COVID-19 News | Six EU countries test cross-border virus apps

Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Latvia have begun testing the new links between their tracing app servers

AFP

September 15, 2020 / 15:23 IST

Germany's virus tracing app has been downloaded 18 million times © HANNIBAL HANSCHKE - POOL/AFP/File

Six European Union (EU) countries have begun testing technology to link national virus-tracing apps across Europe as a second wave of COVID-19 infections threatens the continent.

The Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Latvia have begun testing the new links between their tracing app servers, the European Commission said.

The new system "will ensure that apps will work seamlessly also across borders. Users will only need to install one app and will still be able to report a positive infection test or receive an alert, even if they travel abroad," the EU executive said.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

Brussels is trying to coordinate between the 27 EU capitals as they seek ways to trace victims of the coronavirus pandemic and better control new outbreaks.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show