Coronavirus vaccine and Delta variant updates for 11-26-2021

<p>This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for November 26th, 2021.</p><p><br></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The news we’ve been dreading, another variant of COVID-19 that is more mutated, more contagious, and more capable of evading the vaccines we have thus far. It’s called B.1.1.529 and it’s been identified in South Africa, Hong Kong, and Botswana. Senior scientists describe it as the worst variant they’d seen since the start of the pandemic with 32 mutations in the spike protein. That’s twice as many as in the Delta variant.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Because of the new variant, South Africa has been placed under England’s red list travel restrictions. About 500 to 700 people usually go to the UK from South Africa every day. The ban will also cover flights from Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. Scotland says all arrivals from the countries must self-isolate and take two PCR tests, then starting 4am tomorrow, stay at a managed quarantine hotel. And Israel is banning citizens from traveling to southern Africa and barring the entry of foreign travelers from the region.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>If you’re still arguing with a friend over which is the better vaccine, Pfizer or Moderna, a large scale study out of Hungary says Moderna beats Pfizer in effectiveness. In fact, so does Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. Moderna was 88.7% effective in protecting against infection vs Pfizer’s 83.3%, and Moderna was 93.6% effective against COVID mortality vs Pfizer’s 90.6%.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As expected, the EU authorized Pfizer’s vaccine for use on kids aged 5 to 11 years old. That means shots are coming to millions of elementary school pupils. Of course, at least one country didn't wait for authorization. Vienna, Austria had already started vaccinating 5 to 11-year-olds.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>So with cases surging, ICU’s full, and staff vaccine mandates going into place, surely more healthcare workers are getting fully vaccinated, right? At the moment, as much as 30% of healthcare practitioners remain unvaccinated. HCPs workin