Month: December 2020

British health officials are warning that people with a “significant history” of allergic reactions should not receive the new coronavirus vaccine that was rolled out in a mass vaccination program Tuesday, pending investigation of two adverse reactions. Britain is the first western country to begin the mass vaccinations, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London. Camera: Henry Ridgwell   Produced by: Henry Hernandez    …

British regulators warned Wednesday that people with a history of allergic reactions not to get inoculated with a coronavirus vaccine developed jointly by U.S. drug maker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency issued the warning after two people reported adverse reactions to the vaccine on Tuesday, the first day of the vaccine’s rollout in Britain.National Health Service medical director Stephen Powis said two employees reported severe allergic reactions linked with receiving the vaccination.  He said both are recovering.Experts: Vaccines Appear Safe, But Some Questions RemainWith the pandemic raging, regulators allow shorter safety testsPfizer and BioNTech did not immediately comment on the warning in Britain, the first country to administer a fully examined vaccine for emergency use.MHRA Chief Executive June Raine told a parliamentary committee in London Tuesday the reaction to the vaccine was not a side-effect seen in trials.Raine’s remarks were made during a broader discussion about how MHRA will continue to observe people who get the vaccine. …

Canada’s national health agency, Health Canada, announced Wednesday it has approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, and Canadians will start receiving it as early as next week. In a statement, Health Canada said that it completed a full independent review of the data on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, after receiving the company’s submission October 9. In its statement, the agency said, “Canadians can feel confident that the review process was rigorous and that we have strong monitoring systems in place.” On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine will arrive at 14 Canadian distribution centers next week, with more than 200,000 doses due before the end of the year. FILE – Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Dec. 7, 2020.Canada has ordered a total of 6 million doses from Pfizer. Canada becomes the third nation, after Britain and Bahrain, to approve the drug for use. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will consider the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use Thursday. One day after Britain became the first Western nation to begin mass COVID-19 vaccinations, the United Arab Emirates said a Chinese-made vaccine has proven to be 86% effective in preventing moderate and severe cases of the disease. The Emirates’ health ministry announced the news Wednesday about the vaccine developed by China’s state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm. The Gulf Arab state participated in a late-stage clinical trial launched by Sinopharm in September involving 31,000 volunteers across 125 nations. The UAE had also granted emergency …

Scientists are watching a giant iceberg in the southern Atlantic Ocean saying it appears to be on a collision course with South Georgia Island and could devastate wildlife there, including penguins, seals and albatross.      Britain’s Royal Air Force, or RAF, Tuesday released video taken by an aircraft that flew last week over the 4,200-square-kilometer iceberg — roughly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware — and known as A68a. In the video, cracks and fissures can be seen on its surface, with a number of smaller ice chunks floating nearby.      The British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, reports the iceberg is now within 150 kilometers of the British Overseas Territory.   Researchers have spent weeks watching the iceberg on its potential collision course with the remote island off the coast of South America. A68a is about the same size as the island itself and has been floating in its general direction for more than three years since breaking off from the Antarctic peninsula in July of 2017.   Scientists with the British Antarctic Survey believe the iceberg is about 200 meters thick — relatively thin for an iceberg of its size — which would allow it to get close to the island before becoming stuck. Scientists fear it could crush marine life on the sea floor, and block penguins and seals off from their normal forage routes to feed their young. They say it could be there for as long as 10 years.   British officials …

Scientists and doctors say the mass coronavirus vaccination campaign that started in Britain this week represents a major milestone in the fight against COVID-19, although big challenges remain in producing and distributing enough vaccines to end the global pandemic.   Britain was the first country in the world to start coronavirus vaccinations after regulators approved the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine last week.   Filipino nurse Leo Quijano, who works at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in the southern city of Brighton, received the vaccine Wednesday. She told VOA she has full confidence in it.   “I feel more confident and safe, because I’ve been COVID positive before and I was admitted in the hospital. There are thorough studies and research before the vaccine comes out. So, I feel positive about it,” Quijano said.   Colleague Ashley Lecheminint works in the hospital’s catering department and also received the vaccine Wednesday. “We’re going to defeat this coronavirus now,” Lecheminint said. “It’s going to be like a new beginning.”   Many of those taking the vaccine are elderly or clinically vulnerable and have been self-isolating for several months. In the fifty vaccination clinics across Britain, there were emotional scenes among staff and patients as the first injections were administered Tuesday. Among those receiving the vaccine was World War II veteran Michael Tibbs, who is 99 years old.   “I’m very lucky, really,” Tibbs told reporters at the hospital near his home in Portsmouth. “I hope that everybody will afford it and have it, because it’s …

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship returned to port in Singapore Wednesday, cutting short a four-day cruise after a passenger was diagnosed with the coronavirus. In a statement, Royal Caribbean said a guest on the Quantum of the Seas ship “tested positive for coronavirus after checking in with our medical team.”  The cruise line said they had identified the guest and isolated the passengers and crew who had been in contact with him. They said each of those individuals had since tested negative.Britain Warns People with History of Allergic Reactions Not to Get Coronavirus VaccineWarning comes after two people had adverse reactions to vaccine on first day of rollout in BritainRoyal Caribbean said the ship returned to port in accordance with government protocols and will allow guests to leave after a review of contact tracing is completed. Singapore’s The Straits Times newspaper reports the patient on the Quantum of the Seas who tested positive is an 83-year-old resident. The paper reports 1,680 guests and 1,148 crew members were on board the vessel.Singapore recently began a “safe cruising” pilot program, conducting so-called “cruises to nowhere,” in which ships make round trips to Singapore with no stops in between. The trips, which feature strict safety measures, including pre-board testing of all passengers and limited capacity, have been popular during the pandemic when most travel has been banned or strictly limited.The paper reported that Singapore, a small but wealthy city-state in Southeast Asia, has reported 58,285 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began and 29 deaths. …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday called for tougher COVID-19 restrictions as the nation set daily record for deaths from the virus and infection numbers continue to rise.Speaking in the Bundestag – the lower house of the German parliament – a sometimes-emotional Merkel told lawmakers the nation was in a decisive period of fighting the pandemic, with the second wave far more demanding than the first.  Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases reported Wednesday 590 deaths related to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours – more than 100 higher than the week-old previous record – and 20,815 new daily infections, compared with 17,270 a week earlier.United Arab Emirates Says Chinese-made COVID-19 Vaccine is Nearly 90% Effective Gulf Arab state participated in late-stage clinical trial of vaccine developed by state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm Germany is gradually moving toward a tighter lockdown, at least for a limited period after Christmas, as new coronavirus cases remain high and continue climbing.   This despite a partial shutdown that started in early November, in hopes of allowing a more normal Christmas holiday.While families will be allowed to gather for Christmas, Merkel is calling for all but the most essential shops to close from Christmas Eve until at least January 10, and for people to work from home and schools to remain closed during that time as well.The idea is to use the festive period to keep people at home and break the chain of infections. Merkel emphatically urged people to limit their social contacts whenever possible.  …

One day after Britain became the first Western nation to begin mass COVID-19 vaccinations, the United Arab Emirates says a Chinese-made vaccine has proven to be 86% effective in preventing moderate and severe cases of the disease. The Emirates’ Health Ministry announced the news Wednesday about the vaccine developed by China’s state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.  FILE – A box for a COVID-19 vaccine is displayed at an exhibit by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China, Sept. 5, 2020.The Gulf Arab state participated in a late-stage clinical trial launched by Sinopharm in September involving 31,000 volunteers across 125 nations.  The UAE had also granted emergency use approval for the Sinopharm vaccine back in September.The ministry says the vaccine had no serious safety concerns, but the statement did not include any detailed data derived from the study, such as how many volunteers were given the vaccine or a placebo, or if it produced any kind of side effects.   In spite of this omission, the health authority says the vaccine’s success paves the way for mass inoculations and a re-opening of its economy.  The UAE had also granted emergency use approval for the Sinopharm vaccine back in September for health care workers deemed most at risk of infection. The UAE announcement is the latest positive news about the global effort to develop a safe and effective vaccine against the novel coronavirus, which has killed 1.5 million people worldwide out of more than 68.2 million …

Four lions have tested positive for COVID-19 at Barcelona Zoo in Spain, veterinary authorities announced Tuesday.Veterinarians are unsure how the lions were infected, although two zookeepers have also tested positive.The infection in three female cats and one male is only the second documented case of the coronavirus in big cats since four tigers and three lions tested positive in April at the Bronx Zoo in New York.The lions, Zala, Nima and Run Run, all 16 years old, and 4-year old Kiumbe, underwent a PCR test. This is the same type of test carried out on the staff members in November after they showed mild symptoms of the disease.In a statement, the zoo said the “lions were given veterinary care for their mild condition,” which they explained is “similar to a very mild flu condition.”All four responded well to anti-inflammatory treatment and are being observed closely.A statement from the zoo said the animals were no longer showing upper respiratory symptoms but still had mild coughing and sneezing.Veterinary authorities who are investigating are optimistic there will be no widespread infections as the lions have had no contact with other animals. …

Vaccines against COVID-19 may begin arriving within days in the United States, as the fastest-ever vaccine development reaches a conclusion. Experts say no corners have been cut. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering authorizing the vaccines after a shorter-than-normal safety testing period.  Nothing sinister has turned up in clinical trials so far, but there are still unknowns. With the COVID-19 pandemic killing more than 2,000 Americans every day on average, health officials must walk a fine line between urging people to get vaccinated and acknowledging what they do not know about the vaccines’ safety. “Communication is really critical here. We don’t want to scare people, but we also don’t want to lie to people,” said Rupali Limaye, a vaccine behavior expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The vaccine from drugmaker partners Pfizer and BioNTech will get a hearing at the FDA on Thursday. Emergency use authorization could follow within days if all goes well. The agency will consider biotech company Moderna’s vaccine next week.  The companies are ready to begin shipping the first doses as soon as they get the green light. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that front-line health care workers and nursing home residents and staff get top priority.  While confidence in the vaccines has improved since September, just 37% of respondents say they would be comfortable being in one of the first groups to get it, according to the latest Pew Research Center survey. About 4 in …

Deforestation has wiped out 8% of the Amazon rainforest in just 18 years, according to a study released Tuesday. The swath of land destroyed between 2000 and 2018 is the size of Spain, according to a study by Amazon Geo-Referenced Socio-Environmental Information Network (RAISG). “The Amazon is far more threatened than it was eight years ago,” RAISG said in a statement. The organization’s last map tracking deterioration of the forest was published in 2012. FILE – An employee uses heavy machinery to stack logs at the Serra Mansa logging and sawmill company, in Moraes Almeida district, Itaituba, Para state, Brazil, in the Amazon rainforest, Sept. 12, 2019.The current map, a collaboration between 10 organizations, shows 513,016 square kilometers of the rainforest have been lost since 2000. According to the report, the latest data shows a turn for the worse. While rates of deforestation declined between 2003 and 2010, logging, farming, ranching, mining and infrastructure projects in the past decade have negatively affected the Amazon.Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has encouraged development in the Amazon rainforest and loosened enforcement of environmental laws. “In 2018 alone, 31,269 square kilometers of forest were destroyed across the Amazon region, the worst annual deforestation since 2003,” the RAISG study says. The destruction of mature tropical forests is a massive hit to biodiversity and is responsible for about 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the World Resources Institute, the research and advocacy group that oversees Global Forest Watch.  Because forests are massive sponges of carbon dioxide, reversing their loss would play an …

The World Health Organization is calling on governments around the world to ensure their citizens have resources and tools to help them give up tobacco smoking as it launches a yearlong campaign aimed at helping 100 million people quit.The campaign, Commit to Quit, is focusing on 22 countries including the United States, and it officially got under way Tuesday ahead of World No Tobacco Day 2021, in May.A WHO statement said the Commit to Quit campaign is aimed at creating “healthier environments that are conducive” for people who want to give up smoking.The WHO hopes to capitalize on users who have decided to quit since the novel coronavirus pandemic began by creating communities of peer quitters, according to the statement.FILE – Bystanders look a replica of human skeleton smoking cigarette during an awareness rally on occasion of the “World No-Tobacco Day,” in Chennai, India, May 31, 2019.Earlier this year, the WHO warned that tobacco users are at high risk of dying from COVID-19.About 780 million tobacco users say they want to quit, but just 30% have access to resources that can help them do so.Director of Health Promotion Dr. Ruediger Krech said global health authorities must take full advantage of the millions of people who want to quit. He urged governments to “invest in services to help them be successful,” and “divest from the tobacco industry and their interests.”The WHO is employing digital tools such as the Quit Challenge on Whatsapp to provide social support. Also, the WHO’s 24/7 digital health …

Researchers at Britain’s Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca published a study Tuesday showing their COVID-19 vaccine candidate to be “safe and effective” at fighting the virus.The peer-reviewed study was published Tuesday in the British medical journal The Lancet. The data showed the drug had an overall efficacy rate of 70.4%, higher than the 50% minimum set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, Andrew Pollard speaks during a virtual press conference inside 10 Downing Street in London on Nov. 23, 2020.In an interview with reporters, Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said the difference in efficacy rates among the vaccines currently being reviewed will make little difference in the long term. He said what is important is getting vaccines to people and that they are protected.Pollard said the best way to do that is to have multiple vaccines available.“I think we have to not worry about these individual percentages. The important thing is who’s vaccinated, not people who are unvaccinated and waiting for a particular product. Personally, I’d be happy with any of these in my arm.”Pollard said that is why accessibility is a priority for Oxford/AstraZeneca. Unlike the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, their vaccine does not need to be kept at sub-freezing temperatures.He said even as regulators scrutinize the data concerning the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, it is already in production.“Manufacturing is happening in all corners of the world, and to make sure that if we do have products which can be used, …

Corruption has made Nigeria the biggest smuggler of ivory and pangolin scales from central and West Africa to Asia, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency. The London-based group says in the past five years, Nigeria has been implicated in global seizures equating to 4,400 elephants and hundreds of thousands of endangered pangolins.Aaron Olamilekan, a Nigerian wildlife advocate, spoke as he held a dead pangolin he bought from a group of local hunters arriving from a hunt on the outskirts of Abuja.”They tell me why most of them hunt. It’s based on poverty; there’s no good job for them, there’s no government support for them. So, they have no choice than to go into the wild,” Olamilekan said.The hunters sell the animals in exchange for cash.But Olamilekan sometimes intercepts them, negotiates and rescues endangered species.Animals returned to wildHe runs a sanctuary where he says animals can be resuscitated and nurtured before they’re released into the wild.”The ecosystem is being tampered with because all these animals have a role to play in our environment, so killing them will cause a future disaster,” Olamilekan said.Illegal hunting for trade is the major reason that endangered species such as elephants and pangolins are in constant decline.Since 2015, Nigeria has been the main exit point for pangolin scales and elephant ivory from the continent to many parts of Asia, where they are prized for decorative purposes or their alleged but unproven medicinal uses.Smugglers take ivory, scalesA recent report by the Environmental Investigation Agency …

Indian doctors have found lead and nickel in the blood of patients who have succumbed to a mysterious illness in the southern part of the country.More than 400 people in the state of Andhra Pradesh have fallen ill with common symptoms of nausea and fainting that does not appear to be linked to the coronavirus. At least one person has died.The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the capital of Delhi tested 10 blood samples of patients and reported Tuesday they had found traces of lead and nickel.The AIIMS did not find lead or nickel in water samples tested from the affected area.Some officials in the state have said it is possible the illness is related to organochlorine pesticides, which are banned in many countries for their harmful health effects. It was not immediately clear how much, if at all, the pesticides are currently used in India.Geeta Prasadini, public health director for the city of Eluru, said the patients first began exhibiting signs of the illness, including convulsions, Saturday night.Commenting on the possibility that pesticides are to blame, Prasadini said Tuesday, “Nobody knows.”Another Eluru official, Dolal Joshi Roy, told CNN Tuesday that none of the patients had tested positive for COVID-19, the diseases caused by the coronavirus.Andhra Pradesh is one of the states hardest hit by the coronavirus, with more than 800,000 confirmed cases, Indian authorities said.Roy said about 180 of those hospitalized for the illness had been released by Tuesday. …

As Britain’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign began Tuesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told parliament that “the start of the fight back against our common enemy, coronavirus,” had begun, adding there is still “much work to be done.”A 90-year-old retired British shop clerk received the first shot in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program in the unprecedented global immunization effort intended to offer a route out of a pandemic that currently has killed 1.5 million people.Hancock said the vaccine has been initially rolled out in 70 hospitals equipped to handle the complicated logistics that involve storage in sub-freezing temperatures. He said one of the biggest challenges will be getting the vaccine into homes that care for the elderly, a top clinical priority, and into primary care networks, so the general populace has access to it.In Photos: 1st COVID Vaccines Given in BritainVaccination campaign, dubbed ‘V-Day’ by Health Secretary Mark Hancock, began nearly a week after government’s medical regulatory agency granted emergency approvalHancock said that while “help is on its way and the end is in sight,” he also noted there are signs of the virus continuing to spread in parts of the country, including Essex, London and Kent. He said citizens were going to have to continue following restrictions to keep safe and the virus from spreading.  Britain is the first Western country to start a mass vaccination program after regulators last week authorized the use of a COVID-19 shot developed by U.S. Drug maker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Nears Approval …

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is introducing his top health care officials on Tuesday, all of whom will quickly face the country’s grim world-leading coronavirus statistics: nearly 15 million infections and more than 283,000 deaths.Biden, FILE – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, California, March 5, 2019.Outgoing President Donald Trump, defeated for re-election by Biden in last month’s national vote, is delivering remarks at Tuesday’s Operation Warp Speed summit on the government’s effort to produce several vaccines against the coronavirus.Although Biden has promised to get inoculated when a vaccine is approved as safe, polls show about four in 10 Americans are wary of getting the shots or will refuse to be vaccinated.In this file photo, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci speaks during an unscheduled briefing after a Coronavirus Task Force meeting at the White House on April 5, 2020, in Washington.Biden picked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, as his chief medical adviser on COVID-19, which is caused by the coronavirus. Fauci will also continue in his longtime role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.Fauci, 79, has served as a medical adviser to six U.S. presidents and for months was the face of the U.S. government’s response to the pandemic. But in the months before the presidential election, Trump grew increasingly angered at Fauci’s grim assessments of the spread of the infection and sidelined him in favor of more upbeat …

A COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S. drug maker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech has moved closer to approval for emergency use in the United States after the Food and Drug Administration disclosed documents Tuesday confirming the vaccine was strongly protective against the infectious disease.The FDA documents were released on the same day that Britain began inoculating citizens with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the first country to administer a fully examined vaccine for emergency use.The documents offer the global community the first detailed view of the results of the vaccine’s trials.An FDA advisory committee comprising independent experts will vote Thursday on whether to recommend use of the vaccine. The panel’s decision is not binding, but the FDA has usually accepted its recommendations.Britain Becomes 1st Nation to Approve Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine’Historic moment’ makes Britain first Western nation preparing to begin mass inoculations against novel coronavirus A final decision by U.S. regulators is expected within days. If the vaccine is approved, the first recipients will be health care workers and nursing home residents, according to plans developed by each state.FDA staff members said the two-dose vaccine was very effective in preventing COVID-19 cases at least seven days after the last dose.  But the FDA said there was not enough data to confirm the safety of the vaccine in people under 16, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems. COVID-19 is caused by the coronavirus. …

Anxious researchers with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tuesday said they have received a capsule containing samples collected from an asteroid after traveling five billion kilometers back to Earth.The capsule, from Japan’s spacecraft Hayabusa2, blasted off for the asteroid Ryugu in December 2014, overcoming an unexpectedly rough landing surface to collect samples of asteroid dust in a capsule. That capsule plunged to Earth in Australia on Sunday and was flown to Japan where it was delivered to the agency’s scientists.At a news conference at JAXA in Sagamihara, about 51 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, space again scientists said the capsule is now secured safely in a curation facility at its research center.Project manager Yuichi Tsuda acknowledged he became a little emotional when the capsule was delivered to the facility, saying, “When I saw it, after returning from a flight of 5 billion kilometers, I was really moved. It was really touching.”The researchers cannot immediately pry open the capsule and start examining the sample. A series of steps must be taken to ensure the sample is not contaminated. They say initial gas samples were taken from the capsule shortly after it was recovered.  But the scientists will wait until the proper time to open it.JAXA researcher Tomoshiro Usui said, “If things go well, I believe we can open the lid in the vacuum chamber and confirm the contents after next week at the earliest.”The Hayabasa2 orbited above Ryugu for a few months before landing, then used small explosives to blast a …

Morocco is gearing up for an ambitious COVID-19 vaccination program, aiming to vaccinate 80% of its adults in an operation starting this month that’s relying initially on a Chinese vaccine that has not yet completed advanced trials to prove it is safe and effective. The first injections could come within days, a Health Ministry official told The Associated Press. Facing a public skeptical about the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness, medical experts and health officials have appeared on television in recent weeks to promote the COVID-19 vaccines and encourage Moroccans to get immunized. While Britain began its vaccination program Tuesday with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the U.S. and European Union are racing to approve a series of Western-made vaccines, other governments are looking to use vaccines from China and Russia. The World Health Organization has said new vaccines should first be tested in tens of thousands of people to prove they work and don’t cause worrisome side effects before being rolled out broadly. But the U.N. health agency also says it’s is up to individual countries to decide whether there is an urgent domestic need to use a vaccine shot, even without such data. Morocco is battling a resurgence in virus infections, with the number of recorded deaths from the virus surpassing 6,000. The North African kingdom is pinning its hopes on two vaccine candidates, one developed by China’s Sinopharm and the other by Britain’s Oxford University and AstraZeneca. The Sinopharm vaccine has been approved for emergency use in a few …

The Trump administration opted last summer not to lock in a chance to buy millions of additional doses of one of the leading coronavirus vaccine contenders, a decision that could delay the delivery of a second batch of doses until manufacturer Pfizer fulfills other international contracts. The revelation, confirmed Monday by people familiar with the matter, came a day before President Donald Trump aimed to take credit for the speedy development of forthcoming coronavirus vaccines at a White House summit Tuesday. Pfizer’s vaccine is expected to be endorsed by a panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers as soon as this week, with delivery of 100 million doses — enough for 50 million Americans — expected in coming months.  Under its contract with Pfizer, the Trump administration committed to buy an initial 100 million doses, with an option to purchase as many as five times more.  This summer, the White House opted not to lock in an additional 100 million doses for delivery in the second quarter of 2021, according to people who spoke about the matter on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.  FILE – A customer wearing a mask walks out of a Walgreen’s pharmacy store and past a sign advising that COVID-19 vaccines are not available there yet during the coronavirus outbreak, December 2, 2020.Days ahead of the vaccine’s expected approval, the administration is reversing course, but it is not clear that Pfizer, which has since made commitments to other countries, will be …

The Trump administration is aiming to instill public confidence as well as claim major credit for the forthcoming coronavirus vaccines with a White House summit Tuesday featuring experts who will outline distribution plans in detail. Officials from President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team are not invited, even though they will oversee the continuation of the largest vaccination program in the nation’s history once he takes office January 20. President Donald Trump is trying to frame vaccine development as a key component of his legacy. The Operation Warp Speed summit will feature Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a host of government experts, state leaders and business executives, as the White House looks to explain that the vaccine is safe and lay out the administration’s plans to bring it to the American people. Senior administration officials provided details on the summit on Monday. An official with the Biden transition confirmed no invitation was extended.FILE – Vials with a sticker reading, “COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only” and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed Pfizer logo, October 31, 2020.Officials from the pharmaceutical companies developing the vaccines also were not expected to attend, despite receiving invitations, according to people familiar with the matter. Some expressed concerns about the event contributing to the politicization of the vaccine development process and potentially further inhibiting public confidence in the drugs. Trump is set to kick off the event with remarks aiming to celebrate vaccine development, according to an official who previewed the event.  Trump also will sign …

The top infectious disease expert in the U.S. warned Monday of a “surge upon a surge” of coronavirus cases as Americans travel for holidays.“If we don’t listen to the public health measures that we need to follow, then we could start to see things get really bad in the middle of January. Not only for New York state, but for any state or city that is facing similar problems,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a press conference in New York alongside state Governor Andrew Cuomo.Millions of Americans traveled across the country for the Thanksgiving holiday, despite warnings from health experts. As case numbers continue to rise, experts worry that surges will increase if Americans gather with family for Hannukah and Christmas.New York is no exception to an upward trend in coronavirus cases, though Cuomo said Monday that the state’s numbers are lower than many other parts of the country.Jayceon Melendez arrives at P.S. 134 Henrietta Szold Elementary School, Dec. 7, 2020, in New York.New York City students returned to schools on Monday, after they had been sent home in mid-November following an increase the rate of positive COVID-19 tests.“This is a good day for New York City, even against a tough backdrop,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday at a virtual news conference from City Hall.De Blasio said it was safe to reopen schools, as protocols had been beefed up.Since mid-September, when schools opened, more than 1,740 students and 2,240 staff in the public school system have tested positive for …

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday the agency will maintain an air quality standard governing soot pollution for five years rather than tighten it as agency scientists had recommended, a move that will harm low-income communities that tend to be most exposed to the pollutant.The agency is required to review the National Ambient Air Quality Standards regulation, which sets limits on the concentrations of pollutants like soot from coal-fired power plants and vehicle tailpipes every five years and has tended to tighten them regularly after scientific review.At a news briefing alongside Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia, a coal-producing state, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the agency is preserving the current soot pollution standard of 12 millionths of a gram per cubic meter of air.He said on a press call Monday that particulate matter concentrations have decreased across the country over the last few years and said the agency conducted the review process “earlier than initially anticipated.”Since the EPA’s last review of particulate matter, new scientific research shows that even levels below the current standards cause serious health impacts.Wheeler said the new research that has emerged about the health impacts of particulate matter did not “come out in time for this five-year review process.”New research also shows a link between COVID-19 mortality and exposure to particulate matter, said several state attorneys general, including Xavier Becerra of California, now a nominee to be president-elect Joe Biden’s health secretary.”On its way out the door, the Trump administration has …