Covid news live: impulses are not a viable strategy against new variants, warns WHO; Quebec will impose a “health tax” on the unvaccinated World news

Colombia it is planned to reduce the waiting period for a Covid-19 booster vaccine from six to four months, said President Ivan Duque.

Earlier, the country forced people to wait six months for their booster injections after completing initial vaccinations.

Duque made the announcement in a video message that he later posted on Twitter.

“Anyone 18 years of age or older who has received both doses, or one dose in cases like Janssen, can now receive their booster doses after four months instead of six.”

Those infected with Covid-19 can now receive their vaccines 30 days after their isolation ends, instead of six months later, Duque added.

Colombia has also reduced quarantine times for those who test positive and show symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, to seven days from 14 days earlier.

Similarly, unvaccinated people who have been in contact with an infected person should be isolated for seven days, Duque said.

However, those who have been vaccinated and have had contact with an infected person who show no symptoms should not be isolated, although they should continue to wear masks and observe health measures, he said.

Colombia has so far reported more than 5.3 million coronavirus infections and 130,460 deaths, according to government data.

He Chinese city ​​of Tianjin A new round of Covid-19 testing has begun today among its 14 million residents to block the spread of Omicron.

Tianjin on Tuesday reported 33 nationally transmitted coronavirus infections with confirmed symptoms, compared with 10 a day earlier, national data showed.

The city ordered a half-day break on Wednesday for employees of companies and other institutions and forced them to stay home to meet the city’s second round of mass trials, the local government said in a statement. Reuters.

In the central city of Anyang, where Omicron has also been detected in the community, the number of local symptomatic cases rose to 65 on Tuesday from just two a day earlier.

Both cities have restricted the movement of residents within cities and made it more difficult for people to leave the city, as mass testing campaigns are underway.

Including infections in Tianjin and Anyang, mainland China, reported a total of 166 local symptomatic cases on Tuesday, more than 110 a day earlier. There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll at 4,636.

World Health Organization Experts have warned that repeating booster doses of the original Covid vaccines is not a viable strategy against emerging variants.

The WHO Technical Advisory Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-Co-VAC) said:

A vaccination strategy based on repeated booster doses of the original vaccine composition is unlikely to be adequate or sustainable.

Covid-19 vaccines that have a major impact on the prevention of infection and transmission, as well as the prevention of serious illness and death, are needed and should be developed. “

The group said there may be a need to upgrade existing vaccines to better target emerging Covid variants, such as Omicron, and called for new development not only to protect people who contract Covid from falling seriously. sick, but they also better prevent people from getting caught. virus first.

He also suggested that vaccine developers should strive to create shocks that “provoke broad, strong, long-lasting immune responses to reduce the need for successive booster doses.”

Until new vaccines have been developed, the group said, “the composition of current vaccines against Covid-19 may need to be updated.”

According to the WHO, 331 candidate vaccines are currently being worked on worldwide.

Hello, we are Samantha Lock back with you on the blog, ready to accompany you through all the news of Covid this Wednesday.

Let’s dive straight into the news World Health Organization Experts have warned that repeating booster doses of the original Covid vaccines is not a viable strategy against emerging variants.

“A vaccination strategy based on repeated booster doses of the original vaccine composition is unlikely to be adequate or sustainable,” said the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-Co- VAC).

The group said there may be a need to upgrade existing vaccines to better target emerging Covid variants like Omicron. According to the WHO, 331 candidate vaccines are currently being worked on worldwide.

Inward Quebec, Canada’s second most populous province has announced plans to impose a “health tax” on residents who refuse to get vaccinated against Covid-19 for non-medical reasons.

Prime Minister François Legault on Tuesday announced the new “contribution” for the unvaccinated, adding that it will be implemented “in the coming weeks”.

“A health contribution will be charged to all adults who do not want to be vaccinated,” he said. “Those who refuse to receive the vaccine bring a financial burden on hospital staff and Quebecers. 10% of the population cannot carry 90%.”

Here is a brief summary of all the latest news:

• People inside NSW, Australia they are to report everything positive rapid antigen test (RAT) or faces a $ 1,000 fine.
• German police have been criticized for using a tracking app Contacts Covid of bars and restaurants.
• that of Bolivia The vice president and six cabinet ministers are isolated after testing positive for coronavirus, the government said on Tuesday.
• UK former health secretary Matt Hancock woman tested positive for Covid after getting the virus a second time.
• About three-quarters of the teachers France plans to go on strike on Thursday to protest the government’s changing rules on Covid, which is forcing the closure of half of the country’s primary schools, a union has warned.
• that of France The health ministry is expected to announce a record more than 350,000 new Covid infections in a 24-hour period, according to Health Minister Olivier Véran.
• Novak Djokovichis defense Australian Open The title remains in doubt after reports that he may have misleaded information into Australian immigration officials. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is still considering canceling Djokovic’s visa.
• Sweden announced a record 70,641 new Covid cases since Friday. He also said there were 54 new deaths for Covid.
• He WE recorded a record number of hospitalizations for Covid-19, as the daily infection rate soared to more than 1.35 million. There were 145,982 people hospitalized with coronavirus on Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• More than half the people inside Europe could contract Omicron in the next two months if infections continue at the current rate, the World Health Organization has warned.
• He WHO he also warned that it is too early to treat Omicron as an endemic flu-like disease. Senior European Emergency Officer Catherine Smallwood said: “We still have a lot of uncertainty and a virus that is evolving quite rapidly, imposing new challenges. We are certainly not at the point where we can call- the endemic.
• The central Chinese city ​​of Anyang has ordered five million people to start confinement at home in a new blockade to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.