WHO rejects that the pandemic is over. In Portugal, deconfinement advances “with traffic” | Covid-19
Sweden and Denmark this Wednesday announced the suspension of the Moderna covid-19 vaccine for younger age groups, “just in case”, due to the “minimal” risk of inflammation of the heart. In Sweden, the vaccine will no longer be given to people under 30 and in Denmark to those under 18.
Both countries are now recommending the Comirnaty vaccine, from Pfizer / BioNTech for these age groups. Norway is already preparing it, and reiterated that position this Wednesday. Finland is also expected to announce a decision on Thursday.
The announcement from the two Nordic countries came on the same day that the responsible for managing covid-19 at the World Health Organization (WHO), Maria Van Kerkhove, warned that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is still not under control, with many people to wrongly believe that the pandemic is almost over. According to the official, 3.1 million new infections and 54,000 deaths were reported worldwide last week, with the actual numbers likely to be higher.
For Portugal, the return to normality implies the return of traffic in cities: traffic in the cities of Porto and Lisbon approached, in the last weeks of September, the levels registered in the pre-pandemic period. However, another indicator reveals some contention: passengers are hesitating to resume the use of public transport, something that may be due to receiving the virus or to a preference for telework.
The figures released by the Directorate-General for Health this Wednesday serve as an incentive to this almost post-pandemic mobility. Portugal remains in the green area of the risk matrix that monitors the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the country. The virus transmissibility index, the R