Page 69 - Heca News Today

Roche's newly acquired subsidiary TIB Molbiol has developed three new test kits to help researchers detect mutations in the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, Roche said on Friday.

French biotech firm Valneva said on Friday no conclusions should be drawn on the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine by a British study, which found it was the only shot out of seven that offered no immunity boost when given to people previously immunized with Pfizer's vaccine.

The likelihood that people will need to have an annual COVID-19 vaccine, similar to the influenza shot, is increasing, German company BioNTech , chief executive and co-founder Ugur Sahin told the Reuters Next conference on Friday.

Switzerland announced stronger anti-Covid-19 measures on Friday, as its government battles to contain a surge in coronavirus infections and the arrival of the Omicron variant in the country.

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is very transmissible but people should not panic about it, the World Health Organization's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told the Reuters Next conference on Friday.

The World Health Organization's emergencies director, Mike Ryan, said on Friday there was no evidence to support a change in COVID-19 vaccines to tailor them to the Omicron variant.

The Czech Health Ministry is preparing a decree making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for people over 60, as well as workers in critical sectors such as medical staff, police, soldiersand firefighters, news website www.idnes.cz reported on Friday.

At least 13 people in Oslo have been infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus following a corporate Christmas party described as a "super spreader event", and their numbers could rise to over 60 cases, authorities said on Friday.

Omicron-fuelled market swings appear to have made November the worst month for global hedge fund performance since the virus first shut down economies at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roche board member Paul Bulcke, the current chairman of Nestle , will stand down from the Swiss drug-maker's board of directors after its annual general meeting next year, the company said on Friday.