November 30 Omicron coronavirus variant news

Vaccines developed to target the new Omicron coronavirus variant could be approved in three to four months if needed, the chief of the European Union's drug regulator said on Tuesday. 

Although vaccines so far had proven "effective against the circulating variants," there is a need to "understand whether or not this will be the case" with Omicron, Emer Cooke, Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), told the European Parliament.

A two-week laboratory testing process must first take place to establish whether the current crop of vaccines provide protection against Omicron, Cooke said.  

Health officials will also have to consider how the European situation compares to that of South Africa, Cooke said, pointing to the EU's older population, higher vaccine uptake and booster rollout as key factors. 

If there is a need to change the current vaccines, companies will then have to adapt their formulations to include the new sequencing, Cooke said. She added that the EMA is working with drug companies and other regulators to ensure they are "as prepared and ready as possible" .

Cooke also stressed "that the current vaccines provide protection."

She also reinforced the importance of pushing forward with the booster rollout across the bloc so that those eligible for the additional protection receive it. 

The Omicron variant was present in The Netherlands as early as Nov. 19, a week earlier than previously known, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment said Tuesday.

That’s a week before last Friday — when 14 passengers on two flights from South Africa tested positive for the Omicron variant after arrival in the Netherlands.

The variant was confirmed in two test samples taken on Nov. 19 and Nov. 23, RIVM said.

The two newly discovered cases takes the total number of confirmed Omicron infections in the Netherlands to 16, an RIVM spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

Earlier this month, Austria took a step once unthinkable for a Western democracy: It announced that Covid-19 vaccinations would become compulsory for its entire population.

Up until then, governments around the world had rejected the idea of a universal coronavirus vaccine mandate, opting instead for incentives and other "nudges" to motivate people to get shots. Even in authoritarian states, like China, it is not mandatory policy.

Austria's extraordinary move came just days after it introduced a lockdown for the unvaccinated -- a restriction that went farther than other European nations in singling out the people who have been driving a worrying surge in hospitalizations.

The series of decisions leading Austria to this point reflects the desperate position governments find themselves in as they look to protect public health systems and tentative economic recoveries as cases soar across Europe. The continent is once again ground zero for the global pandemic, despite the widespread availability of vaccines.

It is that irony that has drawn the ire of Europe's leaders, who are growing increasingly frustrated by vaccine skeptics and other pockets of the population still resisting Covid-19 vaccination programs.

Austria's tough new measures were unveiled before the announcement of the discovery of the Omicron variant late last week, which triggered fears that the winter Covid-19 wave could be more brutal than previously thought. The news of the variant could push more countries to harden their approach, pivoting from voluntary to mandatory measures in a last-ditch effort to get shots in arms.

In explaining Austria's decision, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg pointed to the successes of Italy and France, which have introduced vaccine mandates in all but name — requiring health passes as proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from infection to attend public gatherings, travel or go to work — in conjunction with public health measures, like mask wearing.

Both countries have also made vaccination mandatory for health workers — two of five countries to do so in Europe, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

South Africa is now mulling compulsory Covid-19 shots following the discovery of the Omicron variant. And on Tuesday, Greece announced that vaccinations for citizens over the age of 60 will be mandatory from mid-January.

Read more of this report here:

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China has locked down several cities close to its northern border with Mongolia, following several outbreaks of Covid-19.

The largest flareup is in the Inner Mongolian city of Manzhouli, a crucial land port of entry bordering Russia.

On Tuesday the city had 34 confirmed cases, bringing its total number of cases to 73 since the start of the current outbreak which began on Saturday.

Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of northeastern China, bordering the independent country Mongolia and Russia.

On Monday, a total of 42 locally transmitted cases were also reported across two provinces and three municipalities in northern China, mostly in the city of Hulunbuir.

The city of Manzhouli has conducted three city-wide mass testings on its 300,000 residents over three days, according to the local government. The third round of testing happened Tuesday morning.

The city has been placed under a strict lockdown, with public transport suspended and 24-hour guarded checkpoints set up around its borders.

All residents are prohibited from going out -- apart from medical support staff and material delivery personnel. Businesses, schools, universities, and kindergartens are closed across Manzhouli, the local government said in a press release Monday.

Genome sequencing of the first three cases in Manzhouli found that the infections may have been spread via “imported goods," the Center for Epidemic Prevention and Control in Manzhouli said Tuesday.

From December 1, Manzhouli railway port will suspend the import of non-container goods that require manual handling.

Several other cities -- some hundreds of miles from Manzhouli -- have also been locked down, with major roads connecting the districts blocked off.

Covid-19 vaccinations for all Greek citizens over the age of 60 will soon be mandatory, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Tuesday.

Citizens who have not booked their first dose by January 16 will face a 100 euro (US $113) fine each passing month.

Money raised from the fines will go to a special fund to finance Greek hospitals.

Mitsotakis also warned that citizens should be vigilant as the new Omicron variant “will sooner or later make its appearance in Greece,” noting once again that the answer is not another lockdown.

Greece, like much of Europe, has been grappling with a fresh wave of infections and big rise in hospitalizations.

Passengers on London public transport have been told to wear a face mask or risk a £200 (US $267) fine from Tuesday, in line with tightened government restrictions.

Face coverings are now mandatory on public transport and in shops across the United Kingdom, as part of tougher restrictions to help prevent the spread of the new Omicron variant. 

All customers travelling on Transport for London’s (TfL) network -- which includes buses, underground and overground trains -- must wear a face covering or “risk being fined, unless they are exempt,” TfL said in a statement Tuesday. 

Face coverings have remained mandatory on TfL services since the UK government removed the national mask mandate on public transport over the summer.

But in reality, many passengers in the capital regularly travel without a face covering, and TfL has admitted enforcement powers had been “highly limited."

Public transport passengers must now wear a face covering for their entire journey, including “in stations and on platforms,” as well as in taxi and private hire vehicles,” TfL said. It added that people who have trouble breathing, children and anyone who finds masks difficult to manage correctly could be exempt. 

TfL will also be handing out face masks at various locations across the UK capital for a short time. 

China has “every confidence” it will be able to hold the Winter Olympics in February, despite the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday.

Several cases of the Omicron variant have now been confirmed across Asia Pacific -- including in Australia, Japan and the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong. 

China is yet to issue travel restrictions in response to the new variant, but maintains strict controls over its borders as it continues to pursue a zero-covid strategy. 

Zhao said China appreciated South Africa's timely sharing of information on the discovery of the Omicron variant. He added that the Chinese government would work with southern African countries to defeat the new strain through solidarity, cooperation and joint efforts.

The total number of Omicron cases in the United Kingdom rose to 14 on Tuesday, with the biggest leap coming from Scotland.

The number includes nine cases in Scotland and five in England, according to government figures. 

Scotland on Tuesday identified three additional cases of the coronavirus variant, Scottish Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf, told Good Morning Scotland.

Across Scotland, there are now five cases in the Lanarkshire area, and four in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. 

Booster shots will now be offered to all people aged over 18 in Scotland, three months after the second dose, in line with UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) recommendation. 

Covid-19 did not seem to hurt the developing brains of babies born to mothers who had mild or moderate infections, according to a new unpublished study presented at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting Tuesday. 

Researchers performed magnetic resonance imaging or MRI scans to examine the brain development of the fetuses developing in the bodies of 33 patients at about 28 weeks of pregnancy. There was no indication that the infection, which the mothers got around 18 weeks into their pregnancies, had affected fetal brain development.  

Mothers with more severe infections were not included in the study. 

Stöcklein added that she hopes people who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant get vaccinated.

Pregnant women are immune compromised and at high risk of severe complications of Covid-19, and these include miscarriage.

Covid-19 can also pose serious problems for mother and child. Another study published Tuesday in PLoS Medicine showed that people who were pregnant and tested positive for Covid-19 had a higher number of deaths, premature or induced birth, fetal distress, pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, hemorrhage before or after birth, and cesarean sections. They were also admitted to the ICU much more frequently.