tide of COVID infections and are increasing. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health, in its latest pandemic assessment, says the median age of COVID patients in the last four weeks has been 46 years old. Young people 17 years of age and younger account for about 5% of all new admissions. The health agency says 66% of all coronavirus patients in the last four weeks were unvaccinated; 15% had just one dose, and 20% were fully vaccinated. Among fully vaccinated patients, the average age was 74.
The NIPH says there were 8,619 new COVID infections reported last week, an almost doubling of the infections seen the week before. In fact, Norway reported its highest ever weekly number of coronavirus cases last week. COVID cases have surged in every region of the country, but the highest spikes were seen in Oslo, where infections increased 156% from week to week. The health institute estimates it has detected just 63% of all coronavirus infections in the last two weeks.
The institute says the Delta variant is absolutely dominant in Norway, accounting for 100% of all sequenced positive test results last week. That was just 1% of all infections just 16 weeks ago. The NIPH says they are seeing infection punch through for partially and fully vaccinated people. In the last two weeks there were 3,584 COVID cases among people with one dose and 1,397 among those with both doses. Of note, the institute says “the number of vaccinated infected is expected to increase as the number of vaccinated increases.”
The Norwegian Institute for Public Health says while vaccination protection against infection has eroded a little with the Delta variant, vaccines still offer high protection against hospitalization and death. They are seeing proof of this with fewer overall hospitalizations compared to previous waves, and among hospital admissions most are among unvaccinated people.
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Norway is easing some entry restrictions to allow family members, boyfriends, and girlfriends who live outside the European Union to enter the country.
Minister of Justice Monica Mæland:
“Many have waited a long time for visits from their loved ones. Entry restrictions are strict and very intrusive for those affected. Now is the time to ensure safe entry for more girlfriends, children, parents, and grandparents. As long as the usual strict rules for testing and quarantine are followed, we can now open up even a little more. It is assumed the ordinary rules for testing and quarantine are followed. Several of these must therefore be in quarantine hotels for the first few days.”
The changes will come into force on September 12 and will include adult children, stepchildren, parents, grandparents, and boyfriends over the age of 18. Norway will require women in Norway to apply for their boyfriends to come into the country.
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A new school year is beginning for some 12 million children in France. The country has mandated for students six years old and older to wear face masks in school. According to AP, French President Emmanuel Macron is now urging the country's teenagers to get vaccinated. Just over 63% of the 12-17 year old age group have received at least one dose of vaccine and 47% are fully vaccinated.
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Italy has joined a growing list of European countries who either have launched, or are planning to launch soon, a campaign to administer COVID booster shots. The country plans to get third doses to vulnerable populations, especially those who have weakened immune systems, beginning at the end of September.
Italy is also considering making vaccinations mandatory for everyone of an eligible age. Already, Italian healthcare staff are required to be vaccinated to get a paycheque.
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The European Medicines Agency is throwing its support behind the European Centre for Disease Prevention stance on booster shots for the general population. Yesterday it said “there is no urgent need for the administration of booster doses of vaccines to fully vaccinated individuals in the general population.”
The EMA says it concurs that there is simply not enough data to support administering a third vaccine shot to the general public. It does say giving booster shots to vulnerable groups who have a weakened antibody response from two doses makes sense. It says the focus right now needs to be on using available doses to get people fully vaccinated, both in Europe and around the world.
The EMA says it is currently assessing all data on booster shots and has yet to make a decision on whether to recommend a third vaccine dose. That said, the agency is also advising EU member nations to “consider preparatory plans for administering boosters and additional doses.”
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The European Centre for Disease Control has published its latest COVID risk assessment map of countries across the EU.
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Canada reported 3,853 new infections and 30 more coronavirus deaths yesterday as its 4th COVID wave continues to drive numbers up.
To date, the Canadian vaccination campaign has administered 27,948,095 1st doses (73.41% of the total population) while 25,513,984 people (67.01%) are fully vaccinated.
In Ontario today, there were 865 infections today of which 692 were not fully vaccinated. There are 320 in hospital and of those 292 are unvaccinated or have one vaccine dose. Another 162 people are in an ICU; the number rises to 148.
Quebec reported its highest number of new daily infections since May 21, with 699 infections and another virus death.
In Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick logged ten new infections. Nova Scotia has five. While Newfoundland and Labrador saw eight.
Manitoba saw 36 infections and two more deaths today.
There were 267 infections and one more fatality in Saskatchewan today.
Alberta recorded a whopping 1,315 new infections and another eight deaths yesterday. There are 358 in hospital and of those 81.1% are unvaccinated or have just one dose. Another 107 are in ICU, where the number of those not fully vaccinated rises to 91.6%.
B.C. registered 785 infections and two more deaths yesterday. There are 199 people in hospital and ICU numbers have doubled in less than two weeks to 112.