COVID-19 Daily - August 24, 2021: the number of hospitalizations in France has increased; The FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine; a new hour of "extinction" was refused in Catalonia.

With the resumption of travel due to the appearance "EU COVID Digital Certificate", the number of COVID-19 cases has increased in some countries. The most affected are the countries with the most popular tourist destinations during this period: Italy, Spain and France.

• Hospitalizations in France have reached the highest levels in the last two months. "For intensive care patients, the peak of this fourth wave could be reached in the coming days.", said the Minister of Health, Olivier Veran, for the French channel BFM. He also said that he is very worried about the start of schools next week.

• A Spanish court has rejected the latest request from the Catalan government to reintroduce an "extinguishing" hour in Barcelona and dozens of other cities in the region., arguing that the measure was "disproportionate" because the number of infections had decreased.

• FDA Approves Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Regulator. The German-made vaccine received an emergency permit in the United States in December, but President Joe Biden said the new ruling was "an important moment," taking the opportunity to take a new step for skeptics in America who needed it. approval to be vaccinated.

• Medical counselors from Greece they stated that those suffering from underlying diseases should receive a third dose of acini to help fight the growth of Delta variant infections. If approved, additional doses will be available in early September. And the main health authority in France recommends the third dose for those over 65 years of age.

Germany will stop using the infection rate as a criterion for setting restrictions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Instead, officials will monitor hospitalizations as a key indicator of the country.

• A new Dutch study suggests that vaccinated people who become infected have high levels of the virus in their nose and throat, but the virus is not infectious. Scientists have observed that the virus in vaccinated patients has been less effective in reproducing. Scientists say this is due to the antibodies in the vaccine.

• The French-Austrian drug manufacturer Valneva has requested approval of its coronavirus vaccine and hopes to demonstrate that it will have "more than 80% efficiency". The efficacy would therefore be lower than for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines (around 95%), but higher than for AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (between 60 and 70%).

• Liverpool football club have refused to let footballer Mohamed Salah travel to Africa for World Cup qualifiers. He was due to play for the Egyptian team next month, but the British club did not allow him to leave because - on his return to Great Britain - he will be forced to stay in quarantine. There may be similar cases from other European clubs ahead of next month's World Cup matches.

• After an 18-month break, the "Changing of the Guard" ceremony took place at Buckingham Palace in London. The tradition during which the Queen's Guard teaches responsibility for protecting the palace was stopped in March 2020 to prevent crowds from gathering in the midst of a pandemic.