Year: 2020

Britain announced Tuesday that travelers from abroad could face a shorter isolation period with a negative COVID-19 test days after their arrival.Current rules require 14 days of quarantine.  Starting December 15, travelers will have the option to pay for a test after five days, and if the test comes back negative, they will be free to end their self-isolation.In Germany, officials in 16 states are looking toward next months Christmas holiday and ways to make it safer for families to gather.The states have agreed among themselves on a proposal to tighten restrictions in the weeks ahead of the holiday in order to hold down the spread of the coronavirus, and then relax the rules to allow small gatherings.Officials are due to discuss the plan with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday.Here’s How the Three COVID-19 Vaccines Compare Main differences seem to be in cost, storage and number of early doses available, but information is limited Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte expressed his own concerns about Christmas, saying Tuesday people should not plan to go on ski trips.Conte said it would not be possible “to allow holidays on the snow.  We cannot afford it.”Italy was one of the hardest-hit nations in the early stages of the pandemic and on Monday became the sixth country in the world to surpass 50,000 deaths.Spain, another early hotspot, has seen a sharp decline in tourism like in many areas.  It’s national statistics office reported Tuesday the number of hotel nights booked in October was down 83% …

With pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca’s announcement Monday that its vaccine successfully prevented coronavirus infection, three candidates appear to be promising vital tools to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic.  Biotech firm Moderna and drug company partners Pfizer and BioNTech announced last week that their vaccines were ready to submit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization.  They are signs of hope as the global death toll from COVID-19 nears 1.4 million people, according to Johns Hopkins University.  However, scientists caution that all they know about these vaccines is what the companies have said in press releases.  Like movie trailers, “They provide some exciting scenes but leave a lot unsaid. You have to go see the whole movie,” said Vanderbilt University infectious diseases professor William Schaffner. More data will be available in the coming weeks, when the companies take their applications to the FDA. Until then, here is how the vaccines compare, based on the limited information presented in company press releases.FILE – Biotechnology company Moderna protocol files for COVID-19 vaccinations are kept at the Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida, Aug. 13, 2020.Efficacy All three vaccines appear extremely effective.  The FDA told companies their products would have to be better than 50% effective to get emergency approval. All three far surpassed that mark while requiring two doses for maximum effectiveness.  Pfizer and Moderna both reported about 95% efficacy in their clinical trials.  The AstraZeneca vaccine was up to 90% effective, although one dosing regimen was less effective and reached only 62%. However, the companies have not yet released all the data …

General Motors says it will no longer support the Trump administration in legal efforts to end California’s right to set its own clean-air standards. CEO Mary Barra said in a letter Monday to environmental groups that GM will pull out of the lawsuit, and it urges other automakers to do so. FILE – GM CEO Mary Barra testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 17, 2014.She said the company agrees with President-elect Joe Biden’s plan to expand electric-vehicle use. Last week, GM said it is testing a new battery chemistry that will bring electric-vehicle costs down to those of gas-powered vehicles within five years. Barra sent the letter after a call with California Governor Gavin Newsom, the company said.  “We believe the ambitious electrification goals of the President-elect, California and General Motors are aligned, to address climate change by drastically reducing automobile emissions,” Barra said in the letter. Mary Nichols, head of California’s Air Resources Board, called GM’s announcement “good news,” saying Barra told her about it in a telephone call Monday morning. The board is the state’s air pollution regulator. FILE – California Air Resources Board chair Mary Nichols, left, speaks as California Governor Gavin Newsom listens at a press conference in Sacramento, September 23, 2020.”I was pleased to be in communication with Mary Barra again,” she said. “It’s been a while since we had talked.” Dan Becker of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the environmental groups to whom Barra wrote, said GM was wrong in trying to stop California from protecting its people …

Sudanese health authorities said Sunday that seven medical doctors died from COVID-19 in 10 days, a development that reflects Sudan’s sharp rise in cases in recent weeks. Nearly 100 deaths were recorded in the past month.A statement issued by Sudan’s ministry of health said the seven doctors “worked tirelessly” to treat COVID-19 patients, prevent the spread of the ailment, and protect the lives of the Sudanese people. COVID-19 is the illness caused by the coronavirus.The government called their deaths a huge loss for the country as it continues to fight the pandemic and described the doctors as “true heroes,” who died defending their people.According to the ministry:— Dr. Kamil Mohammad Abdullah, a consultant ophthalmologist, died November 11.— Dr. Iman Ahmed Al Bashir, director of Khartoum state’s Department of Mother and Child Health at the Ministry of Health, died November 13.— Dr. Naeem Abdurrahman, an ophthalmologist in Jazeera state, died November 16.— Dr.Izzeddeen Mahmoud Abdo, a consultant in medical laboratories, died November 18.— Professor Al-Tom Surajaddeen, a medical laboratories consultant, died November 18.— Dr. Mohammad Ibrahim Al-Tahir, a radiologist, died November 19.— Professor Ahmed Ahimer, a World Health Organization immunization expert and former director of child immunization in Blue Nile State, died November 19.Late last week, Sudanese education authorities postponed the reopening of schools for two weeks, due to a steep rise in cases.Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking cases globally, says on its coronavirus dashboard that Sudan currently has 16,052 confirmed cases and 1,197 deaths.Acting Health Minister Dr. Osama Ahmed Abdurrahim …

A coronavirus vaccine developed by Britain’s University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca has shown successful results in early trials. If it is approved by regulators, the vaccine appears suitable for a fast rollout around the globe. Early analysis of trials involving 20,000 volunteers in Britain and Brazil show the vaccine is at least 62% effective after two doses. In volunteers given a different dosing regimen — a half dose, followed by a full dose — that figure rose to 90%. The average efficacy of the two dosing methods is 70%. None of those given the vaccine developed severe COVID-19 illness. Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said the recent successful trials of three different vaccines by Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, represent a scientific breakthrough. “It really feels like a great moment that we’ve got now multiple vaccines. If we can get them rolled out as soon as possible, we’re going to have a big impact,” Pollard said. Differences from other vaccinesAstraZeneca plans to begin supplying hundreds of millions of doses by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval. Several properties of the vaccine make it suitable for global rollout, according to Peter Drobac, a global health expert at the University of Oxford, who did not work on the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine. “The first is cost,” Drobac said. “So, this vaccine has been priced at about one-fifth to one-tenth of the cost reportedly being sought by Pfizer and Moderna, some of the other leading vaccine candidates.” AstraZeneca has pledged …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled an updated plan for handling Britain’s COVID-19 infection after the country’s partial national lockdown is lifted December 2.In video message to Parliament Monday, Johnson said the lockdown will be lifted next Wednesday as promised. He said although Britain will return to the regional system that was in place prior to the lockdown, he has received scientific advice indicating the tiers need to be tougher to adequately reduce the infection rate.In the new tier 1, people will be required to work from home if they can. In tier 2, pubs will only be able to serve drinks with a “substantial meal.” And in tier 3, indoor entertainment and hotels will close, and restaurants and pubs will only be allowed to open for take-out.As before, Johnson said the tiers will be determined based on the rate of COVID-19 infections in each area, with the toughest measures implemented where the disease is most prevalent. The government will announce which areas will be under which tier later this week.A woman walks through the Burlington Arcade adorned with Christmas decorations, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in London, Nov. 23, 2020.Johnson said more regions will fall, at least temporarily, into higher levels than before. But, he said, with tougher restrictions and more rapid coronavirus testing, it should be possible for areas to move to lower levels of restrictions fairly quickly.The prime minister said people should not expect a normal Christmas holiday this year, saying, “This virus is obviously not …

The CDC has urged Americans not to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday this week as COVID-19 cases continue to surge, but millions are ignoring recommendations. Roughly 1 million Americans passed through airport security nationwide Sunday, according to the Transportation Security Administration, which cited similar numbers throughout the weekend. The United States continues to record the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 as well as resulting deaths, having surpassed a quarter of a million fatalities last week. According to a Reuters tally, the seven-day average number of U.S. COVID-19 deaths rose for a 12th straight day, reaching 1,500 as of Monday. Healthcare workers across the country have reported overflowing hospitals and staffing shortages, urging the public to avoid large gatherings indoors. “I’m asking Americans, I’m begging you: hold on a little bit longer,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams told the ABC News show Good Morning America on Monday. “We want everyone to understand that these holiday celebrations can be superspreader events.” But some state lawmakers have spoken out against the recommendations of scientists. Presumably in response to calls to “cancel” Thanksgiving, Texas Senator Ted Cruz tweeted a graphic of a turkey with the caption “come and take it”. pic.twitter.com/HSCSdXkst9— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 22, 2020Even the White House is reportedly planning events, with ABC News and Axios reporting first lady Melania Trump is hosting a November 30 holiday celebration celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah. Chief of staff to the first lady Stepanie Grisham detailed to Axios precautions being taken by the White House for the celebration, including smaller guest lists, mask requirements, and social distancing …

The World Health Organization (WHO) Monday called on the international community to put the same effort into fairly distributing coronavirus vaccines, which appear to be on the verge of approval, as they did in creating them. At the WHO’s regular news briefing in Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lauded the recent development of the vaccines, including the Pfizer-BioNTech inoculation being considered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European regulators. He noted the significance of the scientific achievement cannot be overstated. He said, “No vaccines in history have been developed as rapidly as these. The scientific community has set a new standard for vaccine development.” But he said the international community must set a new standard for access to these new vaccines and ensure they are available to the poorest nations in the world.    Tedros also said, “The urgency with which COVID-19 vaccines have been developed must be matched by the same urgency to distribute them fairly.” The COVID-19 disease is caused by the coronavirus. The WHO director-general expressed concern that the poorest and most vulnerable nations will “be trampled in the stampede for vaccines.”    Earlier this year, the agency, in collaboration with other organizations, developed the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) accelerator program and the Cooperative Vaccine Development Group, known as COVAX, specifically to ensure any viable vaccines are made equitably available throughout the world. Tedros says 187 nations are now participating. But he said $4.3 billion is needed immediately to support the mass procurement & …

Healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients say the work is taking a toll on their mental state, forcing some into depression and therapy.  Mohammed Yusuf reports from Nairobi. Camera: Mohammed Yusuf   Producer:  Rod James   …

The World Meteorological Organization reports greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere continue to reach record levels despite COVID-19 lockdowns. The WMO has just released its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin on atmospheric  concentrations of carbon dioxide and other major greenhouse gases.COVID-19 lockdown measures have reduced air pollution levels in major cities in India, China and elsewhere. The World Meteorological Organization, however, says the measures have failed to curb the relentless rise in greenhouse gas emissions, trapping heat in the atmosphere and accelerating global warming.Increasing temperatures are causing more extreme weather events, ice melt, sea-level rise and ocean acidification. WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said the COVID-19 pandemic is not a solution for climate change. While carbon dioxide emissions have fallen during lockdown, he told VOA this will have little impact on global warming and climate change.“This year, we have seen drops of emissions by four- to seven percent because of the COVID lockdowns but that is not going to change the big picture because the lifetime of carbon dioxide is so, so long,” he said.Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for centuries and in the ocean even longer. Oksana Tarasova head of the WHO’s Atmospheric and Environment Research Division, said the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions is dramatic.“We have seen such changes, but those changes happened when the whole climate changed from glacial to interglacial and that change happened within 100 to 200 years…We humans did it without anything – just with our emissions. We have done it within four years,” said Tarasova.The …

AstraZeneca said early Monday that clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine in Britain and Brazil have shown it is “highly effective in preventing COVID-19″ without  “hospitalizations or severe cases of the disease” in any of the trial’s volunteers. The England-based pharmaceutical company tested two dosing regimens.  One regimen had an efficacy rate of 90%.  The second regimen has an average efficacy of 70%.  “More data will continue to accumulate, and additional analysis will be conducted, refining the efficacy reading and establishing the duration of protection,” Astra Zeneca said in a statement Monday.  “These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives.” Professor Andrew Pollard, chief investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial at Oxford, said in a statement. AstraZeneca said it “will seek an Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organization for an accelerated pathway to vaccine availability in low-income countries. In parallel, the full analysis of the interim results is being submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.”An AstraZeneca sign is seen at the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, Nov. 6, 2020.Drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna have also announced initial results from late-stage trials showing their vaccines were nearly 95% effective. On Sunday, countries begin laying out plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, with Germany and the United States preparing to vaccinate some populations as early as next month. German Health Minister Jens Spahn told reporters Sunday that there “is reason to be optimistic” that a vaccine would be approved in Europe before the end of the year, and that after approval, vaccinations could begin “right away.” The United States has set preliminary plans to begin vaccinating some groups as early as December 12, two days …

YONKERS, NEW YORK — A co-founder of the social media ALS ice bucket challenge, which has raised more than $200 million worldwide for Lou Gehrig’s disease research, died Sunday at the age of 37, according to the ALS Association.Pat Quinn was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in 2013, a month after his 30th birthday, the organization said in a statement announcing his death.  “Pat fought ALS with positivity and bravery and inspired all around him,” the association said. “Those of us who knew him are devastated but grateful for all he did to advance the fight against ALS. … Our thoughts are with the Quinn family and all of his friends and supporters. Pat was loved by many of us within the ALS community and around the world.”In 2014, Quinn saw the ice bucket challenge on the social media feed of professional golfer Chris Kennedy, who first dared his wife’s cousin Jeanette Senerchia to take a bucket of ice water, dump it over her head, post a video on social media and ask others to do the same or to make a donation to charity. Senerchia’s husband had ALS.Quinn and co-founder Pete Frates, along with their teams of supporters, helped popularize the challenge. The ALS Association said Quinn “knew it was the key to raising ALS awareness,” calling it “the greatest social media campaign in history.” Frates, a former Boston College baseball player, died in December 2019 at the age of 34.When the two …

Madrid’s ancient and emblematic Rastro flea market reopened Sunday after a contentious eight-month closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has walloped the Spanish capital. With many major European flea markets still shut down, the Rastro’s return seems to be another example of Madrid’s bid to show that heavy coronavirus restrictions may not be necessary even among the latest surge of the virus and some sort of normality can resume with precautions.  That stance has been both criticized and lauded. After lengthy negotiations, city authorities agreed the Rastro could open at 50% capacity, with half its 1,000 stalls alternating each Sunday for a maximum crowd of 2,700 people.  Police with backup drones will monitor the market to avoid overcrowding. Dating back to the 1700s, the Rastro sells the usual flea market mix of antiques, clothes, furniture, bric-a-brac and curios in stalls that snake down through a warren-like district next to Madrid’s majestic Plaza Mayor square.  Long a traditional meeting and drinking place, the bustling Sunday morning market used to attract thousands of tourists and locals alike. If you arrived after 11 a.m., it was almost impossible to move. Spain has been one of Europe’s hardest-hit countries in the pandemic, recording more than 1.5 million coronavirus cases and over 42,500 deaths.  …

Almost 1,400 frontline healthcare workers in the U.S. have apparently died of COVID-19, according to a joint investigation by British newspaper, The Guardian, and Kaiser Health News.  One-third of the dead health care workers were nurses, the study said.Many of the health care workers, the report said, “are struggling with illness, trauma and exhaustion.” FILE – An NHS worker is pictured outside the Aintree University Hospital before the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Liverpool, Britain, April 23, 2020.A surgical nurse told The Guardian that in the first two months of the coronavirus pandemic, he wrapped more people in body bags than he had in the previous 25 years of his career. Jim Gentile said, “Many of us have PTSD.” More than 58 million people around the world have been infected with the coronavirus, the Johns Hopkins Resource Center reported early Sunday.  The U.S. continues to lead the world in infections with more than 12 million cases, followed by India with 9 million infections and Brazil with 6 million. FILE – Ventilator tubes are attached to a COVID-19 patient at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills section of Los Angeles, Nov. 19, 2020.The virus has claimed more than 1.3 million lives.  More than a quarter million of those deaths were in the U.S.  Even though the coronavirus disease is surging, not everyone is eager to be vaccinated against it, according to a recent Ipsos poll. While …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday authorized the emergency use of a COVID-19 antibody therapy that President Donald Trump said helped cure him of the disease caused by the coronavirus.On the same day, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported that the U.S. had passed 12 million COVID-19 cases.“It’s really a moment that we want to call on every American to increase their vigilance,” Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said this week.The Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. therapy approved by the FDA is made up of the monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab. They are to be administered together to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults, including those 65 and older with some chronic medical conditions, and children who are at high risk of a more severe case.The company expects to have enough of the treatment ready for about 200,000 patients by the first week of January.Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said Friday she expects the number of new daily cases to reach 20,000 per day, up from just under 5,000 per day currently, if Canadians maintain their current number of personal contacts.However, she warned that number could spike to 60,000 a day by the end of December if Canadians increase their level of contact with other people, a possible scenario with the Christmas holiday season looming.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called on Canadians to stay home and follow public health rules to help slow the spread of COVID-19.Friday, U.S. pharmaceutical company …

As coronavirus cases surge globally, the COVID-19 deaths of two senior Serbian Orthodox Church clerics — one who died weeks after presiding over the funeral of the other — are raising questions about whether some religious institutions are doing enough to slow the spread of the virus.More reports are emerging about people who attended religious services and contract the virus — some after parishioners seemed to ignore the pleas of church and health officials to wear masks, practice social distancing and other steps to combat the virus that’s killed nearly 1.4 million people worldwide.In Belgrade, many mourners paying their respects Saturday to Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej ignored precautions, and some kissed the glass shield covering the patriarch’s body, despite warnings not to do so from Serbia’s epidemiologists.That scene unfolded three weeks after the 90-year-old Irinej led prayers at the funeral of Bishop Amfilohije in nearby Montenegro, an event attended by thousands, where many kissed the bishop’s remains in an open casket.The highly publicized episodes happened as Serbia reported thousands of newly confirmed infections daily in the country of 7 million and as the government in recent days has tightened measures to hold off the virus. As the country’s health system strains to treat more and more people for the virus, some patients in Belgrade hospitals with less serious conditions are being transferred to hospitals elsewhere.Those same kinds of tough decisions and terrible predicaments are playing out across the United States.California enacts a nighttime curfew starting Saturday night to try …

More than 15 million people in Europe have been infected with coronavirus, making it the worst-hit region in the world.  Authorities hope new lockdowns will get the situation under control.  More with VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo. …

Trying to close out major unfinished business, the Trump administration issued regulations Friday that could lower the prices Americans pay for many prescription drugs.But in a time of political uncertainty, it’s hard to say whether the rules will withstand expected legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry or whether President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will accept, amend or try to roll them back entirely.”The drug companies don’t like me too much. But we had to do it,” President Donald Trump said in announcing the new policy at the White House. “I just hope they keep it. I hope they have the courage to keep it,” he added, in an apparent reference to the incoming Biden administration, while noting the opposition from drug company lobbyists.The two finalized rules, long in the making, would:— Tie what Medicare pays for medications administered in a doctor’s office to the lowest price paid among a group of other economically advanced countries. That’s called the “most favored nation” approach. It is adamantly opposed by critics aligned with the pharmaceutical industry, who liken it to socialism. The administration estimates it could save $28 billion over seven years for Medicare recipients through lower copays. It would take effect January 1. — Require drugmakers, for brand-name pharmacy medications, to give Medicare enrollees rebates that now go to insurers and middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers. Insurers that deliver Medicare’s Part D prescription benefit say that would raise premiums. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates it would increase taxpayer costs by $177 billion over …

The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday said more COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide in the last four weeks than in the first six months of the pandemic. In his regular news briefing from WHO headquarters in Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said hospitals and intensive care units are filling up or full across Europe and the United States. Tedros said it was good news this week that at least two vaccine candidates have shown to be effective in tests and one is near emergency approval and provides hope. But he stressed that people must continue to use the tools currently available to interrupt the chains of transmission and save lives. Medical staff members wait for citizens to be tested for coronavirus at a school gym that was set up as a testing facility in Bolzano, northern Italy, Nov. 20, 2020.The WHO director-general also introduced a new report published by the U.N. agency on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the world and ways to better control it. Antimicrobials include antibiotics and antivirals used in humans and animals, and pesticides used in agriculture. The WHO said their misuse or overuse can lead to bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites developing a resistance to them over time, making medicines ineffective and infections harder to treat, and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. Microorganisms that develop AMR are sometimes referred to as “superbugs.” Tedros said the COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the intimate relationship between humans, animals and the environment.He said AMR may not …

The World Health Organization says the antiviral drug remdesivir is not beneficial and should not be used in treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19.   A WHO panel of international experts who reviewed the results of clinical trials have concluded there currently is no evidence that remdesivir improves survival of COVID-19 patients, no matter how severely ill they are.      Janet Diaz, head of Clinical Care at the World Health Organization,  says the panel conditionally recommends against the use of remdesivir in hospitalized COVID-19 patients regardless of the severity of their illness. The panel says the evidence shows the drug has possibly no effect on mortality.   “Now, this does not prove that remdesivir does not have a benefit at all. That is why it is a conditional recommendation. There can still be potential small benefit maybe in a health sub-group, which is why the panel also recommended continued trials, continued enrollment into clinical trials,” Diaz said.   She suggested it might perhaps be better to focus on sub-groups, such as severe patients versus critical patients in future clinical trials.      The WHO panel’s recommendation is based on new evidence, which compared the effects of several drug treatments for COVID-19.  It includes data from four international randomized trials involving more than 7,000 patients hospitalized for COVID-19.   Bram Rochwerg, a practicing ICU doctor in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and co-chair of the WHO panel, told VOA there is still ongoing uncertainty about the impact of remdesivir on survivability and mortality. …

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, said Friday they have filed for emergency authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use their COVID-19 vaccine, saying they are poised to begin distribution within hours after authorization. The application comes after the companies said testing shows the vaccine has an effectiveness rate of 95 percent, with no serious safety concerns observed to date. In a news release, the companies say in addition to their submission to the FDA, they are seeking authorization from authorities in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan and the U.K., and plan to submit applications immediately to other regulatory agencies around the world. FILE – A worker passes a line of freezers holding coronavirus disease vaccine candidate BNT162b2 at a Pfizer facility in Puurs, Belgium, in an undated photograph.With the COVID-19 pandemic surging around the world, the regulators will be under pressure to make a quick decision on the vaccine. In an interview, former U.S. FDA chief scientist Jesse Goodman explained the standard for emergency use authorization only requires that a product “may be effective.” He said the agency performs an assessment on whether the available data determines if the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks. During a White House briefing Thursday, the leading U.S. infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said he understands that people might be concerned about the speed with which these vaccines have been developed, but he expressed confidence that the vaccines will be safe. “The process of the speed did not compromise at all safety, nor did …

The U.S. space agency, NASA, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), is set to launch a satellite Saturday designed to monitor rising sea levels, the latest in a series of orbiting spacecraft monitoring the status of the world’s oceans.   NASA says the satellite, called the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California early Saturday.  Named after former NASA Earth Science Division Director Michael Freilich, the U.S.-European satellite will be carried into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.   The Sentinel-6 is about the size of a small pickup truck, and it will measure sea-surface height, wave-height and windspeed, allowing scientists to monitor changes in sea levels caused by climate change.     The data that it collects on sea level variations near coastlines will provide information to support coastal management and with planning for floods, while its atmospheric measurements will enhance weather and hurricane forecasts.   NASA Sentinel 6 mission scientist Craig Donlon says the data gathered by the craft will be used alongside information provided by previous Sentinel satellites to build a more complete a picture of the oceans.     “Sentinel-3 is providing the sea surface temperature and the ocean biology measurements. Sentinel-1 is providing radar imaging measurements of ocean swell waves, of sea ice. Sentinel-2 provides high resolution measurements in the coastal zone,” Donlon said.   Unlike previous Earth observation missions, the Sentinel-6 observatory will collect measurements at a much higher resolution and be able …

The Pentagon has confirmed that acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Anthony Tata has COVID-19.   Tata and several other people were exposed to the virus, the Pentagon said, after meeting with a Lithuanian delegation, including Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis, who has tested positive for COVID.”Mr. Tata was tested today and has tested positive for COVID-19 on two successive tests.  He will isolate at home for the next 14 days in accordance with Center for Disease Control protocols,” a Pentagon statement said. Further contact tracing is being done of Defense Department officials who may have had contact with Tata and the Lithuanian delegation, the statement said.  FILE – Travelers wait in the boarding area for trains during the Thanksgiving holiday travel rush at Pennsylvania Station in New York, Nov. 27, 2019.CDC discourages Thanksgiving travel Coronavirus infections is the United States are exploding toward the 12 million mark. At 11.7 million cases, the U.S. has more COVID-19 cases than anyplace else.  The U.S. also has the world’s largest coronavirus death toll, with more than a quarter of a million fatalities.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an alliance of three professional medical groups released separate statements Thursday urging Americans to stay home for next week’s Thanksgiving celebrations and to rethink their observations of the holiday. They are afraid coronavirus cases and deaths could jump higher if Americans do not scale back their traditional Thanksgiving plans.“Positive cases spiked after Memorial Day, after the Fourth of July, after Labor Day, and now – two weeks after Halloween,” the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Nurses Association said in a joint open letter. “The record-shattering surge underway is resulting in uncontrolled community spread and infection that has already overburdened …

Activists in Cameroon held events and marches for Thursday’s World Toilet Day, calling on authorities to provide more public bathrooms. Cameroonian authorities say 60% of its 25 million people lack toilets, fueling the spread of diseases such as cholera and dysentery.School authorities at Yaoundé’s Government Primary School Efoulan say they have close to 2,000 children and teachers but only five toilets, which are often unusable as they run short of water and toilet paper.The Cameroon Association to Improve Hygiene organized this and similar events in 30 schools in the capital to mark this year’s World Toilet Day.The group’s head, Edmond Kimbi, said hundreds of their members also marched in Yaoundé and coastal cities to demand more and better public toilets.”It is actually too regrettable that schools and universities have very few toilets, which lack water and are always dirty,” he said. “It is worse when you visit markets, where thousands of people visit the markets each day. The consequences of this is that nearby bushes and dark corners are being transformed into toilets, thereby making our towns always dirty.”Public toilets in Douala, Cameroon, Nov. 19, 2020. (Moki Edwin Kindzeka/VOA)Authorities say a September outbreak of cholera, a bacterial disease spread through dirty water, in the port cities of Douala and Kribi killed at least 90 people.Dr. Sintieh Ngek, a medical officer with the Cameroon Baptist Convention, said the lack of toilets is spreading disease.”Waterborne and water-based diseases like cholera, like diarrheal diseases, will be more present, and it is worth noting …