New Coronavirus News from 22 Nov 2021

Europe Covid cases map: How Germany, France and Austria rates compare to UK as restrictions spark riots [iNews, 22 Nov 2021]

By Thomas Saunders

The UK still has a high number of infections and registered 579 new cases per million people on Sunday, the 10th highest in Europe

Covid-19 infections soared across parts of Europe in recent weeks, with six countries registering more than 1,000 new cases per million people as of Sunday.

Slovakia had more than 1,750 new cases and the Czech Republic had over 1,300 new cases.
Austria, which has the second-highest cases in Europe with over 1,500 cases on Sunday, entered its fourth national lockdown on Monday, with residents only allowed to leave home for work, essential shopping or exercise. Restrictions may last longer for those who are unvaccinated, and Austria will embark on mandatory vaccines in February with a fine of up to €3,600 for those who do not get a vaccine.

The country saw violent protests this weekend, as did the Netherlands, which has the fourth-highest cases in Europe at more than 1,200 new cases on Sunday. The Dutch government last week imposed a partial winter lockdown that will force bars, restaurants to close at 8pm and will allow no more than four people to visit a household at one time. The restrictions will last for at least three weeks.

The UK still has a high number of infections and registered 579 new cases per million people on Sunday, the 10th highest in Europe. But Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, a scientist who helped design the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, said it was “unlikely” the UK will see a rise similar to parts of Europe.

He told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “We’ve actually had some spread (of the virus) going on since the summer, and so I think it’s unlikely that we’re going to see the very sharp rise in the next few months that’s just been seen. We’re already ahead of that with this particular virus, the Delta variant.”

Germany registered 312 new cases per million people on Sunday and cases in France were marginally below that with 292 new cases per million people.

The new measures sparked riots in Austria and the Netherlands. On Saturday police arrested more than 19 people during unrest in the Hague and Vienna saw tens of thousands of protesters march through the city.

In the Dutch city of Rotterdam, three rioters were hit by bullets and investigations are underway to establish whether they were shot by police on Friday night. Police in Rotterdam have arrested 51 people, more than half of them minors.

Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb called the rioting in his city an “orgy of violence” and said that “on a number of occasions the police felt it necessary to draw their weapons to defend themselves.”

Demonstrations also took place in Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland and Croatia, which along with Slovenia also registered more than 1,000 new cases on Sunday.

A deadly new covid wave in Europe is met by popular fury over lockdowns [The Economist, 22 Nov 2021]

THE SIGHT of 40,000 unvaccinated Austrians marching through their capital, Vienna, in recent days was troubling twice over. The tightly packed opponents of pandemic lockdown measures were at risk of spreading the coronavirus. They also threatened to stir up an already tense political situation. Karl Nehammer, Austria’s interior minister, warned that anti-vaxxers in the Alpine republic are growing ever more radicalised. He called their demonstration “incensed” and “aggressive”. Some protesters were provocative in the extreme, carrying placards likening Alexander Schallenberg, Austria’s new chancellor, to Josef Mengele, the sadistic physician at the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz. A few wore Judensterne, the yellow badges that the Nazi regime forced Jewish citizens to wear, with the inscription “unvaccinated” instead of “Jew”.

The protesters marched against Austria’s increasingly tough measures against anti-vaxxers. On November 22nd the government imposed a full lockdown once again, to last for ten days, which compels Austria’s 9m people to hunker down at home, leaving only for work, essential shopping and exercise. Officials urged those who can do so to work from home. Those in the workplace must be vaccinated, certified immune through recovery or tested daily. Though schools will remain open, parents have been urged to keep their children at home when they can. Austria is also the first Western democracy to make covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for all, starting on February 1st 2022. “For a long time—maybe too long—I and others assumed that it must be possible to convince people in Austria to voluntarily get vaccinated,” said Mr Schallenberg when he announced his “very difficult” decision. So the voluntary option is to end.
Europe, once again, is at the centre of the pandemic. Cases are surging as the contagious Delta variant makes its way, belatedly, through Europe’s population. The World Health Organisation reported this month that coronavirus deaths in Europe rose by 5% in the week of November 8th--the only region in the world where covid-19 deaths increased. Hans Kluge, the boss of the WHO, warned that by March Europe could see another 500,000 deaths.

Will more countries respond with the sort of strict measures seen in Austria? As hospitals in central Europe fill up, anxiety grows. Around 65% of the total population in the European Union are fully vaccinated, but vaccination rates vary greatly between countries. Farther west, they are remarkably high. Among the over-12s in Portugal, more than 88% of the population is fully vaccinated. By contrast, in eastern parts of Poland, less than 40% are jabbed. In Bulgaria the share is below 25%. Within Germany, there are also large geographical variations. In some western parts of the country, such as the city-state of Bremen, nearly 80% of the adult population has had both jabs. In Saxony, however, little more than half the population is fully protected.

Other governments have imposed compulsory covid vaccinations for specific groups. Italy’s made them obligatory for health-care employees in May. In October the rules were expanded to cover all workers in public or private companies, unless they could prove they were immune or had tested negative within the past 48 hours. Those who did not comply faced suspension.
Over 2,000 doctors were suspended by the end of October, according to Italy’s medical association, though many were eventually reinstated after getting the jab. Similarly, France made vaccination compulsory for health staff as well police and fire fighters in September.
Those who refuse may be suspended without pay.

In Germany support for a nationwide vaccine mandate, previously a taboo, is rising. Prominent politicians had repeatedly promised that such a mandate would not be considered. But Daniel Günther, the state premier of Schleswig-Holstein, and Markus Söder, his Bavarian counterpart, now back the measure for the entire federal republic. Many Germans agree. A survey of 7,500 respondents, conducted in the past few days by Civey, a pollster, suggests that 70% would favour an Austrian-style vaccine mandate, whereas only 20% would be against.

As such mandates are becoming likelier in many places, the polarisation between rival camps is growing. Anti-vaxxers consist mainly of supporters of populist and far-right parties, but also acolytes of alternative medicine, hippies and libertarians. Some are taking to the streets. Over the weekend thousands of opponents of measures to fight the pandemic marched in the Benelux countries, Italy, Switzerland and northern Ireland. In Belgium and the Netherlands rioters clashed with the police over three days. The mayor of Rotterdam lamented what he called “an orgy of violence”. The Dutch rioters were incensed by a partial lockdown that bars the unvaccinated from many public places and requires restaurants to close by 8pm. Thierry Baudet, leader of the far-right Forum for Democracy, recently said that he believes such measures make “the unvaccinated the new Jews”.

Andrea Ammon, the head of the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control, has warned that vaccine mandates could provoke more resistance from anti-vaxxers. That looks more than likely and especially in places, like Germany, where politicians had insisted for months that vaccinations would never be mandatory. Some degree of popular anger, though voiced in extreme terms, thus looks inevitable. Public officials made their promises when taming the pandemic looked doable. Now, however, just as winter weather is forcing more people together indoors and the Delta variant is thriving, the pressure to return to lockdowns and resort to tougher vaccine mandates looks ever harder to resist.

COVID-19 deaths in 2021 have surpassed last year's count, CDC data shows: Live updates [USA TODAY, 22 Nov 2021]

By Celina TeborJohn Bacon

COVID-19 has killed more people in 2021 than 2020, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.

The disease was reported as the underlying cause of death or a contributing cause of death for an estimated 377,883 people in 2020, accounting for 11.3% of deaths, according to the CDC. As of Monday, more than 770,000 people have died from the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University data. That means over 15,000 more people have died in 2021 than last year from COVID-19 ? and there's still more than a month left.

The CDC figures only account for reported deaths, and it's likely that more people died in 2020 due to COVID-19 than the recorded number; 2020 coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. weren’t tracked until February. New COVID infections are now on the rise in 38 states and health officials have been bracing for the possibility of a surge in cases over the winter.

Experts say the surge is being driven by a combination of factors: the seasonality of the virus, waning immunity and many still unvaccinated Americans. Despite the rising cases, fully vaccinated family members can “absolutely” enjoy the holidays together inside without wearing masks, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday.

?Germany health officials said the rapid rise in coronavirus cases means it’s likely everyone in the country who isn’t vaccinated will have caught COVID-19 by the end of the winter.
?Connecticut is experiencing a more rapid increase in COVID-19 cases than any other state: The state has averaged 738 daily cases over the last week, which represents a 116% increase over two weeks earlier, the Hartford Courant reported.

〓Today's numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 47.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 771,500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 257.8 million cases and 5.15 million deaths. More than 196 million Americans ? 59.1% of the population ? are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

What we're reading: How to stay safe this Thanksgiving, even as the COVID pandemic remains a threat.

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More boosters ahead? Dr. Fauci isn't sure
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said Monday during a White House press briefing that he isn’t sure if Americans will need another COVID-19 boosters in the future.

“The honest answer is that we do not know at this point, but we’re collecting data,” Fauci said.

“We may not need to get boosted every six months or so but if we do, we’ll address it. We’ll find the data, make it public and address it accordingly.”

Fauci said multiple studies from across the globe have made it clear that boosters “significantly enhance protection” from COVID-19. The hope is that the booster dose gives the immune response “a chance to mature and strengthen” significantly, he said, and last longer than the second dose, which waned in effectiveness after several months. Boosters are currently available at more than 80,000 locations nationwide, according to the White House.
-- Lindsay Schnell

Report: Over 95% of federal workers in compliance with vaccine mandate
More than 90% of federal workers received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Monday’s deadline set by President Joe Biden, a U.S. officials said Monday. In all, more than 95% of federal workers are in compliance with the Biden mandate, the official said, either by being vaccinated or having requested an exemption. The official spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to speak on the record before the date was to be release later Monday.

Biden announced in September that more than 3.5 million federal workers were required to undergo vaccination, with no option to get regularly tested instead, unless they secured an approved medical or religious exemption. A U.S. official said the vast majority of federal workers are fully vaccinated, and that a smaller number have pending or approved exceptions to the mandate.

Pfizer says vaccine 100% effective for kids 12-15 years old
Updated, Phase 3 trial findings show that a two-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for kids ages 12-15 was 100% effective against the coronavirus, measured seven days through over four months after the second dose. No serious safety concerns were observed, the companies said.

Effectiveness was consistently high across gender, race and ethnicity demographics, obesity and comorbidity status, the companies said. Pfizer and BioNTech plan to submit these data for scientific peer review for potential publication.

“These additional data provide further confidence in our vaccine’s safety and effectiveness profile in adolescents,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “We look forward to sharing these data with the FDA and other regulators.”

Andrew Cuomo misrepresented COVID nursing home toll, report says
The New York Assembly's investigation into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's conduct in office concluded the Democrat's administration misrepresented how many nursing home residents died of COVID-19, according to a lawmaker who reviewed the committee's still-secret report. The report, compiled by the New York City law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, covers a wide array of allegations of misconduct by Cuomo, including sexual harassment claims and the participation of his staff in writing his book on the coronavirus pandemic.

Other topics include the Cuomo administration's manipulation of data on COVID-19 deaths as presented to the public. The Associated Press and other news organizations reported on gaps in the state's statistical accounting of fatalities, including the administration's decision to exclude from its nursing home death totals thousands of patients who died after being transferred to hospitals.

The Davis Polk investigators confirmed news reports that the state Department of Health wanted to include those hospital deaths in the state's nursing home fatality count.

Daily coronavirus cases up 18 percent, according to CDC director [The Washington Post, 22 Nov 2021]

By Lateshia Beachum, Annabelle Timsit and Bryan Pietsch

This live coverage has ended. For the latest coronavirus news, click here.

The seven-day average of reported coronavirus infections has increased by 18 percent,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said at a Monday news conference.

The rise in cases and a 6 percent increase in the seven-day average of hospital admissions come just days after the Food and Drug Administration recommended booster shots for all adults 18 and older who received a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine at least six months after their second dose, making more than 135 million people eligible for boosters. Anyone who received Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine also is eligible for a booster.

“Heading into the winter months, when respiratory viruses are more likely to spread, and with plans for increased holiday season travel and gatherings, boosting people’s overall protection against covid-19 disease and death was important to do now,” Walensky said.

Walensky and Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert, implored unvaccinated Americans to seek shots for protection as recent CDC data showed the increased risks of being unvaccinated and catching the virus.

“Most tragic are the vaccine-preventable deaths we are still seeing from this disease,” Walensky said. “Even in our updated data, unvaccinated people are at 14 times greater risk of dying from covid-19 than people who are vaccinated.”

Here’s what to know
? The White House announced that 95 percent of federal employees have complied with the vaccination mandate before a Monday evening deadline set by the Biden administration in September.
? Vice President Harris announced $1.5 billion in funding to help eliminate the shortage of doctors and nurses in underserved communities by providing scholarships and repaying the student loans of providers who work in medically needy areas.
? Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday on NBC News’s “Meet The Press” that he has not implemented a vaccine requirement for domestic air travel because other strategies, such as mandatory masking, are proving effective.
? In Europe, which the World Health Organization recently called the latest “epicenter” of the pandemic, large-scale, violent protests broke out over the weekend against renewed coronavirus restrictions, including a nationwide lockdown taking effect Monday in Austria.