New Covid cases rising again but hospitalizations still dropping

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended Spikevax from Moderna for vaccinating children aged 6 to 11 against Covid. It should be half the strength of the adult dose, and booster shots will be possible. The vaccine is already approved for use in adults and children aged 12 and above. In the Czech Republic, children from the age of five are vaccinated with the previously approved Comirnaty childhood vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech.

The wearing of respirators against the spread of Covid spread will remain mandatory in only public transport, and health and social services as of March 14, Health Minister Vlastimil Válek tweeted. No protection of the respiratory tract will be compulsory anywhere else. "If the positive development continues, we will fully abandon the respirators during April," he added.

Currently, respirators are required in all public internal spaces including workplaces and public transport. Wearing a respirator will still be required in public transport, such as trains, buses, taxis, and chairlift cabins. They will also be compulsory in the homes for the elderly, the disabled, and those with dementia. Exemptions remain for pre-school children, persons with diminished intellect and mental capabilities, hospitalized people, public transport drivers, and those with a medical certificate saying their health condition prevents it.

Experts say Czechia faces another, a minor wave of the coronavirus epidemic. According to data from the Institute of Health Information and Statistics (ÚZIS), the increase is not linked to the inflow of refugees from the war-stricken Ukraine. According to the National Health Institute (SZÚ), a newly detected subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant, the more infectious BA.2, has spread from Denmark. Sample sequencing data show that BA.2 makes up about one-quarter of new infections in Czechia.

Biologist Jaroslav Flegr said that a small spring wave might be expected and it had already started in Prague. However, he dismissed that it would have something to do with the arrival of Ukrainian refugees. Instead, he said the relaxation of the anti-epidemic measures came roughly one month earlier than it should have. He expects another wave to come in the autumn, but its impact will gradually weaken thanks to the vaccination and the available medicine, he added.

The Constitutional Court received a proposal from the opposition ANO and Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) movements to repeal part of the Pandemic Law. Judge-rapporteur Jaromír Jirsa will prepare a draft ruling, which he will submit to all of the constitutional judges for a vote. ANO and SPD are asking for priority consideration of the proposal.

Germany deleted all countries, including the Czech Republic, from its list of areas with a high risk of coronavirus infection. Those who were not vaccinated or did not have Covid in the past six months no longer need to quarantine after entering the country. The Czech Republic had been on Germany’s list since mid-November. Under the new rules, Czechs no longer have to fill in the passenger locator form when entering Germany.

Travelers entering Germany must still present a certificate showing Covid vaccination or recovery, or a negative PCR test. Children under 12 are exempt. Previously, the exemption was granted to only children under 6. Germany will now only define as high-risk those countries where coronavirus variants other than Omicron, which caused a mild course of the infection, predominate.

The new Nuvaxovid vaccine from the pharmaceutical firm Novavax was given on Wednesday to the first five people, all in Prague. According to Tuesday’s data, there are about 8,500 candidates and about 130,000 doses available. Some 41 vaccination sites have this type of vaccine, at least one in each region. Seven are Prague. The numbers infected with coronavirus have been declining for several weeks, as has the interest in vaccinations, especially the first vaccination.

The opposition movements ANO and Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) plan to jointly submit a proposal to the Constitutional Court by the end of the week to repeal part of the pandemic law. They are asking for priority discussion. They criticize the discussion of the amendment in a state of legislative emergency.

People can get vaccinated with the Nuvaxovid vaccine from the pharmaceutical firm Novavax at 41 places in the Czech Republic. Most of them are in Prague, South Moravia, and the Ústí nad Labem region. In total, it is possible to be vaccinated against coronavirus with other vaccines at 460 sites. In Prague, people can get the vaccine at Motol University Hospital (FN Motol), Military University Hospital Prague (ÚVN), Prague Congress Center, Avenier - centrum očkování a cestovní medicíny, GHC Genetics ImunoGen, and LRS Chvaly.

Vaccination with Nuvaxovid has already started, but the Health Ministry's data does not show how many people have received it so far. About 8,500 candidates have pre-registered for this vaccine in the last month. So far, 130,000 doses have arrived and 370,000 have been ordered. The vaccine is based on a protein spike. The Health Ministry hopes it will appeal to people who are wary of mRNA-based vaccines.

The Czech National Health Institute (SZÚ) recommends sending samples of Covid-positive Ukrainian refugees for sequencing analysis as a precautionary principle. The laboratory looks into the spread of the coronavirus variants. According to the data from before the Russian invasion last week, Ukraine was facing a coronavirus epidemic wave starting in mid-January that culminated in early February when the seven-day Covid incidence was roughly 860 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the Czech Republic, it was four times higher then. About 36 percent of the inhabitants of Ukraine are fully vaccinated against Covid compared to roughly 65 in the Czech Republic.

 The humanitarian crisis caused by war in Ukraine may cause Covid to spread further. It will also hamper vaccination efforts across Europe, health security and human rights specialists said, according to a report by Bloomberg. A large number of refugees would significantly affect the ability of neighboring countries to provide health care, including Covid-19 shots. “There are not yet good systems for providing vaccines in humanitarian and conflict situations. The influx of large populations living in crowded conditions will result in increased transmission but little protection.” Northeastern University law professor Brook Baker told Bloomberg.  

Currently, the Omicron variant prevails in the Czech Republic, making up 99 percent of positive cases, while some 16.7 percent of them are its sub-variant BA.2. Omicron started prevailing over Delta around Jan. 9 and now, it is responsible for almost all Covid cases. In the past eight days, the Czech National Health Institute (SZÚ) had data from 44 laboratories screening 19,500 samples with the PCR discriminatory method. "The BA.2 variant has been gradually dominating all over the world," the SZÚ said. The available data say BA.2 is spreading faster than the original Omicron and reinfection cannot be ruled out either.

The first shipment of 130,000 doses of the Nuvaxovid vaccine from the pharmaceutical firm Novavax has arrived in the Czech Republic yesterday, but interest is far below what had been predicted. The Czech Republic has so far ordered 375,000 doses for the inoculation of 187,500 people. Pre-registration for vaccination was launched on Feb. 1 and 6,930 people expressed interest in the first four days. But by Feb. 15, the number had grown to just 7,847 and as of yesterday was 8,252. Nuvaxovid is a protein-based vaccine partly made in the Czech Republic.

Health Minister Vlastamil Válek hoped that it would appeal to people who were skeptical of mRNA-based vaccines. The vaccine can last for nine months in unopened vials when stored at a temperature of 2-8 ° C. The Health Ministry declined to comment on what it will do with the vaccine if interest doesn’t increase.  

The Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ČOI) has filed a criminal complaint against former Social Democrat politician Jan Kořínek for selling textile bleach with a book claiming that drinking it cures Covid or cancer. According to experts, the chemical is dangerous and even toxic. The ČOI, which protects consumers, filed a criminal complaint so the case will now be handled by the police. "The Czech Trade Inspection Authority can only punish in the form of fines within the framework of misdemeanors. It has no jurisdiction over criminal offenses. We believe that this fulfills the characteristics of a criminal offense," ČOI spokesman Jiří Fröhlich said.

A shipment of 130,000 doses of the Nuvaxovid vaccine from the pharmaceutical firm Novavax has arrived in the Czech Republic. Pre-registered people will now receive an SMS informing them they can register for the vaccine now. The Czech Republic has so far ordered 375,000 doses for the inoculation of 187,500 people. So far 8,252 persons have pre-registered for this vaccine, according to the Health Ministry data. The interval between the first and second dose is 21 days. Nuvaxovid is a protein-based vaccine partly made in the Czech Republic.

As of today, an unlimited number of people can attend mass events in the Czech Republic. So far their capacity has been limited to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Respirators are still required at mass events. They can be removed if a person consumes food and drink. It has not been necessary to show certificates proving vaccination or recovery since Feb. 10. Mask rules will begin to be relaxed as of March 13 but may remain required at some mass events as well as on public transit.

The number of preventive PCR tests for Covid-19 covered by public insurance decreases today. Until now, vaccinated people and children under the age of 18 were entitled to five tests per month; in March, all people will be entitled to one free PCR test. Tests will remain free with a request from a doctor or hygiene, according to a government decision last week. The reason one preventive test continues to be available is people can use them if they are worried that they are sick or if they are visiting a facility where the test is required. Its price for self-payers is around CZK 800.

Since March 2020, when the first Covid infections were confirmed in the Czech Republic, the virus has been detected in 3,587,871 people. The highest incidence of proven diseases was recorded in January this year, when the total number of positive tests reached 560,000, and over 543,000 new cases were recorded in February. There were over 400,000 new cases in November 2021, and more than 300,000 in March and December 2021. Over 200,000 infected people reported another four months: October and December 2020 and January and February 2021. The worst days in terms of new diseases are all in January 2022: Jan. 26 (54,690), Jan. 28 (47,252), and Jan. 25 (39,629).

 The National Health Institute (SZÚ) has registered over 28,300 cases of Covid reinfections since the epidemic outbreak in March 2020. Some 57 percent occurred in January 2022, when the Omicron wave was at its peak. The SZÚ defines reinfection as two cases of testing positive for Covid and showing symptoms of the infection, which follow at least 60 days after each other. The interval between the two infections was longer in most cases, with the median interval at 356 days, according to SZÚ statistics. The SZÚ also identified further more than 27,000 cases of possible reinfections with at least one of the episodes being symptomless. The verification of another 65,915 unclear cases, over 80 percent of which were detected this January, still continues. 

The vaccination center in the Westfield Chodov shopping mall has closed after seven months. The last person was vaccinated on Sunday evening. The center at the Kotva shopping center closes today. The Chodov center was operated by the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM), and the one at Kotva by the General University Hospital (VFN). Due to declining interest, most vaccination centers outside of hospitals have closed. Vaccination is continuing at the Congress Center in Vyšehrad. Information on where to get vaccinated can be found here.

The number of people at mass events in Czechia will no longer be limited as of March 1. This applies to both seated and standing events. Currently, seated events can have 1,000 people plus up to 50 percent of the additional venue capacity. Events where people are not seated can now have up to 500 people. Mask rules still apply, but they are expected to be relaxed as of the middle of March. People attending events have not had to show certificates proving vaccination or recovery from covid since Feb. 10.

Vaccination with the Nuvaxovid vaccine from Novavax will start this week. St. Anne Hospital in Brno announced that it will be available to walk-in patients without registration. Prague vaccination centers have not yet released details. Registration for the vaccine opened on Feb. 1. People who have registered should be receiving information on where they can go to be vaccinated. The vaccine is given two doses 21 days apart. The Health Ministry says people who fear the more modern mRNA vaccines might get inoculated with Nuvaxovid, which uses a more traditional protein-based methodology. A key part of the vaccine is made near Prague. Up to half a million are expected to get the vaccine in Czechia.