The European Medicines Agency has given its authorization for the use of vaccines against the omicron variant of COVID-19 to both Moderna and BioNTech-Pfizer. The EU’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said on Thursday that it had given the green light to two vaccines that target the omicron variant of COVID-19. The vaccines were developed by the US-German partnership BioNTech-Pfizer and by the US company Moderna. The vaccines are the first to target the omicron variant BA.1, as well as being effective against the original strain of the virus. Both also produced vaccines against the first iteration of the virus that were approved by the EMA. The European Commission must still give its final approval, but this is expected to be given fairly swiftly. What did the EMA say? The new vaccines function as booster shots for people who have already had a full dose of the original coronavirus vaccine. The EMA recommended their use for anyone aged 12 years and above. These vaccines are adapted versions of the original vaccines Comirnaty (BioNTech-Pfizer) and Spikevax (Moderna) to target the omicron BA.1 subvariant in addition to the original strain of SARS-CoV-2, the Amsterdam-based regulator said. It also said the studies of the vaccine’s effect showed that they trigger strong immune responses and that in particular, they were more effective at triggering immune responses against the BA.1 subvariant than the original vaccines. European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides welcomed the decision as important to protect Europeans against the likely risk of autumn and winter waves of infections.We need to be ready to face another winter with Covid-19, she added. What about the other omicron subvariants? Vaccines designed to tackle the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are still being reviewed, the EMA said. A decision on these is expected in the next few weeks, Kyriakides said on Thursday. The US Food and Drug Administration greenlit the BA.4/BA.5 vaccines on Wednesday. The omicron BA.1 subvariant swept Europe last winter bringing a vast surge in cases. It has since been largely replaced by the BA.5 subvariant. While US authorities decided to directly authorize the BA.4/BA.5 adapted shots, the EU has gone instead for the BA.1 vaccines of which large quantities of doses have already been produced. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has said that the new vaccines will be available in Germany by next week. The UK was the first country to approve a so-called bivalent vaccine the Moderna shot in August, followed then by Switzerland and Australia.

A sub-variant of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus strain, which some studies indicate could be even more infectious than the original version, has been detected in 57 countries, the WHO said Tuesday.    The fast-spreading and heavily mutated Omicron variant has rapidly become the dominant variant worldwide since it was first detected in southern Africa 10 weeks ago.    In its weekly epidemiological update, the World Health Organization said that the variant, which accounts for over 93 percent of all coronavirus specimens collected in the past month, counts several sub-lineages: BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2 and BA.3.    The BA.1 and BA.1.1 -- the first versions identified -- still account for over 96 percent of all the Omicron sequences uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative, it said.    But there has been a clear rise in cases involving BA.2, which counts several different mutations from the original -- including on the spike protein that dots the virus's surface and is key to entering human cells.    "BA.2- designated sequences have been submitted to GISAID from 57 countries to date," WHO said, adding that in some countries, the sub-variant now accounted for over half of all Omicron sequences gathered.    The UN health agency said little was known yet about the differences between the sub-variants, and called for studies into its characteristics, including its transmissibility, how good it is at dodging immune protections and its virulence.    Several recent studies have hinted that BA.2 is more infectious than the original Omicron.    Maria Van Kerkhove, one of the WHO's top experts on Covid, told reporters Tuesday that information about the sub-variant was very limited, but that some initial data indicated BA.2 had "a slight increase in growth rate over BA.1"    Omicron in general is known to cause less severe disease than previous coronavirus variants that have wreaked havoc, like Delta, and Van Kerkhove said there so far was "no indication that there is a change in severity" in the BA.2 sub-variant.    She stressed though that regardless of the strain, Covid remained a dangerous disease and people should strive to avoid catching it.    "We need people to be aware that this virus is continuing to circulate and its continuing to evolve," she said.    "It's really important that we take measures to reduce our exposure to this virus, whichever variant is circulating." Source: AFP/BSS AH

The risk level related to the Omicron variant remains very high, the WHO said late Tuesday, with the numbers of new Covid-19 cases hitting another record high last week.   "Over 21 million new cases were reported, representing the highest number of weekly cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic," the World Health Organization said in its weekly epidemiological coronavirus update.   The UN health agency said the number of new infections increased by five percent in the week to Sunday -- compared to the 20 percent rise registered the week before.   "A slower increase in case incidence was observed at the global level," the WHO said.   Nearly 50,000 new deaths were also reported, it added -- a similar figure to the week before.   The report said Omicron continued to increase its dominance globally over the other variants of concern.   "The current global epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 is characterised by the dominance of the Omicron variant on a global scale, continued decline in the prevalence of the Delta variant, and very low-level circulation of Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants," the WHO said.   "Countries that experienced a rapid rise in Omicron cases in November and December 2021 have been or are beginning to see declines in cases.   However, "based on the currently available evidence, the overall risk related to the Omicron variant remains very high".   The WHO said that of samples collected in the last 30 days that have been sequenced and uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative, Omicron accounted for 89.1 percent.   Delta -- previously the world's dominant variant -- now makes up 10.7 percent. Source: AFP/BSS AH

The South African Omicron variant is gradually taking the place of Delta variant of Covid-19 across the country.      In a health bulletin today (Jan 23), Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) spokesperson Prof Dr Nazmul Islam said 73 percent of people detected with the  Omicron variant of Covid-19 showed symptom of runny nose while 68 percent have headache, 64 percent have fatigue, and 60 percent have sneezing.   Sixty percent of the patients showed symptom of sore throat and 44 percent have cough, he added. Source: BSS AH

To prevent the highly contagious new African COVID-19 variant Omicron, the government has imposed fresh 11-point restriction which will come into effect from January 13 (Thursday).   The Cabinet Division issued a notification to this end today.    The notification said considering the current situation of Omicron infections and the decisions taken by the COVID-19 situation review committee, the restrictions on the overall activities and movement are going to be imposed from January 13.    The restrictions will remain effective until further notice.   Mask use has been made mandatory in shops, shopping malls, bazaars, hotels and restaurants and all public gatherings. If one violates the rules, legal action will be taken against him or her.    All must use masks in offices and courts or outside of homes. If the health guidelines are not followed, mobile courts will have to be conducted across the country, the notification said.    COVID-19 vaccine certificates must be shown in taking food at restaurants or staying at hotels.    Without vaccine certificate, a student above 12 years will not be allowed to enter education institutions after the specific timeframe set by the Education Ministry.    Scanning facility must be increased at land ports, seaports and airports. Restriction must be imposed on the exits of crews of ships at ports. Only drivers of trucks will be allowed at land ports. The access of the visitors accompanying passengers must be stopped at airports.    Trains, buses and launches can carry passengers of their half capacity. The authorities will issue specific instructions in this regard with the date of implementation. Drivers and helpers of all types of vehicles must have COVID-19 vaccine certificates.    Home-bound passengers and others concerned must show COVID-19 vaccine certificates.    Imams will aware people concerned of the health safety guidelines and mask use in their sermons of Jummah prayers in all mosques. Deputy Commissioners and Upazila Nirbahi Officers will ensure this matter.    The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will take necessary publicity and other measures in accelerating COVID-19 vaccination and its booster dose inoculation. In this regard, it will take assistance from of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.   All social, political and religious functions will remain closed at open space until further notice. Source: BSS AH

The new Omicron variant of Covid-19 could threaten India’s sustained economic recovery from the pandemic, even as the country is better prepared now to address the challenges, according to Union Minister of State of Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel.   In an email interview with ThePrint, the minister also talked about the mutual commitment of India and the United Arab Emirates to finalise a free trade agreement and expressed confidence that India will touch $46-47 billion in agricultural exports and $400 billion in merchandise exports.    “India’s economic recovery is expected to gain further strength in the remaining quarters of the financial year on the back of upbeat market sentiments, rapid vaccination coverage, strong external demand and continuous policy support by Government and RBI. However, the new Omicron variant poses a challenge to the sustained recovery,” Patel, the Apna Dal (S) president and Mirzapur MP, said.   She added that the economy, however, is better prepared this time with “lessons learnt from the second wave”.   According to official data released last November, India’s GDP growth slowed to 8.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2021-22 but the economy has surpassed the pre-Covid level. The GDP growth in April-June quarter this fiscal was 20.1 per cent. The Indian economy had contracted by 24.4 per cent in April-June 2020.   Asked what has driven the economic recovery, Patel said: “India’s pandemic recovery was driven by a revival in services, full-recovery in manufacturing and sustained growth in agriculture sectors.”   She added that the recovery indicates that the investment cycle has kickstarted and that “surging vaccination coverage and efficient economic management” have activated the macro and micro drivers of growth.   India, UAE trade pact to open ‘critical gateways’ As India and the UAE are close to finalising a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) — a broad-based free trade agreement — Patel remarked that “economic and commercial engagement with the UAE continues to be exceptional”.   India resumed talks with the UAE for a free trade agreement in July 2021 after they were stalled in 2008. Last month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said negotiations between the two countries are at “advanced” stages. If inked, it would be the first CEPA to be signed by India in over a decade. India is also currently negotiating economic agreements with countries like Australia, the UK, Israel, Canada and the European Union (EU).   Speaking on the headway made by India and the UAE in trade talks, Patel said, “There is a strong commitment from both sides at the highest levels to further enhance the trade and economic relationship and CEPA is a testimony to this mutual commitment.”   She added that the agreement could aid in job creation and raise living standards in both countries, as well as contribute to the development of multi-sectoral economic value chains in India and provide opportunities, especially in emerging areas like big data, robotics, artificial intelligence etc. “The CEPA will enable both countries to form critical gateways for exports to large markets in the wider region. For example, our exports to the UAE could be substantially transformed for exports to the Middle East and North Africa markets,” said Patel.   According to data from the Union commerce ministry, total trade between India and the UAE stood at $59.1 billion in 2019-2020 but dipped to $43 billion during the pandemic in 2020-21. That said, the UAE remains India’s third-largest trading partner after the US and China.   India likely to achieve $46-47 billion in agri exports The minister said that India is poised to achieve a record high in agricultural exports this fiscal year, which is likely to be about $20 billion short of the $60 billion target envisaged under the National Agriculture Export Policy 2018. According to Patel, agri exports are likely to touch $46-47 billion by this fiscal, given that they have so far amounted to $41.25 billion. “India has been recognised as a reliable supplier of food products during this tough period. Even though our exporters are facing issues like shortage of containers, high freight rates and other logistical challenges,” she said. India will likely achieve the $60 billion target in agri exports in 2022-23, she added. Record high in merchandise exports India is set to touch a record high of $400 billion in merchandise exports in 2021-22, having already achieved $300 billion in the first nine months, government data showed Monday. Patel is confident India will reach the estimated goal, saying, “With tight monitoring by the country, trade missions, commodity groups and export promotion councils, and supported by export promotion measures, India will achieve $400 billion exports this year.” Asked what target has been set for 2022-23, the minister added: “Though no goal has been set as of now it is expected that sustained efforts for trade enhancement will provide India a stronger foundational base in the coming financial year also”.  Source: The Print

Omicron still poses "very high" risk and could overwhelm healthcare systems, the WHO warned on Wednesday, as the highly transmissible coronavirus variant fuelled record outbreaks in many countries.    Case numbers have shot up 11 percent globally in the last week, forcing governments from China to Germany and France to find a difficult balance between anti-virus restrictions and the need to keep economies and societies open.    The Netherlands and Switzerland said Omicron had become the dominant strain in their countries, and while some studies suggested it causes milder Covid-19, the World Health Organization urged caution.    "The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high," the UN health agency said in its Covid-19 weekly epidemiological update.    "Consistent evidence shows that the Omicron variant has a growth advantage over the Delta variant with a doubling time of two to three days."    The WHO said early data from Britain, South Africa, and Denmark – which currently has the world's highest rate of infection per person – suggested there was a reduced risk of hospitalisation for Omicron compared with Delta.    But it added that further data was needed to understand Omicron's severity.    And despite those studies, Omicron's rapid growth "will still result in large numbers of hospitalisations, particularly amongst unvaccinated groups, and cause widespread disruption to health systems and other critical services", warned WHO Europe's Covid Incident Manager Catherine Smallwood.    - Painful restrictions -    Europe was again one of the hotspots for the pandemic, which is known to have claimed more than 5.4 million lives around the world.    France, Britain, Greece and Portugal all reported record daily case numbers on Tuesday. France reported almost 180,000 infections over 24 hours.    To hold back the tide, many nations on the continent have brought back curbs with heavy economic and social consequences.    Contact restrictions were in place in Germany for the second year in a row heading into the New Year, as Europe's biggest economy shut nightclubs and forced sports competitions behind closed doors.    It also limited private gatherings to 10 vaccinated people -- or two households where any unvaccinated people are present.    Finland on Tuesday said it would bar unvaccinated foreign travellers from entering. Only residents, essential workers or diplomats will be exempt.    The Nordic country, like Sweden, had begun requiring negative tests for incoming non-resident travellers from Tuesday, a day after Denmark applied the same measure.    But the Belgian government's plans to introduce further restrictions were thwarted as a court suspended an order closing entertainment venues.    Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had announced the original measure on December 22 as Belgium saw a sharp increase in the percentage of tests showing the Omicron variant.    - Travel chaos -    The Covid spikes around the world have caused severe disruptions to travel over the holidays, with thousands of flights cancelled worldwide.    They are also threatening sports events again.    England's top football league is grappling with record cases, while China has imposed strict lockdowns on millions of people to control the spread of the Delta variant ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics.    Mexico City's mayor on Tuesday cancelled the capital's massive New Year's Eve celebrations as a preventative measure after a rise in Covid-19 cases.    The top American sports leagues have also been hit, as the United States battles a surge fuelled by Omicron, as well as large pockets of unvaccinated people and a lack of access to quick and easy testing.    The US Centers for Disease Control has halved the isolation period for asymptomatic cases to try and limit disruptions and mass labour shortages.    President Joe Biden said the United States was generally well prepared, though some hospitals could be "overrun".    As New Yorkers marked "Good Riddance Day" at Times Square – burning pieces of paper representing their worst memories of 2021 -- many just wanted to say goodbye to Covid-19.    "I want to get rid of Covid and quarantines," said teacher Robin Myers on Tuesday.    "So that my kids can be normal again and see their friends and be out and be social." Source: AFP/BSS AH 

The World Health Organization said Friday it had not seen any reports of deaths relating to the new Omicron variant of Covid-19.    The WHO said it was collecting evidence about the variant of concern, as countries around the world scramble to stop it spreading.    But despite a growing number of countries reporting infections with the new variant, no deaths have yet been reported to the UN health agency.    "I have not seen reports of Omicron-related deaths yet," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.    "We're collecting all the evidence and we will find much more evidence as we go along.    "The more countries... keep testing people, and looking specifically into the Omicron variant, we will also find more cases, more information, and, hopefully not, but also possibly deaths." Source: AFP/BSS AH

The World Health Organization on Friday declared the recently-discovered B.1.1.529 strain of Covid-19, first detected in southern Africa, to be a variant of concern and renamed it Omicron.     The classification puts Omicron into the most-troubling category of Covid-19 variants, along with the globally-dominant Delta, plus its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta and Gamma.     Nations rushed to ban flights to slow the spread of Omicron on Friday, while stock markets and oil prices plunged on fears surrounding the variant, potentially dealing a heavy blow to the global economic recovery.     "Based on the evidence presented indicative of a detrimental change in Covid-19 epidemiology... the WHO has designated B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern (VOC), named Omicron," the UN health agency said in a statement.     The WHO said it could take several weeks to complete studies of Omicron to see if there are any changes in transmissibility, severity or implications for Covid vaccines, tests and treatments.     - Reinfection concerns -     The change in classification came after a quickly-assembled virtual meeting of the WHO's Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution.     The variant was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on Wednesday.     The first known confirmed Omicron infection was from a specimen collected on November 9. In recent weeks, infections in South Africa have increased steeply, coinciding with the detection.     "This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning," the WHO said, pointing to worrying characteristics.     "Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs."     It said the number of Omicron cases appeared to be increasing in almost all provinces of South Africa.     As for testing for the strain, the WHO added: "Current SARS-CoV-2 PCR diagnostics continue to detect this variant."     - Greek alphabet names -     All viruses mutate over time, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19 disease.     During late 2020, the emergence of variants that posed an increased risk to global public health prompted the WHO to start characterising them as variants of interest, and the more-worrying variants of concern, to inform the response to the pandemic.     The UN health agency decided to name the variants after the letters of the Greek alphabet, to avoid the countries that first detected them being stigmatised.     The WHO on Friday called on countries to increase their surveillance and virus sequencing efforts to better understand circulating variants.     Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on Covid-19, urged people to reduce their chances of catching the virus.     "We understand that people are concerned," she said.     "What's really important as an individual is to lower your exposure.     "These proven public health measures, have never been more important," she said, citing distancing, mask-wearing, avoiding crowded spaces, good ventilation, "and when it's your turn, get vaccinated".     - Travel concerns -     Apart from South Africa, Omicron has been detected in Israel in a person coming from Malawi; Botswana; Belgium and Hong Kong.     Despite countries scrambling to ban flights, the WHO earlier cautioned against imposing travel restrictions due to Omicron.     The organisation said countries should take a risk-based and scientific approach when considering travel curbs in light of the variant -- but cautioned against restrictions.     "At this point, again, implementing travel measures is being cautioned against," spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters.     Besides Delta, Omicron and the three other VOCs, there are currently two lower variants of interest and below that, a further seven under monitoring.     Delta, which is more transmissible than the original strain, is now overwhelmingly dominant around the world, having all but out-competed other variants.     Of 845,000 sequences uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative with specimens collected in the last 60 days, 99.8 percent were Delta. Source: AFP/BSS AH