Austria's vaccine board recommends 4th COVID jab

ZURICH - Austria should offer some healthcare staff and other key workers a fourth COVID-19 jab, the National Vaccination Board said in updated guidance published late on Thursday, citing risks from the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

But it said there was not enough scientific data for it to recommend fourth shots be given more widely.

"In view of an imminent Omicron wave, (a fourth vaccination) can be offered in high-risk areas (e.g., exposed health care personnel) and in systemically critical areas from six months after the third vaccination," the board said.

Austria said on Wednesday it will tighten restrictions again from Dec. 27 to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

In November, the government announced a fourth national lockdown and said it would make vaccinations compulsory for all Austrians, the first European Union country to do so.

While that three-week lockdown slashed daily COVID-19 infections from record levels, the country is bracing for another surge. Several hundred Omicron cases have been confirmed already.

In its updated guidelines, the National Vaccination Board said fourth COVID-19 shots could be given "off label" to groups in healthcare and other critical areas following medical consultation.

"There is still no evidence that this additional vaccination can prevent infections. However, it can be it can be assumed that serious illnesses can be prevented," it said. 

-reuters

Fender, Gibson offer online resources for guitar lovers in quarantine

As more than one billion people have been asked to stay home in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the music community is coming together to entertain and support self-isolated fans.

In an effort to keep aspiring musicians busy at home, Fender is now offering three months of free guitar, bass and ukulele lessons through its Fender Play platform.



“With everything happening in the world, music has the power to connect us. We want to do our part to see you through, the way we know how. We’re all going to be spending more time inside, so we might as well make some noise,” the guitarist brand wrote on its Twitter announcement.

The new three-month offer is available to the first 100,000 new subscribers to Fender Play, where music lovers of all levels can discover easy-to-follow video tutorials from “world-class instructors.”

Normally priced at $9.99 (around P506) a month, the Fender Play app also includes how-to videos for hundreds of chart-topping songs by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Green Day, Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran and more.

Meanwhile, Gibson has just launched his own “HomeMade Sessions” initiative, where the instrument brand will offer exclusive to at-home performances and interviews from the world’s best guitarists.

“As world leaders in music, we are stepping in and bringing both legendary and new artists, music brands and industry partners together across the globe to launch ‘Gibson HomeMade’; a worldwide program to unite music lovers everywhere and spread hope through tough times,” Cesar Gueikian, chief merchant officer of Gibson, said in a press statement.

The initiative, available on Gibson TV, will include full-length performances and original content from Gibson, Epiphone and Kramer artists such as ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Slash and Warren Haynes.

“When times are tough and uncertain, music provides a comfort and dependability we all need. Music unites us all, even when we are apart and ‘socially distanced,'” Haynes said of “Gibson HomeMade Sessions” in a statement.


While Fender and Gibson have announced their own music initiatives, a handful of artists have created their own tutorials from home.

Among them are Queen’s guitarist Brian May, who launched his “Micro Concerts” series by teaching fans how to master the iconic guitar solo from the band’s 1975 hit, “Bohemian Rhapsody”.


“This is my contribution to the Common Good tonight. A raw cheer-up outburst. Living Room Rock! IG-ROCK! Is this the future? To all you folks out there feeling as disorientated as I do – let’s isolate together!!! And keep rockin’ together !! OK? With love. Yours truly – your friendly neighborhood chap who clearly imagines he’s in Hawaii!!!” said the legendary guitarist. JB

source: pop.inquirer.net

Thai immigration officers at Bangkok airport diagnosed with COVID-19

BANGKOK, Thailand — Two immigration officers at Bangkok's main airport have coronavirus and may have handled the passports of visitors to Thailand, a health official said Wednesday.

The men, both working at Suvarnabhumi airport, fell ill on March 7 and 8 respectively and potentially came into contact with arriving passengers in the days before their diagnosis.


One of the officers was among a team leading health screenings of Thai returnees from South Korea—which has reported the second most COVID-19 infections in Asia after China.

"They were not working at the same spots," Sopon Iamsirithaworn of the Disease Control Department said.

"There is a chance they came into contact with foreigners or touched passports," he added.

Thailand's Interior Minister said Wednesday it will suspend visa-free arrivals from South Korea, Hong Kong and Italy, as well as visa-on-arrival from 18 countries—including China and India.

All affected visitors must apply for visas at Thai embassies in their own countries and present a medical certificate.

Thailand's economy is heavily reliant on tourism.


The deadly virus has hammered the sector costing the country billions of dollars, mainly after Chinese tourists were quarantined on the mainland or stayed at home.

Many western visitors have also canceled holidays or deferred bookings as Thai authorities issue a baffling barrage of advice.

After days drip-feeding conflicting information to holidaymakers, health authorities said on Friday there will be no compulsory quarantine for people from countries hardest hit by the virus.

Thailand has reported 59 cases of the new coronavirus, but there are concerns the low figure may be a reflection of very limited testing program.

Flag carrier Thai Airways said from Friday it will suspend all flights to Italy, where over 630 people have died with around 10,000 infected so far.

Agence France-Presse

Vietnam vows to punish hiders of coronavirus after new cases

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnamese authorities vowed Monday to punish anyone concealing sickness after 13 people caught the deadly new coronavirus on a flight to Hanoi, sparking lockdowns and panic-buying in the capital.

The Southeast Asian country had previously reported only 16 cases of the virus despite bordering China — the epicentre of the global outbreak — but a cluster of infections was discovered at the weekend among 201 passengers on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Britain.


The group were in quarantine Monday and recovering, Vietnam's health ministry said, with the hospital they were held in placed on lockdown along with several houses and hotels in Hanoi where they had stayed.

Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc vowed Monday to "duly punish" those who fail to disclose a coronavirus diagnosis, according to state media.

He told a meeting of officials in Hanoi that "we need strong, adequate and immediate measures to effectively stop the source of infection".

Authorities have launched an online tool asking all citizens to declare their health status.

"Declaring false information... may be subject to criminal handling," stated an official notice.

A 29-year-old woman on the flight from London was found to be suffering from the disease after returning to Hanoi from a tour of France, Italy and Britain.

She is believed to have infected her aunt and driver, forcing authorities to isolate several houses near her home and a private hospital where she first sought treatment.

The other patients included Vietnamese, British, Irish and Mexican nationals.

A minister on the same flight tested negative for the virus but was also quarantined for 14 days with the group.

The health ministry said there may be "more cases to be discovered as a result of close contact" with the first patient.

People in the capital were seen panic-buying staple items as the lockdown of the hospital began.

The infections bring the country's total to 30, including a man who returned from South Korea, but more than 18,600 people have been monitored for illness or placed in isolation since early February. No-one has died from the virus.

Vietnam has granted limited access to visitors from China and South Korea — another major coronavirus hotspot — since the outbreak began at the start of the year, imposing a 14-day quarantine at government-controlled centres.

Several sports and cultural events have been cancelled across the nation, but Vietnam's inaugural Formula One race is still set to go ahead on April 5 in Hanoi.

Agence France-Presse