This article will be updated throughout the day.
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The American health service CDC has started an investigation into two more patients who developed serious complaints after vaccination with the Janssen vaccine. A woman from Oregon died and a woman was hospitalized in Texas.
Last week, authorities in the US advised temporarily halting the use of the Leiden corona vaccine. At least six people had experienced a very rare and dangerous combination of blood clots and low platelet counts after vaccination. The US had already vaccinated about seven million people with the drug.
The Oregon woman was given the vaccine before an injection break was decided, state health authorities say. She developed “a rare blood clot within two weeks of the vaccination.” It remains to be determined whether the corona vaccine caused these complaints.
The new reports of health problems in vaccinated people come at a sensitive time. Advisers from the Center for Disease Prevention (CDC) will discuss on Friday how to proceed with the corona vaccine from Janssen, a subsidiary of the large American concern Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
7.35 – Thirteen corona patients died in hospital fire in India
At least thirteen corona patients died in a hospital fire just outside Mumbai on Thursday night, local authorities say. The fire raged in an intensive care unit.
“Seventeen patients were inside when a fire broke out in the intensive care unit of Vijay Vallabh Hospital, 13 of whom died and four were taken elsewhere,” the fire brigade reported. “The fire has now been extinguished,” said the fire service spokesman. He also announced that the fire broke out at 3 a.m.
The accident in the city of Vasai-Virar, in the state of Maharashtra, is the latest tragedy in India’s unprecedented wave of contamination. The country is struggling with severe shortages of oxygen, medicines and hospital beds.
Two days earlier, 22 corona patients died in another hospital when the oxygen supply was cut due to a leak. In another clinic in Maharashtra, four people were killed earlier this month after a fire broke out. Yet another fire in a Mumbai hospital claimed 11 lives last month.
For the second day in a row, India reported the highest daily increase in the number of infections worldwide on Friday. Another 332,430 new infections were detected in 24 hours. In the past 24 hours, 2,263 people died from the effects of Covid-19. In this month alone, 4 million infections were added in India.
With nearly 16 million infections, India has the highest number of corona cases after the United States. In terms of death toll, the country ranks fourth with nearly 185,000 corona deaths recorded.
Several countries have imposed a flight ban on India as a result of the severe wave of contamination there. Healthcare minister Hugo de Jonge saw no reason to impose a flight ban from India on Thursday.
7.21 – Corona support for housing costs: 2000 euros per month in Amstelveen to 150 euros in Nissewaard
From a maximum of 2000 euros per month in Amstelveen to just 150 euros in Nissewaard: the amount that people can apply for as a corona support to pay their fixed living costs varies greatly per municipality. This is reported by data journalism news agency LocalFocus on the basis of an investigation into the so-called Temporary Support Necessary Costs (TONK).
Municipalities determine their own policy regarding the TONK scheme, which was created to help households who lose income due to the corona measures to pay for their fixed living costs such as rent, mortgage and municipal taxes.
Two out of three municipalities announce the amount of their financial contribution on their website. Of these, Aalsmeer and Amstelveen apply the highest maximum rates: 12,000 per six months, or 2000 euros per month.
Heerlen in Limburg is the most generous in terms of policy and does not apply a maximum rate at all. This is very different in municipalities such as Nissewaard, Laren or Eemnes, which only offer 900 euros per six months. Information about the TONK scheme is not easy to find on about twenty municipal sites. This is the case in Schiedam, Roosendaal and Dordrecht, among others.
A spokesperson for the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) said that municipalities with less financial capacity were cautious in determining policy. When in mid-March it became apparent that the government would double the previously pledged amount of 130 million euros, some municipalities adjusted the maximum amount slightly upwards. According to Paul Elhorst, professor of spatial econometrics of the University of Groningen, the policy regarding the TONK scheme may also depend on the political composition of the councils of the mayor and aldermen.
At the beginning of April, it turned out that the TONK scheme was applied for much less than expected. A spokesman for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) says that “the reputation of the TONK still requires an extra push.”
7.18 – Thirteen corona patients die in hospital fire in India
At least thirteen corona patients died in a hospital fire just outside Mumbai on Thursday night, local authorities say. The fire raged in an intensive care unit.
“Seventeen patients were inside when a fire broke out in the intensive care unit of Vijay Vallabh Hospital, 13 of whom died and four were taken elsewhere,” the fire brigade reported. “The fire has now been extinguished,” said the fire service spokesman. He also said that the fire broke out at 3 a.m.
The accident in the city of Vasai-Virar, in the state of Maharashtra, is the latest tragedy in India’s unprecedented wave of contamination. The country is struggling with severe shortages of oxygen, medicines and hospital beds.
Two days earlier, 22 corona patients died in another hospital when the oxygen supply was cut due to a leak. In another clinic in Maharashtra, four people were killed earlier this month after a fire broke out. Yet another fire in a Mumbai hospital claimed 11 lives last month.
Several countries have imposed a flight ban on India as a result of the severe wave of contamination there. Healthcare minister Hugo de Jonge saw no reason to impose a flight ban from India on Thursday.
7.17 – EMA provides more information about AstraZeneca
The European medicines agency EMA is expected to release a new analysis of AstraZeneca’s corona vaccine this Friday. The EMA previously concluded that a combination of blood clots (thrombosis) and a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia) can be a very rare side effect of the vaccine. But overall, the benefits of the shot still far outweigh the drawbacks, the EMA said.
These disadvantages were mainly found in women under the age of 60. Following the advice of the Health Council of Friday, April 9, the cabinet decided to only offer the AstraZeneca vaccine to people born in 1960 or earlier. It is not possible to choose something else yourself.
7.00 – Announcement of chosen fast testers for partly reopening the Netherlands
The Open Netherlands Foundation will announce on Friday which providers of rapid corona tests can help the Testing for Access project with the partial reopening of the Netherlands. Additional testing capacity is needed to achieve the goal of the cabinet, which set aside 1.1 billion to make 400,000 rapid tests administered daily by the end of May possible. There are 44 companies that have offered their services for seven places, one for all seven regions in which the Open Netherlands Foundation has divided the country.
Candidates also include a few quick test providers who took part in the recent summary proceedings against Stichting Open Nederland. If several parties in a region meet the set conditions, a draw will be the deciding factor.
Last week, thirty rapid test companies filed a lawsuit against the foundation, because only the Baarnse Lead Healthcare had been approached for the first part of the pilot to partially reopen the Netherlands. Lead Healthcare was given that task without a usual public tender, which meant that other interested parties had no chance of winning the contract. This was chosen because a public tender takes six to eight weeks, Corona Minister Hugo de Jonge said in the Lower House. The court in Amsterdam ruled in favor of the Open Netherlands Foundation.
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Lunch Update
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