Month: November 2020

Scientists at the U.S. space agency NASA say the remnants of a 1960s unmanned lunar mission may have returned to orbit the Earth 54 years later. Scientists first discovered the object in September, using a special survey telescope on the Hawaiian island of Maui.  They originally believed it to be a small asteroid, and named it 2020 SO.  When they discovered the object’s path would bring it close to Earth, it came to the attention of the Center for Near Earth Objects (CNEOS) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. But the scientists there quickly noticed the object’s orbit was different than a normal asteroid. While the typical asteroid has an elongated orbit and is tilted relative to Earth, the orbit of this object was on nearly the exact orbital plane as Earth. CNEOS Director Paul Chodas says further study and measurements of the object made it clear it was likely man-made, based on its size and density, and likely a piece of a rocket.  Chodas suspected it was a remnant of a lunar mission, and to prove it, he ran 2020 SO’s orbit backwards, tracing its closest path to Earth to September 1966. That matched the launch date for NASA’s Surveyor 2 lunar lander, an unmanned probe designed to land on the surface of the Moon and survey possible landing sites ahead of the Apollo missions, which would put men on the lunar surface for the first time in 1969. The probe was launched on an Atlas-Centaur rocket and …

The United States set another single-day record for the number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalization Thursday.COVID Tracking Project figures show that more than 150,000 new cases were reported across the U.S., surpassing the more than 144,000 new cases recorded the day before.The figures also indicate that more than 67,000 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of more than 1,700 from the previous day. Another 1,104 people died.The new figures add to the United States’ world-leading casualty figures of more than 10.5 million total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic reached its shores earlier this year, including more than 242,400 deaths, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.The nation’s most populous state, California, is nearing the 1 million mark of  COVID-19 cases, following Texas, which is closing in on that threshold.Worldwide, Italy is the 10th country to surpass the 1 million mark of infections. India and Brazil follow the U.S., with more than 8.7 million and 5.7 million cases respectively. France is nearing 2 million infection cases, followed by Russia with 1.87 million. Over the 1 million mark are Spain, Britain, Argentina, and Colombia.In Brazil, the country with highest coronavirus tally in Latin America, the late-stage trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine have resumed after the country’s health regulator called a halt due to an “adverse, serious event” involving a participant in the study.The vaccine, dubbed CoronaVac, is being developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac. The vaccine had been denounced by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a frequent …

The first cruise ship to resume sailing in the Caribbean since the coronavirus outbreak expanded in March, is idled again after five passengers tested positive for the coronavirus.SeaDream, a Norway-based luxury cruise liner, issued a statement Thursday that all crew members had tested negative for the coronavirus and that the ship’s medical staff was in the process of re-testing passengers.SeaDream says it began strict safety protocols following a Norwegian cruise this summer, although passengers were not immediately required to wear masks when boarding the SeaDream.The 53 passengers and 66 crew members are reportedly self-quarantining aboard the ship docked at the Port of Bridgetown in Barbados.The cruise ship industry has been hard hit by the pandemic, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issuing an order banning sailing in March, citing cruise ship travel would worsen the global spread of COVID-19. …

Peru is set to host Phase 3 clinical trials of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos. COVID-19 vaccine by U.S.-based pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.Dr. Jorge Gallardo, principal director of the Ensemble trial, told America Noticias TV show that Peru was chosen because of the makeup of its population and the impact of the coronavirus in the country.Peru is seeking 3,500 participants in the multinational study that will include participants from eight countries, including the United States.The trials will include participants with preexisting conditions, such as diabetes, and those over 60 years of age to ensure the overall efficacy of the vaccine.Peru has one of the highest coronavirus totals in Latin America, with more than 925,000 coronavirus cases and 34,992 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. …

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S., will not be getting together with his family for Thanksgiving.At 79, Fauci is at increased risk of contracting COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. His three adult daughters “were concerned about their, quote, ‘elderly’ dad. I hate to use that word,” he told NBC. They decided on a virtual dinner instead, he said.The COVID-19 pandemic is complicating holiday plans for many families across the country. With more than 240,000 dead from the coronavirus and infections climbing nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University,  every family will have to make a decision about whether to get together, Fauci said.Especially when gatherings include an elderly family member, or someone with health problems such as diabetes, obesity, cancer or heart  disease that raise their risk of serious illness, “you want to take a couple of steps back and say, ‘Is it worth it for this year to bring those people together when you don’t know what the [infection] status of everybody … is?’” Fauci told JAMA Network.Breaking the bubbleThe holiday usually is the busiest travel period of the year in the U.S. Some 50 million Americans travel 50 miles or more to share a meal with friends and family, according to automotive and travel group AAA.Traditional Thanksgiving gatherings seem custom-made to spread the coronavirus.Experts have been advising people to limit their interactions to one group of people, called a “bubble.” Less contact with people outside the bubble means less opportunity for …

Australian scientists are developing an ambitious plan to try to tame lightning to ease the threat of bushfires. Many of last summer’s devastating blazes were caused by lightning strikes. An international team of researchers in Canberra is testing a laser beam to try to control where the lighting hits.Scientists in Canberra are trying to tame the lightning bolts responsible for many Australian bushfires. The scientists believe the bolts’ path and direction could be controlled by small, portable laser pointers.Lightning is generated when frozen raindrops collide in a storm cloud, creating an electric charge. Researchers have shown that thunderclouds could be “short-circuited” by using a laser to heat tiny particles in the air to trigger a lightning strike.In the laboratory, they have successfully used an energy beam to guide a burst of electricity to a designated target.Professor Andrey Miroshnichenko of the University of New South Wales in Canberra is a co-author of the study.“The reason for our research was to find the condition where we can control and induce lightning where we want it and when we want it,” Miroshnichenko said. “We anticipate that it should be quite effective and low-cost. We need to perform large-scale experiments out there.”Those trials are expected to start soon. The research has been published in the journal Nature Communications. It was a collaboration that involved the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Texas A&M University in Qatar and the University of California in Los Angeles.The largest bushfire ever recorded in Australia was caused by …

Sniffer dogs are being used to identify people infected with the coronavirus, and early trials suggest they are incredibly accurate at detecting the disease. As Henry Ridgwell reports, this is raising hopes that our canine companions could soon be used to help fight the pandemic.Producer: Mary Cieslak. Camera: Henry Ridgwell. …

The World Health Organization reports measles cases and deaths have soared around the globe since 2016. It reports an increase in cases to nearly 270,000 last year, while more than 207,000 people died—a 50 percent increase from 2016 levels.The U.N. agency says the failure to inoculate children on time with two doses of measles vaccines is the main driver for increased cases and deaths. It says vaccination coverage remains well below the 95 percent needed to control the disease and prevent outbreaks and deaths.Added to this mix is the coronavirus pandemic. Although reported cases of measles are lower this year than last, WHO says efforts to control the coronavirus outbreak have resulted in disruptions in vaccination.  WHO’s senior technical advisor for measles and rubella, Natasha Crowcroft, tells VOA different strategies are needed to prevent new measles outbreaks in the time of COVID-19, the disease brought on by the coronavirus. “The Number One action we need to take is to prevent outbreaks from happening in countries where we have got the highest risks…and there are several where there is not the ability to be able to put the health system in place to be able to rely on,” she said.Crowcroft says countries where routine immunization for children was happening will recover quickly from delays or suspended coverage during this difficult period.  She says weak countries will continue to be at risk of deadly outbreaks unless swift action is taken to close this widening gap.The WHO reports more than 94 million people are at risk of missing vaccines because nationwide campaigns have been put on pause in 26 countries. This led to huge outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.  Eight of the 26 countries now have resumed their campaigns. They include Brazil, …

Greece and Turkey have long been at loggerheads over a host of issues – from a scattering of uninhabited islands in the Aegean Sea that divide them, to the origins of souvlaki.Now, they are trading jabs anew, this time trying to trump each other’s claims to Pfizer’s creation of what may be the world’s first demonstrably effective coronavirus vaccine.Since the company’s announcement earlier this week, media and medical experts from around the globe have hailed the drug’s pioneers, Dr. Ozlem Tureci and Dr. Ugur Sahin, as heroes.While both scientists are children of Turkish migrants who moved to Germany as part of the first guest worker generation in the late 1960s, the pair founded BioNTech in 2008 to develop new types of targeted cancer treatments.Two men wearing masks to help protect against the spread of coronavirus, watch their dogs playing in a public garden, in Ankara, Turkey, Nov. 12, 2020.As the coronavirus pandemic spread earlier this year, BioNTech, which employs 1,300 people, quickly moved to reallocate its resources, teaming up with the U.S. pharmacy industry giant Pfizer to develop 20 candidates for a vaccine.As the world this week breathed a sigh of relief at news that one of the experimental vaccines had shown results, Turkey, like perhaps no other state, went into a frenzy.Since the revelation, Turkish news media have splashed pictures and praise of the “Turkish dream team” on the fronts of newspapers, magazines and websites. Politicians have praised them for contributing to humanity. Even teachers across the nation are …

The United States set another single-day record for the number of COVID-19 infections on Wednesday.Data compiled by The COVID Tracking Project shows more than 144,000 new cases were reported across the U.S., surpassing the more than 136,000 new cases recorded just the day before.  The data also shows 65,368 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, shattering the 61,964 mark set one day earlier  Another 1,421 people died Wednesday, pushing the 7-day average over 1,000.  Texas Surpasses 1 Million COVID-19 CasesCDC changes advice on wearing masks, saying they benefit both wearer and anyone nearby The new figures add to the United States’ world-leading casualty figures of more than 10.4 million total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic reached its shores earlier this year, including more than 241,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.  The nation’s most-populous state of California is nearing the 1 million mark of total COVID-19 cases, following Texas, which became the first U.S. state to reach the grim threshold on Wednesday.  In Brazil, late-stage trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine have resumed after the country’s health regulator called a halt due to an “adverse, serious event” involving a participant in the study.  The vaccine, dubbed CoronaVac, is being developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac.  The vaccine had been denounced by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a frequent critic of China.   Brazil has the highest coronavirus tally in Latin America, with more than 5.7 million confirmed cases and 168,368 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University  Coronavirus Resource Center.In Spain, authorities announced Wednesday that travelers from …

Texas became the first U.S. state Wednesday to surpass 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, with California close behind.Health officials in the country’s second most populous state recorded 10,800 new cases on Tuesday, a one-day record. Although they gave no indication of imminent restrictions to slow the surge, The Associated Press reported that a top county official in Fort Worth, the state’s fifth-largest city, began pushing to halt youth and school sports. Some rural hospitals have set up outdoor medical tents.On Wednesday, state health officials reported 6,779 patients in hospitals, with 609 newly admitted patients — one of the highest single-day spikes since the state began keeping track.The true number of infections is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.NationwideThe United States recorded 61,964 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday, breaking the previous one-day high from mid-April by more than 2,000.As the pandemic worsens across the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidance on the use of face masks. The federal health agency said Tuesday that wearing a mask not only protects other people but also protects the wearer.FILE – A sign encouraging the wearing of masks and adhering to social distancing stands at a street corner in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 5, 2020.The CDC cited several studies confirming that “universal masking” helped control the spread of the virus, including one involving two hairstylists who wore masks while suffering from symptoms. The study found that …

As the coronavirus explodes again, the World Health Organization finds itself both under intense pressure to reform and holding out hope that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will reverse a decision by Washington to leave the health agency. With its annual meeting underway this week, WHO has been sharply criticized for not taking a stronger and more vocal role in handling the pandemic. For example, in private internal meetings in the early days of the virus, top scientists described some countries’ approaches as “an unfortunate laboratory to study the virus” and a “macabre” opportunity to see what worked, recordings obtained by The Associated Press show. Yet in public, the U.N. health agency lauded governments for their responses. Biden has promised to overturn President Donald Trump’s decision in June to cut off funds to WHO and withdraw the U.S. WHO has also bowed to demands from member countries for an independent panel to review its management of the pandemic response, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that the agency welcomed “any and all attempts” to strengthen it “for the sake of the people we serve.” One of the central dilemmas facing the WHO is that it has no enforcement powers or authority to independently investigate within countries. Instead, the health agency relies on behind-the-scenes talks and the cooperation of member states. Critics say WHO’s traditional aversion to confronting its member countries has come at a high price. As COVID-19 spread, WHO often shied away from calling out countries, as big …

A vaccine for the coronavirus has proved 90% effective after early trials, according to its joint developers Pfizer and BioNTech. It’s raised hopes that the global coronavirus pandemic can be brought under control in the coming months – but as Henry Ridgwell reports, the nature of the vaccine means less developed health systems face major challenges in rolling out any inoculation programs.Camera: Henry Ridgwell     Producer:  Henry Ridgwell, Mary Cieslak  …

A coronavirus vaccine that has proved 90% effective after early trials has raised hopes that the global pandemic can be brought under control in the coming months. But the nature of the vaccine means that less developed health systems face major challenges rolling out any inoculation programs.   Developed jointly by pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and BioNTech, the vaccine is undergoing Phase 3 trials. More than 40,000 people across three continents were recruited for the trial, with half given the vaccine and half a placebo.    Several weeks on, 94 individuals were infected with the coronavirus over the trial period through natural exposure in the community. Exact figures have not yet been released, but the developers say by far the majority of those infected had been given the placebo, suggesting the vaccine is around 90% effective.    Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla released a statement Tuesday saying, “The data demonstrated that the study vaccine can prevent COVID-19 disease in adults who have not previously been diagnosed with COVID-19. This is a great victory for humanity, and one that could not have been accomplished without the almost 44,000 people who selflessly raised their hands to participate in our trial and help our scientists and clinicians advance this important breakthrough.”   BioNTech’s co-founder and CEO Ugur Sahin said he was optimistic the protective effect of the vaccine would last for at least a year. At least two injections would be required to achieve that level of immunity.   The developers have pledged to price the vaccine at below market rates and to differentiate …

The United Nations warns global hunger is reaching new heights as COVID-19 devastates economies around the world.  A report by the World Food Program and International Organization for Migration says severe food shortages are forcing millions of people to migrate in search of work to feed their families.  Communities most at risk are those riven by conflict, violence and natural disasters.  The report says efforts to curb COVID-19 have led to unprecedented restrictions on mobility, trade and economic activity, triggering a global recession and causing hunger to surge.The World Food Program projects a staggering 80 percent increase in the number of acutely food-insecure people from pre-COVID-19 levels of 149 million to 270 million by the end of the year. The joint WFP-IOM report finds the world’s 164 million migrant workers, especially those in the informal sector, are among those worst hit by the pandemic.  IOM spokeswoman Angela Wells says migrant workers, who often work on a temporary, seasonal basis for little money and no social protection, are particularly vulnerable.“More than 94,000 travel restrictions in over 220 countries, territories or areas put in place to contain the spread of the disease have limited opportunities for people to move, work, and afford food and other basic needs,”  said Wells. “Without sustained income, the report warns that many will be pushed to return home which will cause a significant drop in remittances.”  The report estimates remittances provide an essential lifeline for around 800 million—or one in nine—people in the world.  The World Bank expects remittances to drop …

The United States recorded 61,964 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday, breaking the previous one-day high from mid-April by more than 2,000.  The growing number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients across the U.S. is straining the capacity of numerous health facilities, especially in several western U.S. states.  Some hospitals have erected tents in parking lots to handle the overflow of coronavirus patients, or have been forced to transfer them to other hospitals in other areas.   One of 3 refrigerated trailers, sent by FEMA to help with the rising number of COVID-19 fatalities, are seen parked at the rear of the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner, in El Paso, Texas, Nov. 9, 2020.The U.S. leads the world with more than 10.1 million total COVID-19 cases, including 130,989 new cases reported on Tuesday, according to FILE – A sign encouraging the wearing of masks and keeping social distancing stands at a street corner in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 5, 2020. The CDC cited several studies confirming that “universal masking” use helped control the spread of the virus, including one involving two hair stylists who wore masks while suffering from COVID-19 symptoms.  The study found that the stylists had not transmitted the virus to 67 customers who were later contacted by contract tracers.   Middle East surge Elsewhere in the world, Iran and Lebanon have joined the growing list of nations who have imposed new restrictions to blunt an ever-growing surge of COVID-19 infections that are pushing hospitals in each nation to the breaking point. …

Australia’s most famous radio telescope that played a key role in televising the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 has been given a new Aboriginal name. Known as “The Dish,” the telescope near Parkes in New South Wales, 380 kilometers west of Sydney, will also be called “Murriyang,” meaning “Skyworld” in the local indigenous language.   The Parkes Observatory has three telescopes. All have been given new Aboriginal names in respect of the astronomical knowledge of Australia’s original inhabitants, whose stories of creation, known as the Dreaming, are told by the stars.   The largest telescope, which has discovered hundreds of new galaxies and rapidly spinning neutron stars called pulsars, is also to be known as “Murriyang” or “Skyworld.” The others have Aboriginal names meaning “Smart Eye” and “Smart Dish.”   Dr. John Reynolds is the director of the Australia Telescope National Facility, which is run by the national science agency, the CSIRO.   “I think the bestowing of traditional names is very significant because not only does it recognize the traditional custodians of the land where the telescopes sit, but it highlights the link between the oldest science, astronomy, and the longest continuous civilization in the world that has been practicing astronomy for generations. The new name for the familiar Parkes dish — the big 64-meter [dish] — is Murriyang, which represents the sky world in the Wiradjuri dreaming,” said Reynolds.  The names were chosen by Wiradjuri elders, who say it is one of their proudest moments.   While it is operated mainly for astronomy research, the Parkes telescope has …

The United States on Monday reported more than 1 million new cases of COVID-19 in just the first 10 days of November.The U.S. has recorded over 10 million cases of COVID-19 — the highest of any country in the world — according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.Midwestern states are being hit the hardest, with hospitalization rates in the region reaching record highs. The COVID-19 Tracking Project said more than 59,000 people were hospitalized nationwide on Monday.On the same day that the U.S. recorded this spike, two U.S. drug companies announced developments in the fight against the virus.Pfizer announced that its experimental vaccine was 90% effective in preventing the virus in participants without evidence of prior infection.U.S.-based drugmaker Eli Lilly and Canadian-based biotech firm AbCellera announced a new antibody drug known as bamlanivimab. It is part of a class of treatments known as monoclonal antibodies, which are made to act as immune cells that scientists hope can fight off the virus. The antibody therapy is similar to one given to U.S. President Donald Trump after he tested positive for COVID-19 early last month.The FDA has approved the antibody drug for people 12 and older who are at risk of developing a serious form of COVID-19.FILE – A man holds a mock syringe as demonstrators protest against Sao Paulo state governor Joao Doria and China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov. 1, 2020.Just hours after news of a breakthrough in the effort to develop a safe and effective …

As severe weather events increase in frequency and intensity across the U.S. and around the world, scientists and forecasters are seeking more effective weather-mapping programs. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. Camera: Adam Greenbaum   Produced by: JulieTaboh/Adam Greenbaum   …

A top Pakistani government scientist says Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is not suited for Pakistan, or other developing countries because of the -80°C temperatures it needs to be kept at, and the need for a second shot.The American pharmaceutical company announced Monday that late-stage testing on its potential two-dose vaccine indicates it is more than 90% effective in preventing the virus in participants without evidence of prior infection.The revelation is being hailed as a rare piece of positive news in the fight against the pandemic that has globally infected more than 50 million people, with 1.2 million deaths and 33 million people recovered.But Professor Atta Ur Rahman, who heads Pakistan’s Task Force on Science and Technology, said Tuesday it is “premature at least” for his country or others in the developing world to celebrate the Pfizer vaccine.“This is a messenger RNA vaccine and it has to be transported at -80°C, so this vaccine is not suited for developing countries,” Rahman told VOA. “The cold storage infrastructure and chains to take this from the airport across the cities and across the countries are missing in the developing world,” the professor explained.He went on to note that COVID-19 patients would require two doses of the Pfizer vaccine three weeks apart and “a low-temperature carriage” requirement makes it all the more difficult in Pakistan, where average summer temperatures in southern and southwestern regions soar to between 40°C and 50°C.COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.FILE – Students wear protective face masks, maintaining a …

A study conducted by Britain’s Oxford University suggests COVID-19 can increase a person’s risk of developing a psychiatric disorder within three months of catching the virus. The study, published Monday in the Lancet Psychiatry Journal, indicates one in five surviving COVID-19 patients was found to be diagnosed with a mental disorder within 90 days of a positive coronavirus test. The researchers say that is about twice the normal rate. The most common disorders diagnosed were anxiety, depression and insomnia, while patients were also found to have significantly higher risks for dementia. One of the researchers on the study, Oxford professor of psychiatry Paul Harrison, said the study confirms common fears about the virus. “People have been worried that COVID-19 survivors will be at greater risk of mental health problems, and our findings …show this to be likely.” Harrison suggested health services need to be prepared to deal with new mental health cases and doctors and researchers around the world urgently need to investigate the causes and identify new treatments for mental illness. The researchers also found that people with a pre-existing psychiatric diagnosis were 65 percent more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than those without, even when the known risk factors for the virus were considered. For their study, researchers reportedly examined electronic health records of 69 million people in the United States including over 62,000 cases of COVID-19.   …

Just hours after news of a breakthrough in the effort to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, Brazil has halted late-stage clinical trials of another potential vaccine.   The country’s health regulator Anvisa announced Monday that it was pausing tests of CoronaVac, developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac, after an “adverse, serious event” with a volunteer participant. The event occurred on October 29, but the statement did not go into any further details. The clinical trials in Brazil are being conducted by Sao Paulo-based research institute Butantan. Dimas Covas, the head of the state-run institute, told a local television station that a volunteer had died, but the death was ruled not due to the vaccine.   The Sinovac vaccine is the third to be put on hold after a volunteer became ill after being inoculated. U.S. pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson put a hold on its late-stage clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine last month, while another U.S.-based drugmaker, AstraZeneca, halted its late-stage trial of a vaccine developed with the University of Oxford in September after a volunteer in Britain was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, an inflammatory syndrome that affects the spinal cord and is often sparked by viral infections.      It is not uncommon for clinical trials to be suspended if a volunteer falls ill so that organizers can determine whether the illness is due to the vaccine. But Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has often expressed mistrust of China, has openly doubted the effectiveness of the Sinovac …

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a Republican effort to strike down the Affordable Care Act health care law.The hearing comes weeks after Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court, giving conservatives a 6-3 majority.At the center of the case is a requirement in the 2010 law for most people to have a minimum level of health insurance or face a financial penalty.  In a 2012 case, the Supreme Court ruled that provision was allowed on the basis that it represented a tax that Congress is allowed to levy.  In 2017, the Republican-controlled Congress and set the penalty to zero.A group of states, led by Texas, is leading the current charge to dismantle the health care law, commonly known as Obamacare.  They argue that the mandate for individuals to purchase health coverage is unconstitutional, and that without that provision, the entire Affordable Care Act must be struck down.Part of the original congressional intent in requiring people to have coverage was that it would bring more healthy people into the system who would pay premiums without using many services, helping to offset costs of individuals who needed more care, including those with pre-existing conditions who had previously been denied coverage.Texas and its partners argue that eliminating the individual mandate would create an imbalance and push health costs unfairly higher.The opposition is led by California, and points to the 2017 action by Congress as evidence that lawmakers had no problem with removing only the penalty for the individual mandate while allowing the rest of the Affordable Care Act to remain in place. They further argue that as …

Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa suspended clinical trials of a Chinese firm’s coronavirus vaccine after an unspecified “adverse incident” involving a volunteer recipient late last month. Anvisa would only say such incidents could involve a death or serious disability resulting in hospitalization.  Anvisa’s action with the CoronaVac vaccine occurred the same day a rival, U.S. pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, announced its vaccine has shown 90 percent effectiveness. Word of Pfizer’s vaccine success sent global financial markets soaring. Both the Pfizer and the Chinese Sinovac vaccine are in Phase III trials, the last stage of testing before regulators give it clearance for public use. Brazil has the highest coronavirus tally in Latin America, with more than 5,664,000 confirmed cases and 162,397 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University and Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center.  …