The Evening Update - May 26th
COVID is making its presence felt at a big Danish football celebration
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In non-COVID news a majority of the political parties in the Danish parliament have agreed to extend a medical cannabis trial run for four more years. The current exemption was due to expire at the end of the year. The now extended exemption allows doctors to prescribe medical cannabis to patients and companies are permitted to grow cannabis for medical use.
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DR is reporting that the Danish Agency for Patient Safety has already identified ten coronavirus infections from the big football celebration at Brøndby Stadium. The agency tells the national broadcaster that they believe someone who was infected participated in the festivities, infecting others. The ten positive cases to date are people who sat in the stadium watching the game and who also showed up to celebrate afterward. The agency is urging everyone who was there to get tested.
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The mayor of Gladsaxe has tested positive. Tina Græse posted on Facebook that she is now in isolation, as are all the kommune’s council members, as they met in person the night before the positive test came back. Græse credits Denmark’s robust testing regime and vaccine passport system for preventing her from unknowingly infecting others. She was schedule to attend a big meeting today and had gotten tested yesterday in order to attend. She says she has no idea where she got the virus from.
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Denmark is reporting 1,073 COVID infections and one more coronavirus death in the last day.
Yesterday there were 711,394 total corona tests done, 161,240 PCR and 550,154 rapid, for a (PCR only) positivity percentage of 0.67%.
COVID hospitalizations (148) and the number of infected people in an ICU (36) were unchanged. Of those, the number of people on a ventilator (22) inched up (+2). However, ICU admissions in Metro Copenhagen are rising.
Some good news on hospitalizations. The Director of the Sjælland University Hospital tweeted today that the hospital’s last ICU COVID patient has been taken out of isolation. “For the first time in a very long time the doors are open for patients.” He adds for ICU staff this is a welcome news and a major milestone in the pandemic.
On the vaccination campaign to date, 1,936,959 1st dose vaccinations (33.1% of the population) have been administered while 1,205,541 people (20.6%) are now fully vaccinated.
Yesterday there were 55,659 total vaccinations done.
The Southern Denmark Health Region has issued its weekly vaccination update. The health authority says it received 68,500 vaccine doses this week. Moderna doses were used to finish vaccinations for health care workers who had AstraZeneca as their first dose. The remaining doses went to the target groups on deck including first vaccinations for those in the 44 to 49 year old group. That said, it warns the region has higher numbers of seniors making it a little slower to get to younger age groups.
The health authority says every fifth person in Southern Denmark now has at least one dose. Region Syddanmark says 32.7% of people in the region now have one dose and 20.7% have had both.
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The Danish Agency for Patient Safety says contact tracing teams continue to operate at a very high level, reaching all but a tiny number of close contacts. April numbers show 22,355 closed cases last month with 2.8% of all the close contacts unable to be tracked down.
The statistics also track where people think they may have been infected. Nearly one in five believe they caught the virus among their circle of acquaintances. 18.8% think they became infected at home from a family member.
Deputy Director Birgitte Drewes:
“In April, we saw a small increase in the number of infected people, which indicates a circle of acquaintances as a presumed source of infection. We see this as a natural consequence of the reopening of society and greater social activity, especially among young people between 15-24 years old.”
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Sweden added 2,732 infections and another 40 corona deaths since yesterday’s update.
To date, 3,588,871 1st dose (43.8% of the population) and 1,232,934 2nd vaccine doses (15.1%) have been administered.
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The Swedish Public Health Agency has reviewed the various models it used to predict coronavirus spread in order to better allocate health care resources. In total, the agency says there were 22 different models used. Some were helpful, others were not. Officially, the report noted some of the models had “recurring shortcomings.”
State Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell:
“Overall, the report shows that several of the models contributed to an understanding of the development of the pandemic and that they were in support of planning in health care. But the review also points to shortcomings that we can learn from to further develop the epidemiological models.”
Tegnell says the report’s findings will be used to make adjustments in order to improve response to any future pandemic. Sweden has by far the highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths than any of its Nordic neighbours.
The report was produced by researchers at Lund and Linköping universities.
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Finland has registered 220 infections and four more virus deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (101) are down (-13), ICU numbers (18) are unchanged.
To date, 2,345,128 1st dose (42.1% of the population) and 411,276 2nd vaccine doses (7.4%) have been administered.
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The Finnish pharmaceutical watchdog FIMEA has released its latest report on vaccine side effects. It says the vast majority were the kind of symptoms you might expect like soreness around the injection site, headaches, fatigue, and fever to varying degrees of severity.
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Norway has added 550 infections and one corona death since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (99) are down (-8). ICU numbers (33) are down (-3) and ventilator numbers (22) are up (+5).
To date, 29.89% of Norwegians have had one dose and 15.08% have had both.
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The Norwegian Institute of Public Health is working to iron out the wrinkles ahead of the arrival of the country’s vaccine passport system. The agency says it has noted some “incorrect registrations” when it comes to information about vaccinations and even test results. It warns this could lead to problems with the corona passport.
NIPH’s Gun Peggy Knudsen:
“Correct vaccination status is important both for the individual in the form of rights and for us to have knowledge of the number of vaccinated in the population. The municipalities must therefore be careful to carry out vaccinations correctly, and be able to receive inquiries from private individuals who need to correct information.”
Other potential issues also include how to deal with fully vaccinated tourists who might begin to arrive. The institute says it still doesn’t know whether vaccination information from abroad can be registered into Norway’s SYSVAK system.
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The European Centre for Disease Control has now classified the India variant sub-type B.1.617.2 as a ‘variant of concern.’ In making the decision it cites new evidence on increased transmissibility and the variant having some degree of escape, meaning it is somewhat resistant to antibodies. The agency also notes the variant is spreading in the UK and across European Union countries.
Studies from the UK this week show two doses of either Pfizer or AstraZeneca are highly effective against the variant. This indicates other approved vaccines would likely also have high efficacy.
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Reuters is reporting that Belgium is suspending use of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine for everyone under the age of 41. This after a woman under the age of 40 died after being vaccinated. Belgian health officials say they are now waiting for a detailed benefit-risk analysis from the European Medicines Agency. The woman, who was vaccinated through her work in a program outside the state vaccination system, died after being admitted to hospital with severe blood clotting and low platelets.
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A new study out of Germany and published in The Lancet is raising serious concerns about the impacts of long-COVID, which could have consequences long after the pandemic ends. The study involved 958 coronavirus patients whose health was followed for months after recovery. Among the study participants, symptoms like shortness of breath, anosmia (loss of smell), ageusia (loss of taste), and fatigue were found to persist four to seven months after recovery. The report found cases of long-COVID, or post-COVID syndrome (PCS), even among those who didn’t require hospitalization.
The report states.:
“As up to 81% of all SARS-CoV-2 infected patients have a mild case of the disease, it can be expected that PCS will affect a larger number of individuals than initially assumed, posing major medical, social, and economic challenges. The continued assessment of patients with PCS will become a major task to define and mitigate the socioeconomic and medical long-term effects of COVID.”
The study can be found HERE
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Here is the latest snapshot of how a number of countries, including all the Nordics, stack up for second doses administered.
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Canada reported 2,506 infections yesterday while losing another 51 lives to the coronavirus. The latest variant driven infection wave continues to recede.
To date in the vaccination campaign, 19,942,151 1st vaccine doses (52.47% of the population) have been administered while 1,695,457 people are now fully vaccinated.
Today Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted, “Ontario is reporting 1,095 cases of COVID19 and over 24,000 tests completed. Locally, there are 257 new cases in Toronto, 215 in Peel, 123 in Durham and 101 in York Region. As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 8,386,950 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.” There were also 23 more deaths.
Quebec reported 308 infections and four deaths.
In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia has yet to report. New Brunswick saw nine cases. Newfoundland and Labrador had four new infections as health officials in the province believe the India variant has arrived and is behind a recent infections surge.
The situation in Manitoba is dire with over 1,200 new infections over the long weekend. It currently has the highest infection rate in North America. The federal government is mobilizing medical staff, equipment, and the military to the province. Hospitals in Manitoba are straining under the pressure and at least a dozen patients have been evacuated to hospitals in other provinces.
There were 111 infections in Saskatchewan yesterday.
Alberta had 379 infections and nine corona related deaths yesterday. The province will table a reopening roadmap later today.
B.C. reported 289 infections and one more virus death yesterday. The province also unveiled a plan to lift all COVID restrictions. It is tied to the infection situation and vaccination rates. If all targets are met things would return to ‘normal’ in September.