COVID-19 Daily - September 9, 2021: Switzerland imposes vaccination certificate for access to bars and restaurants; Ireland will administer the third dose to the elderly; Bulgaria has entered the 5th wave of the pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic becomes more aggressive with the arrival of autumn. After a relaxing summer, the number of new cases of COVID-19 is starting to increase day by day. Let's see the news about the COVID-19 pandemic, from September 9, 2021!

• COVAX will receive 575 million fewer vaccine doses this year than expected, according to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). It is almost 30% less than COVAX's previous target of 2 billion doses delivered to poorer countries this year.
• WHO says global vaccine production capacity now stands at 1.5 billion doses per month, so "a solvable problem" if the doses are shared properly. He also rejected suggestions that poorer countries could not administer vaccines effectively - stressing that most of these countries have systems and experience in place for mass vaccination programs.
• 14 people die in a fire at a hospital treating COVID-19 patients in northern Macedonia. The fire broke out on Wednesday, after an explosion in a COVID-19 clinic in Tetovo, in the northwest of the country. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

The Irish government has announced that older people in the country who were fully vaccinated at least six months ago will receive a third dose of vaccine.

• People will be required to show - starting Monday - a COVID-19 certificate to enter bars, restaurants and fitness centers in Switzerland, a move with which the Swiss government hopes will ease the pressure on hospitals facing a new wave of infections in the country. There are more than 3.500 new cases daily in Switzerland, where only more than half of the population has been completely vaccinated.
• The nervous disorder has been declared a "very rare" side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which occurs in less than 1 in 10.000 people. The European Medicines Agency said a causal relationship between the vaccine and Guillain-Barre neurological syndrome, which could cause temporary paralysis, was "considered at least a reasonable possibility". A total of 833 cases of this syndrome were reported worldwide as of July 31, out of approximately 592 million doses administered with the AstraZeneca Vaxzevria vaccine.
• Novavax has started studies to test the combined flu vaccine and COVID-19. The study, which will be conducted in Australia, will involve 640 healthy adults between the ages of 50 and 70 who have either been previously infected with coronavirus or received a vaccine at least eight weeks before the study. Novavax hopes that this combination of the two vaccines will lead to higher levels of protection.

The Belgian city of Brussels will introduce the need for a vaccination certificate to enter bars and restaurants, starting on 1 October.

• There are fears that the virus will overwhelm Bulgaria's health system, where only 20% of the 7 million population is vaccinated. The country has reported 10.000 new cases a week and dozens of deaths a day. New restrictions have been announced this week in an effort to reduce cases. Restaurants and cafes will close at 22 pm, and a maximum of six people will be able to sit at the table.
• Head of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for Infectious Diseases in Germany has warned of a new wave in the fall, if more people are not vaccinated in the country.
• United Kingdom Secretary of Health, Sajid Javid said he supports the right of 12- to 15-year-olds to receive a vaccine against their parents' wishes.
• Japan, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia and Brunei are the last countries that the European Union has removed from the COVID-19 list of safe countries for travel, amid concerns about the rise of new infections.