Daily COVID Tracker: US authorises second booster shot for Americans 50 and older

The United States has authorised a second COVID booster dose for Americans aged 50 and older. Here are five update about the pandemic this Wednesday.

Denmark lifts last remaining COVID-19 related restriction

The last COVID-19 related restriction in Denmark has been lifted.

Starting from Tuesday, people no longer have to be tested within 24 hours of entering the country.

This requirement only applies to people who are not vaccinated or have not recovered from a previous infection and who want to enter the country from outside the EU and Schengen area.

People in Denmark have been practically free of restrictions since February 1, after the government in Copenhagen decided to lift most of the COVID-19 restrictions owing to milder cases and high vaccination rates.

US second COVID booster for Americans 50 and older

US health officials on Tuesday authorised a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for people age 50 and older.

The US Food and Drug Administration agency cited data showing waning immunity and the risks posed by the Omicron variant.

The FDA said the new boosters of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are to be administered at least four months after the previous dose.

It also authorised a second booster dose of the vaccines for younger people with compromised immune systems — those aged 12 and older for the Pfizer shot and 18 and older for Moderna’s.

Omicron sub-variant BA.2 accounts for about 55% of COVID variants in US, says CDC

The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron was estimated to account for more than half the variants in the country.

It said the sub-variant is estimated to make up 54.9 percent of the COVID-19 variants in the US, as of March 26.

It added that BA.2 made up 39 percent of the variants in the country for the week ending March 19.

EU health ministers call for second vaccine booster for elderly

European health ministers have called for a second COVID booster shot for people over the age of 60, to boost immunity in the absence of vaccines that specifically protect against the Omicron variant.

Pointing to data from Israel, Karl Lauterbach, German health minister, said a recommendation was “urgently necessary” to reduce the risk of death from an infection.

Also, Roberto Speranza, Italy’s health minister, said, “I urge a common position of EU countries, agencies and the European commission on the fourth dose.”

UK study to test Pfizer’s COVID pill in hospitalised patients

Scientists in the UK says they will test Pfizer’s COVID pill as a potential treatment for patients hospitalised with the illness.

The trial, which they say will be the world’s largest randomised study of potential medicines for COVID-19, dubbed the RECOVERY trial, will assess Paxlovid across hospitals in Britain, which has already approved the drug for early-stage treatment.

The scientists said they aim to mainly find whether Paxlovid reduces the risk of death among patients admitted to hospitals with COVID-19.

The study will also probe whether the pill shortens the length of hospital stay or reduces the need for a mechanical ventilator.