Earlier this week, the Kosovo National Institute of Public Health sent 282 samples to a laboratory in Germany to detect new variants of COVID-19, namely the Colombian “Mu” mutation. The results of these samples are expected to be announced next week. But health experts are estimating that the “Mu” variant is more contagious and more secretive, so considering the percentage of vaccinations in Kosovo, they warn of a new wave of infections during the fall.

Microbiologist Xhevat Jakupi from the National Institute of Public Health says that this institution does not have the capacity to trace new variants of COVID-19, so earlier this week they sent samples to Germany, the results of which will show if Kosovo is affected. or not from the Colombian variant.

He said that these samples are being sent to Germany through the European Union Disease Control Center.

“Within the NIPH there is no capacity for sequencing the SARS-COV2 genome, for this reason we occasionally send samples outside Kosovo to laboratories with which we have an agreement for this purpose. 1’31 Earlier this week, Monday, September 6, we launched another 282 samples to detect sequencing variants that will then result in information on what variants are currently in circulation. We of course plan to make the most of this program and in the coming weeks, we will send samples out of Kosovo again. […] We do not have information whether they arrived or still, they arrived yesterday or could arrive today so it is too early to complete the sequencing process for 282 samples which have been sent, it is expected in the coming days we believe that next week the results will be received “, He stressed.

Microbiologist Jakupi says that the National Institute for Public Health can not detect variants of SARS-COV2 because they lack equipment but also experts in this field.

Jakupi from the Department of Microbiology at NIPH says that they are already in the process of purchasing equipment that will enable the detection of new variants in the coming months in our country.

“We did not have the equipment to carry out this work process and during the last year we started buying equipment, we bought some of the necessary equipment, within this year we have started another process of purchasing equipment that were missing in addition to what we provided in the previous year and this tendering process has taken quite a long time. […] We in Kosovo currently do not have experts in sequencing so we need to be trained from scratch, we have a complete lack of a field called bioinformatics experts and we will have to consider how to overcome this shortcoming through training of microbiologists or fields similar who will have the opportunity to receive knowledge “, declared Jakupi.

According to health professionals, the “Mu” variant is more dangerous and more deadly, therefore they require more mass vaccination of Kosovo citizens.

The President of the Federation of Albanian Doctors in Europe, Aurora Dollenberg, estimates that autumn can find Kosovo, but also other countries of the Western Balkans, in a new wave of infection that will cause the Colombian variant.

“There are two main pillars of protection against new variants, the first is vaccination, the second is the continuation of protection measures whether mask, social distance, hygiene, each country is categorized according to the risk to new variants based on the number of vaccinated that has population and based on the discipline that every people has. And in both of these columns, whether for the percentage of vaccination, or for the discipline in protection from infection, Kosovo is not that it is in the first places in the list in Europe, but on the contrary in the last list we know that the percentage of vaccinated is less than 20% and the population especially in the summer months where there were celebrations, tourists who came emigrants from abroad all this speaks of a forecast not very positive in terms of autumn so Kosovo like Albania but also other Balkan countries should “They are especially prepared for a fourth wave,” says Dollenberg.

Family medicine specialist Dollenberg tells KosovaPress that the “Mu” variant is easier to spread and is more secretive to identify.

“The ‘Mu’ variant has shown in the few studies that exist so far that it is even more contagious and contagious than ‘Delta’ and another fact is more hidden than ‘Delta’, so the fact that we do not identify that in the first moments in patients makes the disease even more dangerous and deadly. […] “The symptoms caused by the ‘Mu’ variant are not very typical, they are similar to a very mild cold which from moment to moment worsens without the possibility for the doctor or even the family member to be hospitalized and treated in time.” , says the family medicine specialist.

Infectologist, Arben Vishaj says that the possibilities are for the citizens of Kosovo to be infected with the “Mu” variant. As he says clinicians are making the necessary preparation to prevent and control this new mutation.

The acting director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic stressed that vaccination is the only weapon not to face the new mutations that COVID-19 will undergo.

“We have not yet identified this variant but a possibility of the arrival of this variant exists and we are preparing to be as functional as possible in terms of activating all our staff in disease prevention and control. […] 07 40 What is known and what is important is that the application of preventive measures against epidemiological have scientific support, it should be strengthened much more and the vaccination of the population in general should be as massive as possible, and we already we can not leave our fate at the mercy of COVID genetic transformations, but we will mobilize according to our capacities in respecting the epidemiological measures and in vaccinating the population as much as possible as this gives us a guarantee that in the future “Let us not face the harsh waves of what we have faced so far,” he said.

The ‘Mu’ variant was first discovered in Colombia, in January this year. This variant has spread to 43 countries while the WHO epidemiology report says that preliminary data show that ‘Mu’ appears to be more resistant to antibodies.

world
August 26, 2021 – 09:52

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Tuesday that he believes a Covid-19 vaccine-resistant variant is likely to appear one day, but added that Pfizer has a well-established system that can adapt vaccines to the new variant. within three months.

“Every time a new variant appears in the world, our scientists go to study it. They look to see if this type is resistant to our vaccine. “We have not yet identified such a variant, but we believe it will appear,” Bourla told Fox News.

Bourla added that the company could develop a specific vaccine for a particular variant within 95 days of its identification. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 62.5% of adults in the U.S. were fully vaccinated, and 73.1% received at least one dose.Bourla said Pfizer is also working on a vaccine for children ages 5 to at 11 years old and that research on vaccines for children will be completed in September.

After that, he says, the company plans to work on a vaccine for children under 5. He also said the company gave the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine a new name: Comirnaty.

Asked why they simply do not call it the “Pfizer vaccine”, Bourla said the thing is in the laws. “There are specific laws on how you can name your product. Comirnaty is a combination of several words. ” “Co ‘is for covid and’ calm ‘is for mRNA, with all the name referring to the community,” he said.

According to the company, more than one billion doses of the vaccine have been used worldwide, making it one of the most studied drugs in the world. ”We have submitted a well-developed proposal by the FDA.

The report we sent to the agency has 360,000 pages of complete data. I do not think there is any other medicine in the world that has been analyzed so much; “not only during clinical trials, but also in terms of real information coming from the field”, concluded Bourke./EO

Despite reporting many positive cases and deaths from coronavirus, the National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo has said that “Delta has stopped the variant”.

Through a post on the official Facebook page, NIPHK says that the virus is transmitted very quickly from one person to dozens of other people with consequences that in most cases can be fatal and that unfortunately affect children.
NIPHK appeals to respect the measures and recommendations set by the Government.

“Please implement the measures recommended by NIPHK by every citizen of the Republic. Only together will we flatten the epidemic curve and stop the rage of the SARS CoV-2 virus. “Together with the already known measures: wearing masks, keeping distance and maintaining hygiene, will achieve their effect in reducing the curve, please believe that the most effective measure in the fight against COVID-19 is VACCINATION”, it is said in institute posting.
In the last 24 hours, 1,682 cases of infection were registered, after testing 10,710 samples.

The Ministry of Health has announced that on August 22, 263 patients were cured of COVID-19, while there are 19,695 active cases.

Since March 13, 2020, when the first cases of infection were registered, health authorities in Kosovo have registered over 125,000 patients with this virus.

Of these, 2,315 have died.

Full post by NIPHK:

Dear citizens!
We have stopped the Delta version, although many positive cases and many deaths are still being reported, expressing condolences to all family members! The virus is transmitted very quickly from one person to dozens of other people with consequences that in most cases can be fatal and that unfortunately affect children as well.
Therefore, please implement the measures recommended by the NIPHK by every citizen of the Republic. Only together will we flatten the epidemic curve and stop the rage of the SARS CoV-2 virus.
Together with the already known measures: wearing masks, keeping distance and maintaining hygiene, will achieve their effect in reducing the curve, please believe that the most effective measure in the fight against COVID-19 is VACCINATION!
So for the sake of your health!
Please!
Get vaccinated! e
Vaccination against COVID-19 saves lives!
Unvaccinated people are our biggest concern!
Vaccination is the best, cheapest and most effective method in the fight against COVID-19!
Vaccination awakens our body’s natural defenses to create resistance to specific infections and strengthens the immune system!
ë Vaccination prevents deaths and serious complications, which require hospitalization of the patient.
Vaccinate you and your relatives!
ë With vaccination we will pass the new wave from the Delta variant with as few patients and as few victims as possible.
ë None of the vaccines in use in Kosovo contain live virus that causes COVID-19. This means that you cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine.
Kosovo is the only country in the region that has provided only vaccines approved by the European and American Drug Agency is Kosovo. These vaccines are Astra-Zeneca and Pfizer. These vaccines have the safety, quality and efficacy, which meet the European and American standard.
ë Some are reluctant to be vaccinated because they are afraid of side effects which so far in Kosovo have been minimal but the benefit of protection from COVID-19 is many times greater.
ë If we are not vaccinated, new cases may increase, followed by an increase in hospitalizations, deaths, overload of the health system, reversal of restrictions, blows to mental health, school, economy, culture, arts and sports.
Dear citizens!
Get vaccinated! e
ë Protect yourself, your family, your relatives, your nation and humanity against COVID-19 with the vaccine.
ë Cover your mouth and nose with a mask!
Respect the distance!
ë Keep hygiene!

Kosovo is endangered by the “Delta” variant, as the trend of vaccination is not high, said in an interview with Ekonomia Online, Infectologist Ilir Tolaj.

“I think that Kosovo is in a more enviable situation due to the previous spread of the virus, ie an extremely percentage of the population have passed with or without symptoms and now vaccination which is being done despite being a little awkward in its aspect will to be positive even with the defense against this variant ”.

He said 60% of vaccinated persons should be reached.

Further, Tolaj said that vaccination is the only protection against the “Delta” variant and other variants that may arise in the future.

“If this trend accelerates by the end of the year, it is possible to reach this percentage. It would be much better for the highest percentage to be achieved even earlier. This period of calm in relation to the epidemiological situation with Covid should be used to vaccinate as many people as possible, as it is seen from the data from other countries that those who are infected with the Delta variant over 90% are unvaccinated and they who have not passed the infection, those who are being hospitalized over 90% are unvaccinated and those who are dying over 90% are those who have not been vaccinated and who have not passed the infection. “Vaccination is therefore the only protection against the Delta variant and other variants that may arise in the meantime.”

According to him, learning should continue because children are not attacked by the virus.

“The lesson must be held anyway. “Children are not a source of infection and are also not the main problem of transmission of the infection among the unvaccinated population and those who have not passed it,” said Tolaj.

world
July 25, 2021 – 17:25

In almost 50 US states, the number of people infected with the Delta variant of the coronavirus is increasing. As the number of hospital admissions increases, vaccination appears to have stalled in place. To date, almost less than half of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated. The average of infections for the seven-day period is over 40 thousand cases per day, an increase of more than 46% compared to a week ago.

With some 100 million Americans still unvaccinated, health care workers are facing a new wave of infections and are calling for vaccination. Abigail Pimiento is a nurse in the intensive care unit at St. Louis Hospital. Joseph in Providence.

“The patients we have are living proof that if you can, please get vaccinated,” says one nurse.

Nationwide, more than 25,000 patients are being treated in coronavirus hospitals. Mostly unvaccinated are those who are getting infected.

Brian Paris has not been vaccinated. He is battling the virus in an intensive care unit at a California hospital. But his stance on vaccination has not changed.

“I was waiting for the vaccines to receive full approval. “I do not think he would have made any changes,” said the coronavirus infected.

Louisiana, Arkansas and Florida are experiencing the highest rates of infections. Of the 23,000 infections two weeks ago in Florida, that state recorded 73,000 cases on Friday.

Despite the increase in cases, thousands of Americans attended one of the world’s largest hip-hop music festivals in Miami, Florida.

Infection of vaccinated people has also become a growing problem. In Provincetown, Massachusetts, among the 430 cases of infection, almost 70% of them are fully vaccinated individuals. Experts say vaccination alleviates symptoms for those infected and reduces risks to life. / voa

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti has called on the citizens of the country to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Kurti, while calling for vaccination, has shown a decrease in the number of people infected with CVOVID-19. But he stressed that now there is a risk of spreading the “Delta” variant of the virus and that the only protection against it is vaccination.

While calling for vaccination, Kurti stressed that the vaccines provided are safe and that Kosovo is the only country in the region that uses only vaccines approved by the United States Federal Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.

Full article:

When we accepted the task, four months ago, we found the pandemic situation much worse than the one we left on June 3, 2020. Until then, according to NIPHK data, there were a total of 1,142 cases of infection and unfortunately 30 dead.

On March 23, 2021, about 8 months later, the data showed 83,717 cases in total infected and 1,786 deaths, whereas that day alone there were 781 new cases of infection and 17 deaths.

On the day of the inauguration in the Assembly we pledged that pandemic management will be a priority of our government, to stop the growing trend of infections and deaths as a result of COVID-19 and to provide vaccines against the virus as soon as possible.

After joint efforts, today in our Republic there are only 126 active cases out of 12,808 of them as they were on the first day of our work. So the pandemic has been brought under control and the situation has improved significantly. But now we are in danger of spreading the “Delta” variant of the virus. In front of him the shield for each of us is the vaccine, and for all together the mass vaccination.

We have provided the vaccines. They are safe. Kosovo is the only country in the region that is using only vaccines approved by the Federal Drug Agency of the United States of America and the European Medicines Agency, namely Pfizer and Astrazeneca. All citizens over the age of 18 can now be vaccinated and can choose the vaccine they want to get.

Dear citizens,

I urge you to schedule appointments for vaccination on the platform https://ekosova.rks-gov.net or at the Main Family Medicine Centers in your municipalities.

With the memory of the loved ones we lost from the pandemic, take care of ourselves and our loved ones by getting vaccinated. Responsible individually and for each other, together we succeed!

05. 07. 2021.

CROWN CONTINUES TO MUTE After delta strain, South America reports fifth variant of kovid – LAMBDA strain

The delta strain of coronavirus has arrived in Serbia and many are worried about the fact that it is spreading much faster than the previous one.

Photo: flash

Although it is not more deadly, it gives a different, but not more severe clinical picture, but it is only one in a series of mutations of kovid 19. And the latest mutant, which threatens us after the delta is the so-called lambda strain, which began to spread from Latin America and it has already been found in 29 countries around the world.

Mutant to you

A week ago, this strain from the Andes, better known as variant C37, was classified by the World Health Organization in the category “under observation”, because it leads to frequent infection and appears at the same time in several countries, writes Deutsche Welle.

Microbiologist prof. Dr. Nada Kuljić Kapulica warns that this variant of the virus has not yet been sufficiently researched, but that there are indications that it is transmitted even faster than other known strains.

– Previous strains were in the second degree by weight of variants, which means that they are a cause for concern. The Lambda strain is still not sufficiently known and is in the first degree of the variant as a strain that is “interesting”. It has not been proven yet whether this strain gives a heavier clinical picture, and it is only assumed that it is transmitted faster – she said for “Kurir”.

He adds that the effect of the vaccine on this strain has yet to be determined, as well as the effect of the acquired antibodies on it. She pointed out that the virus from South America has spread to the world, and even some parts of Europe, and that it is therefore getting closer to us and that it is a matter of days when it will appear in Serbia:

– Lambda strain has spread around the world, it is also found in Germany, Italy, England, Australia. Although the consequences are not yet known, it is definitely spreading fast.

Jairo Mendez-Rico, an expert on viral diseases at the World Health Organization, told Deutsche Welle that so far there are no indications of aggressive behavior of the lambda variant.

The vaccine works

– Although there is a possibility of a higher infection rate, we still do not have substantiated research to compare this strain with gamma and delta variants – he said, but added that the vaccine is an effective remedy against mutant strains:

– All approved vaccines are generally effective against all corona variants that are in circulation around the world. There is no reason to assume that this is not the case with lambda strains.

By the way, the lambda variant first appeared in August 2020 in Peru. Almost a year later, that strain dominates there with 82 percent. In Chile, this strain causes every third infection.

On “Torlak” substance for “satellite V”

The Minister and President of the Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation with Russia, Nenad Popović, announced that a significant amount of the substance for the production of the “Sputnik V” vaccine would be delivered to Serbia today at the “Torlak” Institute.

– This is a quantity of the substance sufficient for the production of over 250,000 doses of component 1. After ten days, according to the announcements of our Russian partners, a substance for the production of the same amount of component 2 vaccines should be delivered to Serbia. have about 550,000 vaccines “Sputnik V” component 1 and component 2 – said Popovic and added that after the control at the Russian Gamaleja Institute, vaccines produced in Serbia will be released on the market.

The new wave is not dying for us, there will be stricter measures

E Epidemiologist Dr. Predrag Kon said yesterday that we still do not have enough vaccinated people, that a new wave is threatening us in the fall, and that the return of stricter measures is not excluded.

– When the wave starts, we can’t just let it go. We will have to react somehow – said Dr. Kon for TV K1 and noted that “the third dose of the vaccine is a reality”. He does not expect the new wave to be at the beginning of September, but a little later, when, as he said, we may have about 1,000 infected people a day. When asked what he would do at this point, there is no dilemma:

– I would introduce mandatory vaccination for certain groups of the population.

Source:

blic.rs

Read more

world
June 24, 2021 – 23:04

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have called on other European Union leaders to impose tougher rules on travelers from outside the EU – such as Britain – to fight the Delta version of coronavirus.

Arriving in Brussels for an EU summit, Merkel said she would lobby for a more coordinated approach, especially to tourists from regions where coronavirus variants are prevalent.

“We are obviously concerned about the Delta variant,” Merkel told reporters.

Macron urged EU countries to be extremely vigilant about the variant, which was first discovered in India.

This variant seems to be much more contagious and affects people who are not fully vaccinated.

Macron said the EU should take coordinated decisions to open borders to people from other countries.

The warnings came as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hinted that the UK was close to allowing unrestricted travel abroad for fully vaccinated people.

EU governments have agreed on a “white list” of 13 countries whose residents have travel restrictions lifted.

This list includes Australia and the United States, but lacks Britain, to which different policies apply.

France and Germany require visitors from Britain to be quarantined, while Portugal and Spain, which depend on British tourists, do not require it.

In the Lisbon region, over half of new coronavirus cases are of the Delta variant.

world
June 23, 2021 – 21:49

Israel announced on Wednesday (June 23rd) that it will delay facilitating the entry of individual tourists due to concerns about the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. This country warned that it could take other measures to prevent the spread of this variant.

“Due to concerns about the possible spread of the Delta variant, the government has postponed the entry of individual tourists until August 1,” the Israeli Ministry of Tourism said.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Wednesday that if more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 are registered every day for a week, then indoor masking will be restored.

His warning came after Israel registered over 100 new cases for the third day in a row.

Bennett also said the number of PCR tests will increase, and measures will be stepped up for people violating quarantine.

At the height of the pandemic outbreak in January, Israel recorded about 10,000 daily cases.

In many parts of the world great concerns have been raised about a new wave of infections due to the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is believed to be more contagious than other variants.

But, the World Health Organization has said that in general the vaccines against this variant remain very effective./REL