Immunology

The European digital COVID certificate will be used for another year to travel from one country to another. The European Parliament and member states agreed on this late Monday.

Legislation to introduce the document was due to expire on June 30, but due to the ongoing pandemic, it was proposed to extend it until June 30, 2023, said the French presidency of the Council of the EU.

Greece and Kyrgyzstan have scrapped the requirement for a negative PCR test result upon entry from Turkey, Turkish Airlines announced late on May 2.

The two countries have eased travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the national flag-carrier company said on its social media accounts. 

A long-term perspective on immunity to COVID

Preclinical data on the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine developed at MedUni Vienna show that it is effective against all known variants of SARS-CoV-2, including Omicron - even in individuals who have not yet developed immunity to SARS-CoV-2 as result of vaccination (unresponsive cases). The survey data was recently published in the leading journal Allergy.

This year's Academy Awards will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for most but not all inside the Dolby Theater, Variety has reported.

Australia will open its borders to all vaccinated tourists and business travelers from Feb. 21 in a further relaxation of pandemic restrictions announced Monday.

Australia imposed some of the world's toughest travel restrictions on its citizens and permanent residents in March 2020 to prevent them from bringing COVID-19 home.

From Monday, Greece will remove the requirement for a negative test for COVID-19 to enter the country, Health Minister Thanos Plevris was quoted as saying by Macedonia's MIA news agency. From 8 February, only the presentation of an EU digital COVID certificate will be sufficient for both vaccinated and non-vaccinated passengers.

As of February 1 (Tuesday), the "red zone" will now include countries with a 14-day incidence of between 500 and 5,000 per 100,000 population. Persons arriving from these countries are allowed in Bulgaria upon presentation of a valid EU digital COVID certificate for vaccination, post-illness or testing (PCR or antigen test) or equivalent/similar documents.

Tighter restrictions on those not vaccinated against covid come into force in France today, DPA reported.

People who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus and who have not had the disease will not be able to visit restaurants, bars, cultural sites, sporting events and long-distance trains.

During America's last surge of the coronavirus driven by the Delta variant, people who were unvaccinated but survived Covid were better protected than those who were vaccinated and not previously infected, a new study said Wednesday.