Germany surpasses 100,000 deaths from Covid-19, France chooses 3rd injection, no lockdown

The European Union (EU) Medicines Agency (EMA) on November 25 approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5-11, paving the way forCovid-19 vaccinationfor millions of primary school students as a new wave of infections sweeps across the continent.

According to Reuters news agency, EMA recommends that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be injected into two doses in the upper arm, each dose of 10 micrograms, 3 weeks apart.

Vaccinating children and young people, who can unwittingly transmit Covid-19 to others, is seen as a crucial step in containing the pandemic. In Germany and the Netherlands, the majority of cases are among children.

Pfizer and BioNTech said their vaccine, marketed under the name Comirnaty, was 90.7% effective against the coronavirus in clinical trials in children aged 5-11.

The European Commission (EC) is the final authority to approve the use of vaccines, but it usually approves the EMA's recommendation. In May, the EU approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for use in children aged 12-17.

After the EMA made its decision, the Hungarian government announced its readiness to vaccinate children of this age.

Also on November 25, the European Commission proposed that EU residents will have to get a booster shot if they want to travel to another country in the bloc next summer.

Germany surpasses 100,000 deaths from Covid-19

Chancellor Angela Merkel called November 25 a very sad day, as Germany became the latest country to surpass 100,000 deaths from Covid-19 since the pandemic began. Germany is the fifth country in Europe to do so, after Russia, the UK, Italy and France.

According to AP, Germany's national disease control agency recorded 351 more deaths from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths from Covid-19 in the country to 100,119. The number of infections in Germany in one day also hit a new record of 75,961.

Hospitals in some regions, especially in the east and south of Germany, are under great pressure, with the country's top virologist, Christian Drosten, warning that another 100,000 people could die in the pandemic.

The head of the Robert Koch Institute said the coronavirus mortality rate in Germany is 0.8%, meaning that if the daily number of infections is around 50,000, about 400 people a day will die.

Millions of Americans get booster shots

Millions of Americans have received booster shots against Covid-19 in recent days after the country expanded eligibility to all adults last week. So far, 37.5 million people have received booster shots in the U.S. But health officials are urging more people to get vaccinated amid concerns that cases will surge during the winter holidays.

France chooses 3rd injection, no lockdown

France on November 25 launched a plan to give all adults a booster shot against Covid-19, instead of imposing a tighter lockdown or curfew to combat the rising number of infections in the country.

In the past few days, the number of coronavirus infections in France has increased, with the number of new cases per day exceeding 30,000. French Health Minister Olivier Veran said that the gap between the second and third doses is 5-6 months. And that France has enough vaccines to launch a booster vaccination campaign.

The official also said that from today (November 26), people are required to wear masks in indoor areas and at Christmas markets.