New COVID-19 wave seen in many EU countries

A man gets tested with an antigenic test for COVID-19 in Paris on July 6, 2022. (ALAIN JOCARD / AFP)

GENEVA / STOCKHOLM / JOHANNESBURG / LONDON / OTTAWA / THE HAGUE / CAIRO / BOGOTA – Europe is facing a new wave of COVID-19 driven by the highly-transmissible BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron, said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday.

"We see a new wave of COVID-19 in many members of the European Union," Marco Cavaleri, head of Biological Health Threats and Vaccines Strategy of the EMA, told an online press conference from Amsterdam.

"The wave is driven by BA.4 and BA.5 which are highly-transmissible," Cavaleri added. "Based on current predictions, BA.4 and BA.5 are expected to become dominant across the European countries, likely replacing all other variants by the end of July."

In April, the EMA already advised people aged 80 and above to get a second booster vaccine. Now, Cavaleri repeated that message and also suggested a second booster for those aged from 60 to 79, as well as medically vulnerable people of any age.

"Although there is no evidence that the variants make people sicker than earlier strains of the virus, the increase in transmission among older age groups is starting to translate into severe diseases," Cavaleri said. "As this new wave is unfolding across Europe, it is essential to maintain the protection of vulnerable groups and avoid any postponement of vaccination."

This file photo dated April 20, 2021 shows an exterior view of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (PETER DEJONG / FILE / AP)

Meanwhile, the EMA is open to using next generation COVID-19 vaccines that target older offshoots of the Omicron variant this fall, an official said on Thursday, amid a rise in cases due to new Omicron subvariants.

While the existing coronavirus vaccines continue to provide good protection against hospitalization and death, vaccine effectiveness has taken a hit as the virus has evolved. The EMA expects new COVID vaccine boosters to be approved by September.

Vaccines designed to target the newer BA.4 and BA.5 strains of Omicron, currently driving a surge in new infections globally, have only recently entered clinical development, so how quickly any such vaccine could be made available is also a consideration, said Marco Cavaleri, EMA's head of health threats and vaccines strategy.

"That's why for the time being we still think that it's very good to keep all options open and to not exclude any of these candidates from any potential approval," he told a press briefing.

"The problem is that nobody can predict what will be circulating in the fall and maybe BA.5 is not circulating anymore, then what are we going to do?," the EMA's Cavaleri added on Thursday.

"We should be extremely careful in not thinking about chasing the virus continuously and thinking that we can be ready with a vaccine composition that is exactly matching what will be in circulation in the future. That is simply impossible."

An elderly couple wearing protective face masks against COVID-19 walks past the Pfizer Inc headquarters on Dec 9, 2020 in New York City. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

Africa

Africa's top public health body said on Thursday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Pfizer for countries on the continent to receive supplies of the Paxlovid pill to treat COVID-19.

Data from a mid-to-late stage study in November last year showed the antiviral medication was nearly 90 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths compared to a placebo, in adults at high risk of severe illness.

"We have signed the MOU with Pfizer and we are going to be able to make that particular treatment available to African countries," said Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ouma said the MOU would allow African countries to access Paxlovid at cost.

The Africa CDC, which is an agency of the 55-member African Union, had said in March the MOU was ready, but needed to be cleared by its legal office.

Canada

Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced Thursday an investment to create a pan-Canadian platform to advance research into the effectiveness and clinical challenges of new COVID-19 treatments in non-hospitalized patients.

With the investment of 10 million Canadian dollars ($8 million), the Canadian ADAptive Platform Trial of COVID-19 Therapeutics in Community Settings (Can-ADAPT COVID) will investigate outpatient medications for COVID-19 such as nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and provide key insights into whether treatments prevent hospitalization and post COVID-19 condition, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research said in a press release.

According to the release, this study will also offer timely evidence to clinical researchers, health system managers, and public health officials in Canada and abroad.

Many drugs are being evaluated in Canada and around the world as potential treatments for COVID-19. Health Canada has authorized several of these for use in Canada.

A girl gets a shot of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at a school in Bogota, Colombia, on Nov 8, 2021. (FERNANDO VERGARA / AP)

Colombia

Residents in Colombia's capital Bogota must continue to practice social distancing and other preventive health measures given the recent rise in COVID-19 cases, District Health Secretary Alejandro Gomez Lopez said on Thursday.

Bogota has seen a significant spike in COVID-19 infections and other acute respiratory diseases in the last two months.

"It is advisable to continue using a face mask in enclosed spaces, especially when we have respiratory symptoms. It is very important to continue frequent hand washing and to isolate patients with these conditions," Gomez said.

Bogota reported 7,179 COVID-19 cases at the end of June, 76 percent increase over the previous month.

Egypt

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Thursday urged the citizens to adhere to health measures against the COVID-19 during the Eid al-Adha holiday due to the recent rise in infections.

Madbouly called on the citizens to adhere to the precautionary measures against the virus, especially wearing medical face masks, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement.

His remarks came days after senior health officials said that Egypt's daily infections have increased by 7 to 8 percent recently.

Egypt, the most populous Arab country, launched last year a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign for its citizens, thanks to its cooperation with China in manufacturing the vaccines locally.

Celebrated by all Muslims worldwide, the Eid al-Adha holiday will start on July 9 in Egypt.

A medial worker holds a tray with syringes and a vial containing Comirnaty, Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine against COVID-19, as preparations take place at Stockholm's City Hall to convert the venue for the Nobel Prize banquets into a COVID-19 vaccination center for a day on Feb 21, 2021 in the capital of Sweden, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP)

Sweden

Sweden is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases and healthcare can expect an increase in pressure over the summer, the health minister said on Thursday.

"Quite a few are ill even though we are in the middle of the summer. We also see a small increase in the number of COVID-19 patients who need hospital care and intensive care," Minister of Health Lena Hallengren told a news conference.

"However, we don't see the type of impact we saw earlier in the pandemic, I want to stress that," she said.

Cases in Sweden are hard to track as testing is limited to people receiving healthcare but the Health Agency said it estimated infections were increasing by 30-40 percent for each of the last few weeks, but from low levels.

Hallengren did not present any restrictions but urged people to stay at home if sick.

On Thursday, 11 people with COVID-19 were treated at intensive care units, far from the over 500 patients at the peak of the first wave in 2020 but somewhat more than during past weeks.