Month: September 2020

The U.N. children’s agency said Thursday it would lead the world’s largest and fastest procurement and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines from dozens of makers in the next two years so that no country lacks access.UNICEF and the World Health Organization co-lead a COVID-19 A workers sanitizes a metro coach in New Delhi, India, Sept. 3, 2020.On Wednesday, Nepalese protesters defying a government coronavirus lockdown to take part in a religious festival clash with riot police, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Sept. 3, 2020.Amnesty’s report highlighted the deadly toll COVID-19 has had on frontline workers. Overall, at least 7,000 health workers have died of the virus.Other countries with high mortality rates include the United States, Brazil and India, where health worker death tolls stand at 1,077, 634 and 573, respectively, Reuters reported. The three countries have the highest number of deaths and confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins.Mexico ranks eighth in the world with 616,894 confirmed cases, but fourth overall in deaths, with 66,329.According to a Reuters analysis of data from the Mexican government, health care workers in that country are four times more likely to die than in the U.S.”Many months into the pandemic, health workers are still dying at horrific rates in countries such as Mexico, Brazil and the USA,” Steve Cockburn, head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International, told Reuters. “There must be global cooperation to ensure all health workers are provided with adequate protective equipment, so they can continue their vital work without risking their own …

Two COVID-19 vaccines that could arrive as soon as November use a promising new technique that experts say speeds up the development process.  The new vaccines will be the first test to see if vaccines based on genetic code, rather than the germ itself, can be safe and effective. U.S.-based biotech company Moderna is developing one. The other is the product of a collaboration between German drugmaker BioNTech and U.S.-headquartered Pfizer.  FILE – The Pfizer company logo is seen at the company’s headquarters in New York, Dec. 4, 2017.FILE – A sign marks an entrance to a Moderna, Inc., building, in Cambridge, Mass., May 18, 2020.All previous vaccines have triggered the immune system with dead or weakened versions of a germ or parts of it. The active ingredient in each of the new vaccines is a piece of genetic code called mRNA. It instructs the body to produce one small piece of the virus. It does not cause illness, but it primes the immune system to fight off the real virus. Producing enough vaccine for hundreds of millions of doses usually requires large, specialized biological manufacturing systems to grow the germ or its parts. The mRNA vaccines are quicker to develop in part because they do not rely on these complex systems. Plus, mRNA is a string of chemical building blocks that can be quickly modified to produce a new vaccine to combat a different germ.  These are the first vaccines based on genetic code to be developed for human patients. …

NASA this week moved closer to its next crewed mission to the moon.  A successful rocket test means they know how they will get there, while scientists in India have developed eco-friendly bricks for building structures on the lunar surface.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the week in space.Produced by Arash Arabasadi …

The U.S. space agency, NASA and aerospace firm Northrop Grumman Wednesday conducted a full-scale test of a rocket motor, known as a “Flight Support Booster” or “FSB-1,” that will power the first Artemis mission to the moon.During the test at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Promontory, Utah, the 47-meter booster motor was anchored to the ground horizontally, and fired for just over two minutes, producing 1.6 million kilograms of thrust.NASA and Northrop Grumman will use data from the test to evaluate the motor’s performance using potential new materials and processes that can be incorporated into future boosters. NASA has contracted Northrop Grumman to build boosters for future rocket flights.Researchers Discover First Intermediate-size Black HoleAstronomers say they have discovered evidence of the first intermediate-size black hole, created by merger of two smaller black holesTwo similar boosters will be used on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket the space agency has ever built. They will provide 75 percent of the power needed to send the rocket into space. NASA says the SLS is the only rocket that can send the space craft, Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.NASA plans to send the first woman and next man to the lunar surface by 2024, with a goal of exploring Mars targeted for the mid-2030s.The successful test sets the stage for a planned launch, without crew, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida next year, before a crewed launch in 2023.In Greek mythology, Artemis is both the …

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that it has informed public health officials in all 50 states and several large cities to be prepared to distribute a coronavirus vaccine by November 1, two days before the presidential election.The McClatchy news service was the first to report Wednesday that the CDC had sent out a four-page memo on August 27 for health departments to draft vaccination plans by October 1  “to coincide with the earliest possible release of COVID-19 vaccine.” The Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus crisis hearing, July 31, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington.Fauci’s take on potential vaccine News of the CDC memo coincided with remarks made Wednesday by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who said that he is confident there will be a “safe and effective” COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year.However Fauci also said in an interview last week with Reuters news agency that “the one thing that you would not want to see with a vaccine is getting an [emergency approval of a vaccine] before you have a signal of efficacy.””One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial,” he said.Other  health experts have also expressed skepticism about rolling out a vaccine before the completion of clinical trials, saying hastening its distribution to the public could pose safety risks and deepen …

It seems possible, though how often it happens isn’t known. Researchers in Hong Kong  recently reported evidence of a person who got the coronavirus a second time, months after an initial infection. The finding has not yet been published in a journal. But scientists said the 33-year-old man had mild symptoms the first time and none the second time, suggesting his immune system may have provided some protection against serious illness even if it could not prevent a reinfection. His more recent infection was detected through screening and testing at the Hong Kong airport, and researchers said genetic tests revealed different strains of the virus. Several other possible cases have been reported, including a U.S. man who was sicker the second time than the first. Even if people can get reinfected, the World Health Organization says it likely wouldn’t happen regularly. Health experts generally believe people who had COVID-19 will have some immunity against a repeat infection. But they don’t know how much protection, or how long it would last. This is important because if immunity wears off, it could pose a challenge for vaccines. Some experts say booster shots may be needed. It’s also unclear whether reinfected people would be able to spread the virus to others. That’s another reason scientists say people should continue to wear masks, social distance and practice good hygiene. …

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent guidelines on August 27 to all 50 states, U.S. territories and several large cities, telling them to be prepared to distribute a coronavirus vaccine by Nov. 1, two days before the presidential election, according to several media reports Wednesday.In a four-page memo sent to governors in August, the CDC told health departments to draft vaccination plans by October 1 “to coincide with the earliest possible release of COVID-19 vaccine.”McClatchy first reported news of the letter, which other media then reported.The CDC declined to comment on the letter, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.States “in the near future” will receive permit applications from McKesson Corp., the firm that has contracted with the CDC to distribute vaccines to sites including state and local health departments and hospitals, CDC Director Robert Redfield wrote in the August 27 letter, according to the media.“CDC urgently requests your assistance in expediting applications for these distribution facilities and, if necessary, asks that you consider waiving requirements that would prevent these facilities from becoming fully operational by November 1, 2020,” Redfield wrote.’Tremendous amount of work to be done’Health departments, however, said they lack the staff, money and tools to educate people about vaccines and then to distribute, administer and track hundreds of millions of doses, according to the AP.“There is a tremendous amount of work to be done to be prepared for this vaccination program, and it will not be complete by November 1,” Dr. Kelly Moore, associate director of immunization education …

A Mexican court will later this week hear a case brought on by 15 young people demanding the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador set out clear policies on climate change, documents show. Lopez Obrador is under increased pressure to help mitigate the effects of climate change. The plaintiffs from the state Baja California filed a legal stay of proceedings, known locally as amparo, before a district court in administrative matters, several documents related to the case show. In it, the youths, aged 17 to 23, demand clearer regulations and public policies derived from the country’s existing General Law on Climate Change and the Mexican constitution, the documents showed. All of the documents, which have not been made public, were provided by a representative of the plaintiffs. Demonstrators march during the global protest on climate change in Mexico City, Sept. 20, 2019.The hearing is scheduled for Sept. 4 and comes just days after the country’s environment minister quit. “There’s no bigger mistake than doing nothing based on a belief that one can only do little: However small or simple our actions may seem, they sow what future generations will reap,” said Gema Osorio, one of the plaintiffs, aged 20. “My wish is that even if we don’t manage to repair the damages, at least we stop continuing to harm the planet,” she said on Wednesday. Mexico’s previous government had laid out targets to reduce emissions. Lopez Obrador has not reaffirmed those goals but highlights projects such as a large-scale tree-planting scheme as evidence of commitment to the environment. The environment ministry …

The World Health Organization issued Teachers and auxiliary staff take COVID-19 tests in Madrid, Spain, Sept. 2, 2020.Dr. Todd Rice, an associate professor of medicine and critical care physician at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, who co-authored an editorial in JAMA, told The New York Times newspaper that the results were a confidence booster for medical professionals worried about steroid use in the sickest COVID-19 patients.”This shows us steroids are clearly beneficial in this population and should clearly be given, unless you absolutely can’t for some reason, which needs to be a pretty rare occasion,” he said.Researchers with the WHO’s Rapid Evidence Appraisal for COVID-19 Therapies (REACT) Working Group evaluated data on three steroids used in seven randomized clinical trials in 12 countries. Researchers found the corticosteroid drug dexamethasone reduced death by 36% in 1,282 patients in three separate trials. Hydrocortisone reduced death by 31% in 374 patients in three trials, and methylprednisolone reduced death by 9% in a small 47 patient trial.The JAMA editorial described the analysis as an “important step forward in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.””People are dying from this disease, and we want treatment that we are confident will decrease mortality and save people’s lives,” Rice said.Though the death rate among the sickest COVID-19 patients remained high, of the six studies that reported serious adverse events, 64 of the events occurred among 354 patients on steroids, while 80 events occurred among the 342 patients receiving standard care.Initial results showing that dexamethasone could reduce death in …

Astronomers say they have discovered evidence of the first intermediate-size black hole, created by the merger of two smaller black holes.Up to this point, astronomers had observed black holes – super-dense regions of space with gravity so strong light cannot escape them – in only two general sizes.There are small, or “stellar” black holes, formed when stars collapse into themselves. They range in size from three to four times the mass of our sun to tens of times the mass of our sun.There are also are supermassive black holes that are millions, maybe billions, of times more massive than our sun. A supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is believed to be 4 million times the mass of our sun. Intermediate-size black holes had been theorized, but never “observed” by astronomers, until now.In a study published Wednesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers say the observation came in the form of a signal detected in May 2019 by the National Science Foundation’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). The signal was a brief but powerful gravitational wave.One of the authors of the study, French researcher Nelson Christensen, explains that due to the nature of gravitational waves – literally, ripples in the fabric of space-time – they offer a completely different way to observe the universe, as opposed to the light that different cosmic bodies give out – in other words, what we can see through a telescope.Christensen says light allows you to see the universe, but …

Louisianians woke up Wednesday, Aug. 26 to news that Laura would be arriving as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm was expected to hit Lake Charles early Thursday morning.   Throughout the day, doctors, nurses, maintenance and cafeteria workers filled Lake Charles Memorial Hospital. The plan was for several shifts of employees to be ready once the winds picked up that night. Whole floors were designated as sleeping areas for off-duty staff. Dr. Gary Kohler, a pulmonary critical care physician, arrived for his shift at 6:30 a.m. He remembered sensing how nervous everyone was in those hours before the storm.   “No one wanted to be alone,” he said. “When we were on break, a lot of us would sit around a table together. It was a shared fear of not knowing what was coming.”    In 2005, the hospital was evacuated before Hurricane Rita arrived and devastated the city. Hurricane Laura was predicted to be more ferocious. But this time, there were no plans to leave.    “You can’t help but wonder what’s going to hold and what isn’t, both at the hospital, but also at your home,” Kohler said.The calm before   A headshot of Dr. Gary Kohler, who works at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital in Louisiana. (Photo courtesy/Lake Charles Memorial Hospital)As the strengthening hurricane headed for the Louisiana-Texas border, 1.5 million residents were ordered to evacuate.    Most chose to heed the warning, particularly residents in Lake Charles, a city of 80,000 that bore the brunt of the storm.   Tens of thousands of the city’s residents evacuated to areas north, east and west on Wednesday.  But some were asked to stay. “Our families left town,” Kohler told VOA. “But as long as there were patients at the hospital, we were going to be there.”    Kohler works in the intensive care unit (ICU) treating the critically ill. During a normal year, patients in the ICU might …

The World Health Organization’s Europe director says the COVID-19 crisis won’t necessarily end with a vaccine, but with societies learning how to live with it.In an interview with British broadcaster SKY News Wednesday, WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge said the governments that take an active leadership role and embrace public health and social measures will have the most success moving beyond the COVID-19 crisis. He said, “That could happen tomorrow.”Kluge understands that economies have been badly hurt by lockdowns and shutdowns, but every approach has its risks.Like many other health experts, Kluge predicts new surges in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as the colder months approach and people are indoors. But he said it will not be like early in the pandemic when governments were taken by surprise.He said, “Now, we target the virus. We can manage transmission, manage our economies and open the education sector and that’s good news.”Kluge said for that reason, he is optimistic that while the virus will not be gone, nations now have tools to deal with it. He said people must continue to avoid mass gatherings, use masks and testing capacity must be improved, along with tracking and tracing, and localized lockdowns must be an option.“We have to be prepared for this in a positive manner,” he said. …

The United States says it will not participate in a global initiative to develop, manufacture and equally distribute a vaccine for COVID-19 because the World Health Organization is taking a leading role in the effort. More than 170 countries are in talks to participate in the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, dubbed Covax, a joint project undertaken by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, an organization founded by Bill and Melinda Gates to vaccinate children in the world’s poorest countries.In this Aug. 14, 2020, file photo, laboratory technicians work at the mAbxience biopharmaceutical company on an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and the laboratory AstraZeneca in Garin, Argentina.President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the WHO back in July, after claiming the agency mishandled the outbreak and showed deference to China, where the virus was first detected late last year. White House spokesman Judd Deere issued a statement saying the United States “will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China.” Surie Moon, the co-director of the Global Health Center at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, told The Washington Post that when the United States decides not “to participate in any sort of multilateral effort to secure vaccines, it’s a real blow.” The Trump administration has launched its own COVID-19 vaccine initiative, Operation Warp Speed, that aims to deliver 300 million doses of an approved …

After a pandemic hiatus, more than a thousand mask-wearing Extinction Rebellion climate activists marched back onto London’s streets Tuesday, calling for swifter action to halt global warming as a huge contingent of police looked on. With Britain’s Parliament returning to work this week after a summer recess, protesters blocked the square in front of the building and called for legislators to take up a proposed climate and ecological emergency bill. It aims to expand Britain’s pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 to cover so-far excluded sectors such as international shipping and air travel, and for actions toward the goal to be faster and determined by a citizens’ assembly. “The important thing is having the government admit they’re too slow. Right now they’re not taking responsibility,” said Reece Evans, 24, an Extinction Rebellion activist and actor who held a placard reading, “Back the Bill.” Extinction Rebellion climate activists sit in the road and meditate in front of a line of police officers outside of Parliament during a “peaceful disruption” of British Parliament in London, Sept. 1, 2020.Holly Cullen-Davies said she wanted Parliament “to take climate change to the top of the agenda”, while her two young children drew with colored chalks on the pavement. Cullen-Davies said she had joined the grassroots movement in March, as the coronavirus lockdown began and planet-warming emissions temporarily crashed with economies on hold worldwide, showing how rapidly change could happen. “I thought if the world can stop for COVID, it can stop for climate change,” she said. Many activists said they thought …

The strongest typhoon of the year is on its way to the Korean Peninsula Wednesday after lashing Japan with strong winds and rain.Typhoon Maysak peaked early Tuesday with winds of 233 kilometers per hour, coming within a week of the first major storm and a few days before a third potential typhoon.Maysak, a Category 4 storm on the five-level scale, could affect weather as far away as Canada.Maysak is expected to make landfall Wednesday in South Korea as a Category 1 or Category 2 storm. Prefectures along Japan’s eastern coast were still under weather advisories Tuesday, with some at the southern tip of the island under more serious weather warnings. Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, is predicted to lie in the path of the strongest quadrant of the storm, raising fears of storm surges and flooding, according to the Washington Post. More than 3.4 million people live in Busan.“It is expected that the whole country will be affected by typhoons from the far south of Jeju Island to the day after tomorrow,” tweeted the Korea Meteorological Administration Tuesday. 15시 #태풍’은 매우 강한 태풍으로 일본 오키나와 부근 해상에서 북북동진 중입니다.오늘 늦은밤 제주도남쪽먼바다 시작으로 모레까지 전국이 태풍 영향권에 들 것으로 예상됩니다.전국 매우 강한 바람과 매우 많은 비, 전해상 매우 높은 물결, 일부 해안 폭풍해일 주의!https://t.co/ojZlDteaoipic.twitter.com/e8DBlymVcu— 기상청 (@kma_skylove) September 1, 2020″Very strong winds and very much rain across the country, very high currents, and some coastal storm surges!”This year’s Pacific typhoon season, typically busiest between May and October, has been unusually uneventful thus far.But last week, …