Reporter | Anjing WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on July 12 that the Delta strain is spreading rapidly around the world, with the strain found in at least 104 countries and regions. WHO predicts that the Delta strain will soon become the dominant new coron

Reporter | An Jing

Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on July 12 that the Delta strain was spreading around the world at an extremely fast rate, with this strain found in at least 104 countries and regions. WHO predicts that the Delta strain will soon become the dominant new coronavirus strain circulating globally.

Affected by the spread of the Delta strain, last week, the number of new confirmed cases globally increased for the fourth consecutive week, and the number of new deaths also increased again after falling for 10 consecutive weeks.

Israel, which is at the forefront of vaccination, is facing the challenge posed by the Delta strain, with more than 700 confirmed cases newly confirmed daily.

To prevent rising hospitalization rates, Israel is preparing to give adults with serious illnesses a third booster dose of the vaccine. The country is also the first in the world to approve the third dose of the vaccine. The WHO has expressed dissatisfaction with the promotion of booster shots by various vaccine manufacturers and called on vaccine manufacturers to first focus on supplying vaccines to countries with vaccine shortages.

At the same time, European countries such as France and Spain began to tighten restrictions. Many countries, including Spain, originally hoped to achieve a recovery in tourism this summer.

Israel responds to the "fourth wave" of the epidemic

Israel is one of the countries with the fastest vaccination speed in the world. The country's vaccination program began in December last year, and 60% of the population has received two doses of the vaccine. Recently, Israel has begun to promote vaccination for minors over 12 years old.

It is expected that rapid vaccination can effectively fight the epidemic. Israel began to reopen its economy this spring and lifted all restrictive measures in June. However, just when Israel relaxed its vigilance, the more contagious Delta strain spread rapidly.

Oxford University statistics show that since the end of April, the number of new confirmed cases in Israel has dropped to double digits for seven consecutive days; it once dropped to less than 10 cases in early June; however, new confirmed cases have surged since the end of June, and the number of new confirmed cases in a single day has dropped to double digits in recent days. There have been more than 450 cases.

Gili Regev-Yochay, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, pointed out in an interview with the " Financial Times " that Israel is at the "beginning of the fourth wave of the epidemic." , new confirmed cases will continue to rise.

But so far, the number of people hospitalized in Israel due to new coronavirus remains at a low level. Of the more than 4,000 confirmed cases in Israel, only 47 are severe.

A preliminary study from the Ministry of Health last week showed that the country's Pfizer /BioNTech vaccine was 93% effective in preventing severe disease and hospitalization against the Delta strain, but was less effective in preventing infection. dropped to 64%.

Last Sunday, Pfizer’s Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said that Israeli data showed that the company’s vaccine was still highly effective against the Delta strain; but after six months, the antibodies may have weakened and increased The chance of reinfection among vaccine recipients.

He revealed that the recent decline in the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in preventing infections in Israel is mostly related to the reinfection of vaccine recipients in January and February this year. Pfizer has not yet released complete data, and relevant data will be provided to the US Food and Drug Administration next month.

However, Israeli Ministry of Health officials and scholars believe that the number of samples investigated by Pfizer is limited and insufficient to draw relevant conclusions. In addition, the first batch of people vaccinated in Israel are people over 70 years old, who are already susceptible to infection.

Although it has reservations about Pfizer's statement, the Israeli government is still preparing to vaccinate adults with serious illnesses from this week with a third booster shot. Israel also became the first country to approve a booster shot.

The third dose of vaccination will be targeted at adults who have severe immune deficiencies, have undergone organ transplants , or are at risk of serious infections. Previously, Israel had reinstated the mask order, and the country will also strengthen quarantine observation for incoming passengers.

In addition to Israel, Pfizer is seeking approval from the United States to vaccinate the third dose of the vaccine; the United Kingdom is also considering booster shots for vulnerable groups this fall.

The WHO pointed out on Monday that there is currently no scientific evidence to support the need for booster shots.WHO experts said that instead of promoting booster shots, developed countries with large amounts of vaccines should first provide vaccines to developing countries with insufficient vaccines. Currently, vaccination plans in nearly 60 countries around the world have been postponed.

The recovery of European tourism may be setback

In addition to forcing Israel to tighten its policies again, the Delta strain has brought resistance to summer tourism in Europe.

As the tourist season approaches, Spain, a popular tourist destination, has one of the highest new crown infection rates among EU countries.

According to Spanish Ministry of Health data, the country's infection rate in the past 14 days reached 317 cases per 100,000 people; in comparison, Germany's infection rate was 7 cases per 100,000 people.

Unlike previous waves of the epidemic, most of the infections in Spain’s fifth wave are young people under the age of 30. The country's statistics last week showed that among the 20-29 age group, the infection rate over the past 14 days was 911 cases per 100,000 people, more than double the national average.

It is currently summer vacation, and young people are gathering more and more; in addition, more than 21 million people in Spain have completed vaccination, accounting for 46% of the total population, but only 600,000 of them are under the age of 30, and most young people have not yet completed the vaccination Vaccination.

In order to control the epidemic, Catalonia and Valencia two major regions announced on Monday the re-implementation of curfews and limits on the number of people gathering in public places. The northern autonomous region of Asturias has completely banned dine-in in bars and restaurants.

Spain's central bank previously predicted that this summer, the country's tourism revenue will rebound to half of the same period before the epidemic, which was only one-fifth last year. Last Friday, Germany and France issued warnings for their citizens to travel to Spain.

France, Europe's most popular tourist destination, also announced new restrictive measures on Monday.

Starting in August, only customers who have tested negative for the new crown or have been vaccinated can enter public places such as bars, restaurants, shopping malls, theaters, and concert halls. The new regulations also apply to taking trains and domestic flights.

This week, French authorities will tighten border controls and require travelers who have not been vaccinated or who enter from risk countries to quarantine and observe. Last Sunday, France reported 4,256 new confirmed cases; at the end of June, France had less than 2,000 new confirmed cases in a single day.

Tourism contributes about 10% of France's GDP. Last year, hit by the epidemic, France's tourism revenue fell to 89 billion euros from about 150 billion euros in previous years. Of the 61 billion euros lost, 32 billion were related to international tourism. The latest restrictions will continue to affect the tourism industry.

In addition to Spain and France, countries such as the Netherlands , Cyprus , and Portugal have also re-implemented restrictive measures.

Last week, the European Commission released its 2021 summer economic forecast report, raising the EU's full-year growth forecast to 4.8%, the largest upward revision in more than a decade. However, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni pointed out that the EU's forecasts did not take into account a new wave of epidemics caused by the Delta strain.

The latest weekly report from the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the new crown infection rate in the European Union and the European Economic Area was 51.6 cases per 100,000 people in the week of July 4, which was higher than the 38.6 cases per 100,000 people the previous week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that the infection rate in the European Union and European Economic Area will rise to 91.5 cases per 100,000 people in the next four weeks.