COVID-19 Daily - December 3: UK approves GlaxoSmithKline; Germany has approved new measures for the unvaccinated; France has confirmed the first case with Omicron!

The situation of the COVID-19 pandemic is deteriorating day by day. The Omicron strain has scared the whole planet and more and more cases are confirmed daily. Let's see what's new about the global pandemic:

• The Omicron variant causes more reinfection in South Africa than previous strains. The World Health Organization (WHO) is sending an additional team to Johannesburg to help monitor the spread of the new coronavirus. Although the number of new cases has exceeded 8000, hospitalizations are not growing at the same rate. 

• France has confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant, after a 50-year-old man who had recently returned from Nigeria tested positive.

OHealth officials in Finland also tested positive for the new version.

• The authority of UK approved drug developed by GlaxoSmithKline to treat people with mild to moderate symptoms, but at risk of developing a severe illness. The Agency for the Regulation of Medicines and Health Products (MHRA) stated that a single dose of sotrovimab "has been shown to be safe and effective in reducing the risk of hospitalization by 79% in high-risk adults." Based on data from clinical trials, sotrovimab is most effective when administered in the early stages of infection, and therefore the MHRA recommends that it be administered within five days of the onset of symptoms.

The UK is ordering 114 million doses of vaccine

• Government The United Kingdom has announced an agreement for an order for an additional 114 million doses of vaccine from pharmaceutical giants Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. They are ordered 60 million doses of Modern vaccine and 54 million doses of vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech. The UK is expanding its booster program to offer a third dose to all adults in the next two months. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: "This is a national mission and our best weapon to deal with this virus and its variants."

• German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor Olaf Scholz have approved new containment measures for unvaccinated persons. Under the new rules, people who have not been vaccinated or who have not been naturally immunized by the disease will no longer have access to restaurants, pubs, cinemas, gyms, cultural events and non-essential shops.

• The Dutch Government calls for all passengers traveling outside the European Union to be tested before departure, regardless of their vaccine status. Health officials have confirmed that 90% of the 61 passengers who tested positive on flights in South Africa last week were completely vaccinated.

• Oil prices continue to fall amid global fears that the Omicron variant will lead to a reduction in demand on as countries enter lockdown and international travel is restricted. Despite this, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has agreed to continue with the planned increase in oil production for January to 400.000 barrels per day, according to two OPEC sources. The price of a barrel of oil has dropped to $ 70.