Month: January 2021

The United States recorded a 10.3% decline in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 2020 as economic activity contracted due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released Tuesday by the Rhodium Group, which noted the single largest drop in annual emissions in the post-World War II era.“The hardest-hit economic sectors — including transportation, electric power, and industry — are also the leading sources of US GHG emissions,” the report said.The transportation sector saw GHG emissions plummet 14.7% compared to 2019 levels, while the power sector saw a similar decline to the national average of 10.3%, the report said.Industry, on the other hand, saw mixed impact as activity levels fluctuated from the onset to the peak of the pandemic. Between April and March, emissions fell 16%, the researchers noted.The changes were attributed to reduced economic activity across America as a whole, including measures put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19 such as shelter-in-place orders and travel restrictions.Additionally, changes in the demand for goods and services as well as record-high unemployment contributed to falling emissions levels, the report said.Last year’s decline in GHG emissions eclipsed a 6.3% drop recorded during the deep U.S. economic recession of 2009.The researchers underscored that the factors leading to the decline are temporary and driven by the pandemic, adding that the 2020 reduction does not constitute “a down payment toward the U.S. meeting its 2025 Paris Agreement target of 26-28% below 2005 levels.”President-elect Joe Biden has said the United States will rejoin the Paris Agreement …

Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, his health director and other ex-officials have been told they’re being charged after a new investigation of the Flint water scandal, which devastated the majority Black city with lead-contaminated water and was blamed for a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in 2014-15, The Associated Press has learned. Two people with knowledge of the planned prosecution told the AP on Tuesday that the attorney general’s office has informed defense lawyers about indictments in Flint and told them to expect initial court appearances soon. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The AP could not determine the nature of the charges against Snyder, former health department director Nick Lyon and others who were in his administration, including Rich Baird, a friend who was the governor’s key troubleshooter while in office. Courtney Covington Watkins, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, said only that investigators were “working diligently” and “will share more as soon as we’re in a position to do so.” FILE – Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder delivers his State of the State address at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich., Jan. 23, 2018.Snyder’s attorney, Brian Lennon, released a blistering statement, saying a criminal prosecution would be “outrageous.” He said state prosecutors have refused to “share information about these charges with us.” “Rather than following the evidence to find the truth, the Office of Special Counsel appears to be targeting former Gov. Snyder in a political escapade,” Lennon said. Snyder, a Republican …

Late-stage trials in Brazil show the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac to be 50.38% effective, nearly 30 percentage points below the initial results released last week. Instituto Butantan, the São Paulo-based research institute responsible for developing the vaccine and conducting trials in the country, announced last week the vaccine had a 78% overall efficacy, while offering total protection against severe cases. The new trials, which involved 12,508 volunteers, have shown that Sinovac continues to be 100% effective in blocking severe cases. “This is an efficient vaccine,” Instituto Butantan Chief Researcher Ricardo Palacios said during a press conference Tuesday. “We have a vaccine that is able to control the pandemic through this expected effect, which is the decrease in the disease’s intensity.” The results come at a moment in which President Jair Bolsonaro’s government has been criticized for the delay in rolling out the vaccine. Neighboring countries, such as Chile with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and Argentina with Russia’s Sputnik V, started their vaccination campaigns weeks ago, while Brazil still does not have a concrete immunization plan a week after the country surpassed 200,000 COVID-19 deaths. Last week, Bolsonaro’s government closed an exclusive deal with Instituto Butantan for 100 million doses to be distributed by the end of 2021. The vaccine, however, still needs the approval of the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). Instituto Butantan has included the new results in its emergency request for approval, initially filed Friday. ANVISA requires a 50% effective rate for vaccines, the same percentage recommended by the World Health Organization.  …

A top British police official Tuesday said officers have issued about 45,000 fines for violations of COVID-19 restrictions and that they will issue more to keep the infection from spreading. The chair of Britain’s National Police Chiefs’ Council, Martin Hewitt, made the comments at a news conference, along with Home Secretary Priti Patel. Hewitt said he makes no apology for the fines levied because too many people were still choosing not to abide by the rules. He warned there would be more officers out on patrol to catch those who he said were “endangering us all.” Britain is among the countries hardest hit by the pandemic and is in the midst of a third national lockdown to stop rapidly spreading infections. The nation reported 1,243 more deaths Tuesday, bringing the current number of fatalities to 83,203. Patel described the figures as “horrifying” and stressed the “absolutely critical” need for people to follow the rules. Patel said she supported the efforts of police officers, and that a minority of people were putting the entire nation at risk by not following the rules. She said, “Our ability to get through the coming weeks and months depends on each and every one of us contributing to what is truly a national effort.”  …

Pakistan is concluding its phase three human trials of a Chinese company’s coronavirus vaccine. Health officials say the test of CanSinoBio’s vaccine are nearly complete and show promise. Pakistan is one of seven countries testing the Chinese vaccine. VOA’s Ayesha Tanzeem reports from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.Camera:  Malik Waqar Ahmed    …

The Trump administration is releasing millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses it was holding back for use as second doses in order to vaccinate Americans older than 65, as well as Americans with underlying health conditions.   Appearing on a morning news show, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said, “The administration in the states has been too narrowly focused.”   “We now believe that our manufacturing is predictable enough that we can ensure second doses are available for people from ongoing production,” Azar told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “So, everything is now available to our states and our health care providers.”   He said the new strategy would not interfere with Americans waiting for a first dose.   While the federal government provides the two-shot vaccine to the states, each state distributes them according to its own plan. Most states had prioritized health care workers and nursing home residents.   “We’ve already distributed more vaccine than we have health care workers and people in nursing homes,” Azar said. “We’ve got to get to more channels of administration. We’ve got to get it to pharmacies, get it to community health centers.”   He said the federal government “will deploy teams to support states doing mass vaccination efforts if they wish to do so.”   As of Monday, the CDC reported that almost 9 million Americans had received the first shot of the vaccine. …

South Africa’s president has extended restrictions as coronavirus infections affect more and more people — including, notably, the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, who announced this week she was recovering from the virus.  President Cyril Ramaphosa said the continued restrictions — which include an extension of the nation’s curfew, alcohol ban and limits on gatherings, plus the closure of South Africa’s land borders — are necessary.  He also vowed that his government will do everything it could to get enough vaccines.     “The pandemic in our country is now at its most devastating,” he said in a televised address on Monday night. “The number of new infections, hospital admissions and deaths is higher now than it has ever been since the first case was recorded in our country in March 2020. Since New Year’s Day, we have recorded nearly 190,000 new coronavirus infections. The country has recorded more than 4,600 COVID-19 deaths so far this year.”   FILE – Funeral workers wearing personal protective equipment carry a casket during the burial of a COVID-19 victim at the Olifantsvlei cemetery, south-west of Johannesburg, Jan. 6, 2021.South Africa has seen 1.2 million confirmed cases since the virus arrived in March. The second wave of the virus — featuring a new variant that appears to be more contagious — began in December.    Recent new cases include the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, who late Monday announced that she spent 10 days in intensive care after having contracted the virus in late December. In a written statement, Ambassador Police …

China says a team of scientists from the World Health Organization will arrive this week in Wuhan to begin its investigation of the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.   Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday that the 10-member team will leave from Singapore this Thursday and fly directly to Wuhan, the central city where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019. The virus eventually spread to nearly every corner of the globe, leading to more than 1.9 million fatalities out of nearly 91 million infections.      China has sought to change the narrative over the virus’s origins, with officials eagerly pushing theories that it first emerged in other nations.      Dr. Mike Ryan, the head of WHO’s emergencies program, told reporters in Geneva Monday the agency is simply “looking for the answers here that may save us in the future. Not culprits and not people to blame.”     Ryan said if blame exists, “we can blame climate change. We can blame policy decisions made 30 years ago about everything from urbanization to the way we exploit the forest,”     A health expert affiliated with WHO has said that expectations should be “very low” the mission will lead to a conclusion about the origins of the virus that causes the COVID-19 illness.      The United States, which has accused China of having hidden the original outbreak’s extent, has called for a “transparent” WHO-led investigation and criticized its terms, which allowed Chinese scientists to do …

The World Health Organization is warning that mass vaccinations against the novel coronavirus will not produce herd immunity this year. WHO chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan told reporters Monday that it takes time to produce and administer enough doses of a vaccine to finally stop the spread of COVID-19.  Dr. Swaminathan stressed the need for countries to continue observing mitigation efforts such as mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing.   In a related story, Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine should provide immunity for at least a year.FILE – Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Miss., Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, Pool)According to Reuters news agency, the company said during the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference Monday it was confident the messenger RNA technology it used was well suited to deploy a vaccine based on the new variant of the coronavirus which has emerged in a handful of countries. Dr. Bruce Aylward, a WHO senior advisor, said Monday the agency is hoping to begin providing COVID-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest countries in February, but said “we cannot do that on our own” as he urged vaccine makers to prioritize deliveries to the  COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, or COVAX. FILE – A woman wearing a face mask to protect against the novel coronavirus walks on a street in Lagos, Nigeria, Dec. 31, 2020.COVAX is an alliance of WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, The Vaccine …

Parts of the world ravaged by outbreaks of Ebola can now heave a small sigh of relief thanks to the stockpile of vaccine, the International Coordinating Group (ICG) announced Monday. The single-dose vaccine will allow affected countries, particularly those in Africa, to better contain the deadly virus during future outbreaks. “This new stockpile is an excellent example of solidarity, science and cooperation between international organizations and the private sector to save lives,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said in a Tuesday FILE – Health workers begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 16, 2019.The vaccine, which is recommended by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on immunization for use in Ebola outbreaks, will be managed by UNICEF although the ICG will be “the decision-making body for its allocation and release,” the press release said. “We are proud to be part of this unprecedented effort to help bring potential Ebola outbreaks quickly under control,” Henrietta Fore, UNICEF executive director, said in the press release. Fore said “when it comes to disease outbreaks, preparedness is key.” She said the vaccine stash is a “remarkable achievement” that will allow vaccines to be delivered to those who need them in a timely manner. Countries that make requests for vaccines should receive a response in 48 hours. The vaccines will then be shipped from Switzerland in temperature-controlled packages. The statement said the target is to make “overall delivery time from the stockpile to countries” in seven days. An initial 6,890 doses …

President-elect Joe Biden rolled up his sleeve and received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Monday at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, to complete his inoculation against the deadly disease. The process was livestreamed to reassure Americans the vaccines are safe. Global cases of the coronavirus have topped 90 million, as the number of deaths approaches 1.9 million. In the United States, more than 375,000 people have died from the virus. The number of cases is now more than 22 million, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.   The president-elect, who responded to questions after his inoculation, said the increasing number of deaths is “wrong, and we can do a lot to change it.” Vaccinations across the United States have been uneven and have not gone according to the Trump administration’s plans. Biden’s transition team plans to vaccinate as many people as possible with their first shot, rather than save the vaccine for second doses.  This, his team believes, will give some protection against the virus to people who would otherwise not have any. Experts have advised, however, against this approach, citing inadequate data on holding back second doses. FILE – A vial contains doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.In response, Biden’s team said plans are in place to ensure second doses are produced and delivered to Americans on time. Two vaccines now in circulation require a second dose for optimum efficacy. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires a second shot about three weeks after the first, while Moderna’s has a four-week interval. There are currently no …

U.S. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced Monday plans to boost production of its COVID-19 vaccine by 50% percent — 2 million doses — this year to meet the global demand.     BioNTech announced the increased supply as part of a presentation at a health care conference. The company said a new production site in Marburg, Germany, expected to become operational by the end of next month, will be able to make as many as 750 million doses per year. That means a total of six facilities will be producing the vaccine — three in Germany, and three operated by Pfizer in the United States.     The partners have already committed 1 billion doses for delivery. Last week, the European Union announced a deal for an additional 300 million doses of the vaccine, doubling their supply.   The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week it is continuing negotiations with the companies about securing doses for the vaccine cooperative COVAX, organized by the agency to provide vaccines for low-income nations. No agreement has been reached.   Last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern about wealthy nations buying up the supply of vaccines and leaving none for the developing world. He has argued that the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be defeated unless vaccines are distributed equitably.    …

India will roll out an ambitious nationwide vaccination drive against COVID-19 on Saturday, aiming to inoculate 300 million people, or nearly one quarter of the population, by July.   Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday that with the upcoming immunization drive, which would be the world’s largest such program, the country is entering into a “decisive phase” in the fight against the pandemic.   In the first phase, 30 million health care and frontline workers such as police personnel will be vaccinated. The vaccines will then be administered to about 270 million people above the age of 50 and younger people with serious health problems, according to the Health Ministry.   Modi underlined India’s two major advantages – the two vaccines that have been approved for emergency use are being manufactured domestically, giving it access to millions of doses.      “This is a matter of pride for us,” said the prime minister.      In an interaction with chief ministers on the vaccination drive, Modi also noted Indian vaccines are more cost effective than others in the world.   The price for the first 100 million doses of the British developed AstraZeneca vaccine will be manufactured by an Indian company and is expected to be around $ 2.75 per dose for the government.  The vaccine cost will be much higher when it is made available in the private market.   India is hoping its experience in running huge vaccination drives will come in handy as it gears up to …

The World Health Organization is sending a team of international experts to China this week to investigate the origins of the coronavirus.It was not immediately clear, however, if the experts, scheduled to arrive Thursday, will be allowed to travel to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus originally emerged in late 2019.“It’s very important that as the WHO is in the lead in fighting the pandemic, that it also has a leading role in trying to look back at the roots of this pandemic so we can be better prepared for the next one,” United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said about the team’s travel to China.China’s announcement Monday about the WHO team’s imminent arrival came on the same day China announced 103 new COVID-19 cases, the country’s biggest jump in infections in more than five months.China Completes First Round of COVID Testing in Locked-down CityAggressive approach used in Shijiazhuang is being adopted in other Asian-Pacific countriesThe rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States has been fraught with problems, according to an Associated Press report.Gianfranco Pezzino, who was the public health officer in Shawnee County, Kansas, until his recent retirement, told AP, “The recurring theme is the lack of a national strategy and the attempt to pass the buck down the line, lower and lower, until the poor people at the receiving end have nobody else that they can send the buck to.”US Vaccine Rollout Hits Snag as Health Workers Balk at ShotsExperts say are fears of …

Britain’s hospitals are on the brink of being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients and the country’s National Health Service is facing its “worst crisis in living memory,” a senior government official warned Sunday.  The blunt warning from England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, came as members of the government’s main advisory panel, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, warned that nationwide lockdown measures introduced after Christmas were too lax and, being flouted too often by people meeting friends in parks and congregating at supermarkets.  They are urging the closure of nurseries and the end of “support bubbles” that allow for two households to mix. Ministers say they are not planning to tighten up the measures more but will start enforcing lockdown rules strictly and have ordered police to be forward-leaning and issue fines.    People queue for COVID-19 testing at a mass screening centre at Charlton Athletic Football Club as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in London, Britain, Jan. 3, 2021.Some medical workers say the breaking point has already been reached in London and parts of southern England. British coronavirus deaths Sunday surpassed 80,000 for the pandemic, 10,000 more than the civilian death tally during World War II. The country has seen four consecutive daily increases of more than 1,000 deaths.  Dr. Zudin Puthucheary, a critical care consultant, told Sky News the NHS is “breaking in front of us.” He said he was “scared and angry.” The majority of hospitals in Britain’s capital have already reportedly reached over-capacity. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, declared Friday a …

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera says he is saddened by statistics showing a recent spike in coronavirus infections in the country. In a Sunday radio address, he announced he was starting a 21-day fast to seek divine intervention into the pandemic that is on the rise again. Health experts say the situation needs more than prayers. Malawi has recently seen a surge in coronavirus cases. Since Thursday, the country has been confirming more cases than ever recorded.   For example, on Saturday, Malawi recorded 381 cases with 12 deaths, the largest figure in a single day since it recorded its first three cases on April 2.   Chakwera noted the surge is largely because many people, including him, had ignored preventive measures.   FILE – Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera in Lilongwe, Malawi, June 28, 2020.“Many of us relaxed our vigilance against the virus and now we are paying the price,” he said. “We are paying the price because many of us are back to old ways of not wearing masks. Many of us are back to old ways of not maintaining our distance from others. Many of us are back to old ways of not washing our hands regularly. When I say many of us, I am including myself.” President Chakwera has on several occasions been criticized for ignoring prevention measures during meetings.  In October, Chakwera faced public criticism for not wearing a face covering when he met with his Tanzanian counterpart, John Magufuli, during a scheduled three-day official visit to Tanzania.   This month, Chakwera was also criticized after …

Pope Francis says the decision to get the COVID vaccine is a matter of ethics.“It is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others,” Francis said in an interview with Italian television station Canale 5.Vatican City is set to begin its a vaccine campaign this week, and Francis said he has already “booked” an appointment.A new coronavirus variant has been found in Japan in travelers from Brazil.  Takaji Wakita, head of Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said Sunday the newly discovered variant is different from the ones that have been identified in Britain and South Africa, but the three variants share a common mutation. Cuba is experiencing a coronavirus surge, according to Francisco Duran, head of epidemiology at the Ministry of Public Health. Officials attribute the spread to the recent holiday celebrations that can often include relatives from abroad who live in hard-hit coronavirus countries.  Cuba’s Health Ministry said Saturday there were 365 new cases in the previous 24-hour period.  Cuba has more than 14,000 COVID-19 infections, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.    Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Sunday that there are 89.6 million global COVID cases. The U.S. has the most cases with more than 22 million, followed by India with more than 10 million and Brazil with over 8 million.Vietnamese will find it difficult, if not impossible, to return home this year for Lunar New Year celebrations because the …

The initial round of mass testing for the coronavirus has been completed in Shijiazhuang, a city of 11 million that was locked down Wednesday after 39 new cases of the virus surfaced, the city’s mayor said Saturday.Mayor Ma Yujun said at a news conference that a second round of testing would begin soon in the capital of Hebei province, which was sealed off as travel restrictions were imposed in the rest of the region of 76 million people that encircles Beijing.On Tuesday, Hebei authorities put the province into “wartime mode,” enabling authorities to launch a collaborative campaign involving contact tracing and distribution of medical supplies.The aggressive approach taken by Chinese authorities is being adopted in other parts of the Asia-Pacific region, in sharp contrast to the more deliberate virus containment efforts under way in the U.S. and Europe.The United States had more cases Saturday than anyplace else, with more than 22 million of the world’s nearly 90 million infections, according to Johns Hopkins University. India was second with more than 10.4 million cases.The U.S. reported more than 300,000 new COVID cases Friday, close to its January 2 record.FILE – People arrive at Jackson Memorial Hospital to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Miami, Jan. 6, 2021.Vaccine releaseWith the virus surging in some U.S. states, President-elect Joe Biden said he backed the rapid release of COVID vaccines so that whoever wants it will have access to it. Biden’s office said Friday that it would limit the Trump administration’s practice of increasing inventories …

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Saturday that there are nearly 90 million global COVID-19 cases.The United States has more cases than anyplace else with almost 22 million infections. India comes in second with about half the infections of the U.S. — nearly 10.5 million cases.The U.S. reported more than 300,000 new COVID-19 cases Friday, a record-breaking number.With the virus surging in some U.S. states, President-elect Joe Biden says he believes in the rapid release of the COVID-19 vaccines so whoever wants it will have access to it. The second dose of the vaccine is given weeks later.Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said earlier this week he is hopeful that when Biden is in office, the U.S. will be able to deliver to the U.S. public “1 million vaccinations per day, as the president-elect has mentioned.”A surprising development, however, has emerged in some implausible locations. The Associated Press reports that some health care workers in hospitals and nursing homes are hesitant about being vaccinated. The AP said its investigation uncovered that in some places as much as 80% of the medical staff has declined the vaccinations.One doctor told the wire service he wanted to wait a few months to “see what the data show.” He said, “I don’t think anyone wants to be a guinea pig.”A nurse said she was delaying her vaccination because of the vaccine’s “unknown side effects.”A pedestrian wearing a face mask as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus walks through a road in …

The desperately awaited vaccination drive against the coronavirus in the U.S. is running into resistance from an unlikely quarter: Surprising numbers of health care workers who have seen firsthand the death and misery inflicted by COVID-19 are refusing shots.It is happening in nursing homes and, to a lesser degree, in hospitals, with employees expressing what experts say are unfounded fears of side effects from vaccines that were developed at record speed. More than three weeks into the campaign, some places are seeing as much as 80% of the staff holding back.“I don’t think anyone wants to be a guinea pig,” said Dr. Stephen Noble, a 42-year-old cardiothoracic surgeon in Portland, Oregon, who is postponing getting vaccinated. “At the end of the day, as a man of science, I just want to see what the data show. And give me the full data.”Alarmed by the phenomenon, some administrators have dangled everything from free breakfasts at Waffle House to a raffle for a car to get employees to roll up their sleeves.Some states have threatened to let other people cut ahead of health care workers in the line for shots.“It’s far too low. It’s alarmingly low,” said Neil Pruitt, CEO of PruittHealth, which runs about 100 long-term care homes in the South, where fewer than 3 in 10 workers offered the vaccine so far have accepted it.Workers at Queen Anne Healthcare, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Seattle, Washington, wait in a hallway to receive shots of the Pfizer vaccination for …

A nightly gathering of thousands of birds called a “murmuration” has captured the attention of entertainment-starved people in Northern California. Matt Dibble has a look. Camera: Matt Dibble                   Producer: Matt Dibble …

President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team said Friday the incoming administration will more quickly release coronavirus vaccines once it assumes power on January 20.Biden’s office said it would limit the Trump administration’s practice of increasing inventories of vaccine doses to guarantee that people get the booster shot several weeks after the first inoculation.Expectations were high when the vaccines were approved last month, but the vaccination campaign got off to a sluggish start. Only 5.9 million of the 29.4 million available doses in the U.S. have been distributed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.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.Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci told National Public Radio in an interview Thursday that he believes “things will get worse as we get into January.” This is a result, he said, of “the holiday season travel and the congregate settings that usually take place socially during that period of time.”Fauci also said that he believed that tide could be turned “if we really accelerate our public health measures during that period of time, we’ll be able to blunt that acceleration. But that’s going to really require people concentrating very, very intensively on doing the kinds of public health measures that we talk about all the time,” such as wearing masks, social distancing and being inoculated with the coronavirus vaccine.Fauci …

A United Nations global survey reveals a world of unprecedented division, polarization and discord. The report, a year-long consultation to mark the U.N.’s 75th anniversary, surveyed more than 1.5 million people in 193 countries about their hopes, fears, and expectations for the future.The survey paints a picture of a generally fragmented world, but it also finds much of the world united in regard to post-COVID recovery priorities.Assistant Secretary-General Fabrizio Hochschild said most people surveyed are united in wanting much better access to affordable health care, education and access to water and sanitation.“And second, and related is the world seeks much greater solidarity, much greater solidarity with the hardest-hit communities, much greater solidarity with the hardest-hit places,” Hochschild said.  “And, related to that, an economic model that it does not just boost inequalities, which is the scourge of our time … People are calling for an economy, an economic model that is more inclusive.”On longer term priorities, Hochschild said environmental degradation and climate change were flagged by respondents as their biggest concerns for the future. Other concerns, he said, include conflict and violence, as well as corruption linked to poverty and employment.He said he was struck by differences in levels of optimism among survey respondents.“Perhaps paradoxically, in countries that are the poorest, sub-Saharan Africa, in countries that are the hardest hit by conflict, levels of optimism about the future are the highest,” Hochschild said. “And, in the most developed countries, levels of optimism of what the future will look like are lower.”The report finds 97% …

2020 has tied 2016 as the hottest year on record, the European Union’s climate monitoring service said Friday, keeping Earth on a global warming fast track that could devastate large swathes of humanity.The six years since 2015 are the six warmest ever registered, as are 20 of the last 21, evidence of a persistent and deepening trend, the Copernicus Climate Change Service reported.”2020 stands out for its exceptional warmth,” said C3S director Carlo Buontempo, of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.”This is yet another reminder of the urgency of ambitious emissions reductions to prevent adverse climate impacts in the future.”    …