Month: March 2021

The United States and other wealthy countries are standing in the way of low- and middle-income countries seeking better access to COVID-19 vaccines, health-equity advocates say.South Africa and India have led an effort at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive drug companies’ exclusive rights to manufacture their vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic.Countries with major pharmaceutical industries, including the United States, several European countries and Japan, have opposed the waiver. WTO, the global trade regulating body, operates by consensus, so the proposal fails without unanimous support.“It is shameful that U.S. policy is prioritizing profits over life, and doing so in the name of the American people,” Emily Sanderson, senior grassroots advocacy coordinator for the activist group Health GAP, said in a statement.The pharmaceutical industry says patents are not the biggest barriers, however. Supplies and expertise are the major limitations, executives say. But the industry says novel partnerships already in place will meet the demand for vaccines.Vaccine rollout has been highly unequal so far. While deliveries are accelerating in many higher-income countries, “there’s over 100 countries where not a single (dose of) vaccine has been delivered,” said Matthew Kavanagh, director of the Georgetown University Global Health Policy & Politics Initiative.U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans Thursday to vaccinate enough Americans by July 4 to get life nearly back to normal.Meanwhile, A healthcare worker receives a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus as South Africa proceeds with its inoculation campaign at the Klerksdorp Hospital on Feb. 18, …

A top official at the World Health Organization said that a genetic analysis of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Guinea suggests it may have been sparked by a survivor of the devastating West Africa epidemic that ended five years ago.At a press briefing in Geneva, WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan described the results of the genetic sequencing of the virus in Guinea as “quite remarkable.”Scientists in Africa and Germany posted their results on a virology website on Friday, concluding that the current Ebola virus sickening people in Guinea is extremely similar to the virus that sparked the widespread West Africa outbreak that began in 2014.”More studies are going to be needed,” Ryan said. But he added that based on the available genetic sequencing data, the current outbreak was unlikely to be linked to an animal, which is how nearly all previous Ebola epidemics have begun. “[This] is much more likely to be linked to a persistence [of virus] or latency of infection in a human.” Ryan said that would probably be the longest period that a virus has ever persisted between outbreaks.  Scientists have previously documented Ebola survivors who inadvertently infected others long after they had recovered, but such rare cases have not prompted outbreaks. In 2018, doctors published a study about a Liberian woman who probably caught Ebola in 2014 but then infected three relatives about a year later.  Health officials have also warned that men can sometimes infect others via sexual activity long after they seem to …

A new report says 2020 was a record year for discovering new asteroids, particularly those with near-Earth orbits in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down a number of observatories.The report, published Thursday in the science journal Nature, says astronomers registered 2,958 previously unknown near-Earth asteroids over the course of the year, the most since 1998, the year the U.S. space agency, NASA, began tracking such objects.More than half of the asteroids and other objects recorded came from the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, which uses its three telescopes to hunt for potentially threatening space rocks. Astronomers there discovered 1,548 near-Earth objects, even with the center closed briefly last spring because of the pandemic, and a longer closure in June, due to a wildfire in the area.Among the Catalina 2020 discoveries was a rare “minimoon” named 2020 CD3, a tiny asteroid less than 3 meters in diameter that had been temporarily captured by Earth’s gravity. The minimoon broke away from Earth’s pull last April.The report says another 1,152 discoveries came from the Pan-STARRS survey telescopes in Hawaii. One of the objects discovered there was not a space rock at all, but a leftover rocket booster that had been looping around in space since 1966 when it helped to launch a NASA spacecraft to the Moon.The report says at least 107 of the objects discovered last year came closer to Earth than the distance between the planet and the Moon.Among last year’s near-misses was the tiny asteroid 2020 QG, which skimmed …

The Philippines has gotten a measure of control over its once-runaway COVID-19 outbreak through strict lockdowns and a year of school closures, coupled with widespread use of face protectors, experts and citizens on the ground say.The Southeast Asian country known for its migratory population — Filipinos work throughout the developed world — has reported fewer than 2,000 new cases per day most of the time since October, down from as much as 6,275 cases previously. Daily counts fell below 1,000 at the start of January.Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, only Indonesia struggled last year with the same level of  daily COVID-19 caseload surges. Most countries around Northeast Asia, including the coronavirus’s apparent source, China, recovered early last year, despite isolated flare-ups.Border closures that remain in effect and enforced stay-home orders in the nation of 109 million’s larger cities get the most credit for bringing cases down, residents and a United Nations official say.Meanwhile, medical personnel are better equipped now to do tests for the virus and trace the contacts of the sick than they were a year ago, according to Aaron Rabena, research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation in the Philippines’ Quezon City.Adding support, ordinary Filipinos have accepted the use of face masks and face shields in public.Public school classes have not met in person for a year, said Behzad Noubary, Philippine deputy UNICEF representative.“These are the aspects that have contributed to [caseload declines] — the international closure, which has lasted a long time, and a really, really …

A U.S. and a Japanese astronaut ventured out of the International Space Station (ISS) Friday, in the second of two spacewalks conducted this week to complete upgrades and repairs to the orbiting outpost.   NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, have a number of tasks on their agenda, including venting ammonia from the Early Ammonia System and complete installing support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels, a project begun during a spacewalk Sunday.   Friday’s spacewalk is the fourth for both Rubins and Noguchi in their astronaut careers, and the 236th in the ISS’s 20-year history.   …

Investigators who conducted an inspection in China to determine origins of the COVID-19 virus will release a report on their findings in mid-March, a World Health Organization official said Friday.Peter Ben Embarek, who led the mission, clarified at a regular coronavirus news briefing in Geneva that an interim report would not be released as previously reported.”To clarify, there was never a plan for an interim report, first of all,” Embarek said. “It was hoped we would get a summary report out,” but “the director-general [Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus] will receive that report from the team in the near future and we will discuss the recommendations.”The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the WHO team decided not to release its interim account “amid mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington.” Another international group of scientists has called for the WHO to conduct a new inquiry into COVID-19’s origins. The scientists calling for a new probe said in an open letter Thursday that the WHO team “did not have the mandate, the independence, or the necessary accesses to carry out a full and unrestricted investigation.”The scientists also noted in their letter that the WHO investigators in China were joined by their Chinese counterparts.The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.Throughout his term, former U.S. President Donald Trump strongly suggested, without evidence, the coronavirus had leaked from a Wuhan laboratory.A global team of inspectors began its four-week investigation in Wuhan in January and finished it last month.Meanwhile, a report in The …

The World Health Organization says it is using every measure it has to curb the spread of parallel Ebola outbreaks in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. One of the biggest lessons learned from the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa — the largest in history — is the critical importance of acting quickly to contain the deadly disease.  World health officials began marshaling staff and working on a strategy to combat the disease as soon as the first cases of the Ebola virus were detected in Guinea on February 14. A rapid assessment conducted by the WHO in the country and in the region found the risk level to be very high. WHO Representative in Guinea, Georges Alfred Ki-Zerbo, said the WHO and partners have been stepping up efforts to implement Guinea’s Strategic response plan. FILE – Health workers from the Guinean Ministry of Health prepare forms to register medical staff ahead of their anti-Ebola vaccines at the N’zerekore Hospital, Feb. 24, 2021.That, he said, involves increased surveillance on the ground, accelerating preparedness measures in neighboring countries, and working closely with communities to interrupt the outbreak as soon as possible. “In doing so, we are engaging traditional healers, including also traditional practitioners, and we are going into communities to discuss with them, to listen to them and see what is the understanding of the disease, what is the fears and the preoccupation of the communities so that we can increase the success of our interventions,” Ki-Zerbo said. To date, the WHO reports 18 …

The east-central African nation of Rwanda began its COVID-19 vaccination program Friday, using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, making it the first African nation to administer the drug. The nation received 102,960 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and 240,000 doses of AstraZeneca through the international vaccine cooperative, COVAX facility earlier this week. Rwandan health authorities began transporting both shots around the hilly nation of 12 million people using helicopters to reach far-flung areas.  Earlier this week, Minister of Health Dr. Daniel Ngamije said the nation’s vaccination plan would prioritize high-risk groups first, including the sick and the elderly, as well as front-line medical workers. He said the government’s goal was to vaccinate 30% of Rwandans by the end of 2021, and 60% by the end of 2022. The government of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, which prides itself on efficiency and technological prowess but is often criticized as authoritarian, has installed special infrastructure to keep the Pfizer vaccine at the recommended -80 to -60 Celsius. Last week, after examining research conducted by its manufacturers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, when transported and stored at conventional refrigerator temperatures, can still be effective for up to two weeks.    …

A Wall Street Journal report says World Health Organization investigators who recently visited China to determine the origins of the emergence of the COVID-19 virus will not release a promised interim report of their findings.The Journal account, published Thursday, said the WHO team decided not to release its interim account “amid mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington.” Another international group of scientists has called for the WHO to conduct a new inquiry into COVID’s origins.The scientists calling for a new probe said in an open letter Thursday that the WHO team “did not have the mandate, the independence, or the necessary accesses to carry out a full and unrestricted investigation.”The scientists also noted in their letter that the WHO investigators in China were joined by their Chinese counterparts.A report in The Guardian says hospitals in Papua New Guinea have run out of money and are “shutting their doors” because of an uptick in COVID-19 cases. The country had registered 124 new coronavirus cases in all of February but had 108 new infections by March 4.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public warning Thursday about thermal imaging devices or scanners used by many businesses to measure elevated temperature, a COVID symptom.The FDA alert said, “improper use of the systems may provide inaccurate temperature readings due to a variety of factors.” The agency also said it has sent “several Warning Letters” to companies that are “offering unapproved, uncleared, and unauthorized thermal imaging systems for sale.Auckland, New Zealand, is set to …

A Wall Street Journal report says World Health Organization investigators who recently visited China to determine the origins of the emergence of the COVID-19 virus will not release a promised interim report of their findings.The Journal account, published Thursday, said the WHO team decided not to release its interim account “amid mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington.” Another international group of scientists has called for the WHO to conduct a new inquiry into COVID’s origins.The scientists calling for a new probe said in an open letter Thursday that the WHO team “did not have the mandate, the independence, or the necessary accesses to carry out a full and unrestricted investigation.”The scientists also noted in their letter that the WHO investigators in China were joined by their Chinese counterparts.A report in The Guardian says hospitals in Papua New Guinea have run out of money and are “shutting their doors” because of an uptick in COVID-19 cases. The country had registered 124 new coronavirus cases in all of February but had 108 new infections by March 4.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public warning Thursday about thermal imaging devices or scanners used by many businesses to measure elevated temperature, a COVID symptom.The FDA alert said, “improper use of the systems may provide inaccurate temperature readings due to a variety of factors.” The agency also said it has sent “several Warning Letters” to companies that are “offering unapproved, uncleared, and unauthorized thermal imaging systems for sale.Auckland, New Zealand, is set to …

Confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is growing, with people’s willingness to have the shots increasing as they are rolled out across the world and concerns about possible side effects are fading, a 14-country survey showed on Friday.Co-led by Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) and the polling firm YouGov, the survey found trust in COVID-19 vaccines had risen in nine out of 14 countries covered, including France, Japan and Singapore, which had previously had low levels of confidence.The latest update of the survey, which ran from Feb. 8-21, found that people in Britain are the most willing, with 77% saying they would take a vaccine designed to protect against COVID-19 if one was available that week.This is up from 55% in November, shortly before the first COVID-19 vaccine — co-developed by Pfizer- BioNTech — gained regulatory approval for use in Britain.People in France, Singapore and Japan remained among the least willing to have a COVID-19 vaccine, at 40%, 48% and 48%, respectively, but all three have seen confidence rising since November when only 25%, 36% and 39% of people were positive.The survey also found that worries over vaccine side effects have faded in the majority of countries, with fewer than half (45%) of all respondents currently reporting concern.Again, people in France, Singapore and Japan are currently most worried about side effects, with around six in 10 feeling concerned (56%, 59%, 61%), while Britain is the least concerned.The latest survey involved more than 13,500 people in Australia, Britain, Canada, …

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station this week built the bones for much-needed power upgrades.  Also, SpaceX took flight with and without success, and flaming space junk lights up Australian skies.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space. …

Women’s rights activists in Kenya have welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden’s order revoking the ban blocking U.S. funding to women’s health organizations that provide abortion or abortion-related services. Critics say the so-called gag rule left women uninformed about safe options to end a pregnancy.       Forty-five-year-old Najma Wangoi lost her sister in 2018 after she bought medicine from a drug store to induce an abortion and it led to her death.      The mother of two says her sister didn’t know there was a better way to end a pregnancy.         “She didn’t know because she bought those medicines for 3,500 shillings ($35). If she knew there was a place to do a safe abortion, she would still be alive. She should have explained her situation to the hospital, and she would have been treated,” Wangoi said.       Under the global gag rule, originally enacted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and revived by President Donald Trump, it became difficult for millions of women to seek abortion services at health centers receiving U.S. funds.       The gag rule blocked U.S. government funding for organizations if they provided abortion services, counseling or referrals.      The rule effectively shut down health clinics, as well as community sensitization programs about sexual and reproductive health.     Boniface Ushie, researcher with the African Population and Health Research Center, says while the ban has now been lifted by U.S. President Joe Biden, it will not be enough to …

The World Health Organization’s Europe director reported Thursday that new COVID-19 cases rose 9% to just over a million in the region last week.     Hans Kluge said it was the first increase in new infections after six weeks of decline.   At a virtual news briefing from his headquarters in Copenhagen, Kluge told reporters that more than half the region saw increases in new cases.   Kluge said most of the resurgence was seen in central and eastern Europe, although new cases were also on the rise in several western European countries where rates were already high.      “Over a year into the pandemic, our health systems should not be in this situation. We need to get back to the basics,” he said.   He said the high rates of transmission and rapid spread of variants require increased vigilance, improved testing and isolation of cases, tracing and quarantining contacts, and care.     Kluge said the so-called British variant has been reported in 43 of 53 countries in the region; the South African variant in 26 countries; and the variant originally identified in Brazil and Japan in 15 countries.     The WHO Europe chief urged nations to accelerate the rollout of vaccines, saying they are already saving lives, with hospitalizations and deaths in most at-risk groups declining significantly.     Kluge said 45 countries have started vaccinations in the European region.   He also called on leaders to reengage with their communities to counter “pandemic fatigue” …

The World Health Organization says COVID-19 vaccine distribution in African countries is accelerating and hopeful signs are emerging that a significant proportion of Africa’s population will be covered by the end of the year. Latest figures put the number of infections in Africa at more than 3.9 million, with 104,000 deaths.Data show the COVID-19 pandemic overall is on a downward trend in most countries on the continent. However, World Health Organization officials fear a resurgence of cases in the future as pressure increases to ease lockdown restrictions. They point to a recent rise of COVID-19 cases in 10 countries as a worrying sign.At the same time, the acceleration of vaccine distribution in Africa is giving rise to hope. WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said nearly 10 million vaccine doses have been delivered to 11 countries this week and she expects about half of all countries on the continent will receive COVID-19 vaccine deliveries in the coming weeks.She said most countries will have vaccination programs underway by the end of March. Moeti said the COVAX facility is targeting three percent of the population as it starts its vaccine rollout across Africa. But, she added, COVAX aims to increase that figure and cover 20 percent of the population by the end of the year.“We are very pleased that the African Union, working through its acquisition, vaccine acquisition task team has targeted ensuring that by the end of the year, sufficient vaccine has been procured and available to countries to cover 60 …

U.S. President Joe Biden, while expressing frustration, has limited power to overrule decisions by state governors who are ending mask mandates and lifting other restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.”I think it’s a big mistake,” Biden told a small group of reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office when asked about Republican governors in Texas and Mississippi casting off restrictions and allowing businesses to reopen at full capacity.As the nation makes progress with vaccinations, “the last thing we need is the Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, ‘Everything’s fine. Take off your mask. Forget it,’ ” added the president, a Democrat. “It still matters.”During the previous administration of Republican President Donald Trump, who downplayed the severity of COVID-19 despite eventually becoming infected himself, not wearing a mask became a political statement.Since taking office in January, Biden and top federal health officials repeatedly have emphasized mask wearing and social distancing while the country escalates the number of Americans being vaccinated against the virus.He noted during Wednesday’s brief interaction with reporters that he carries a card with the updated number of people in the country who have died because of the coronavirus.“As of yesterday, we had lost 511,874 Americans. We’re going to lose thousands more,” said Biden. “We’ll not have everybody vaccinated until sometime in the summer.”The president, urging people to frequently wash their hands, wear masks and maintain social distancing, added, “And I know you all know that I wish the heck some of our elected officials knew it.”FILE – In this image …

Nearly 50 countries have either received or ordered at least one of the three Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccines, according to an Associated Press survey. More with VOA’s Mariama Diallo on the vaccine rollouts. …

Scientists are warning that a variant of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Brazil could reinfect people already recovering from COVID-19.  The P.1 variant has spread to more than 20 countries since it was first detected last November in the Amazonian region city of Manaus.  A joint study by scientists in Britain and Brazil says the variant is 1.4 to 2.4 times more transmissible than the original version of the coronavirus.  Manaus was struck by an initial wave of COVID-19 infections in April and May of last year.  According to researchers, by October almost 80% of recovering coronavirus patients should have developed antibodies that would have made them immune to the virus. Peru will Receive a Second Vaccine Wednesday to Battle COVID-19Peru to receive the first batch of 50,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine Wednesday    But 25% to 61% of those who had recovered from a first bout of COVID-19 were reinfected with the P.1 variant, according to the study, which has not been peer-reviewed.Scientists are worried that new and more infectious variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could be resistant to vaccine now being distributed around the world.  But Nuno Faria, a virologist at Imperial College London who co-led the study, says it is too early to determine if the situation in Brazil with the P.1 variant will also occur elsewhere.  The release of the study on the P.1 variant coincided with official data from Brazil showing it had recorded its highest single-day number of COVID-19 deaths with 1,641.The COVID-19 pandemic …

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday “now is not the time” to lift COVID-19 restrictions, one day after the governor of Texas announced the southern U.S. state was “100 percent open.”  At a virtual news briefing for the White House COVID-19 response, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the next month or two will be pivotal in deciding the trajectory of the pandemic.    FILE – In this image from video, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky speaks during a briefing on the Biden administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington. (White House via AP)On one hand, she noted infection rates across the country have been leveling off, but, she said, COVID-19 variants such as the highly transmissible so-called British strain, are poised to surge. This threatens to destroy what progress has been made.   Walensky also recognized that pandemic fatigue is winning out and people have begun ignoring measures that she says have successfully contributed to driving down U.S. infection rates.   The CDC director said this is occurring just as the United States begins a program to vaccinate the entire nation over the course of three or four months.  Walensky urged Americans to keep wearing masks and communities to encourage mask use. She advocated for precautions such as avoiding travel, crowds and to continue practicing personal hygiene, whether it is government-mandated or not.   Texas’ Republican Governor Greg Abbott Tuesday lifted his state’s mask-wearing mandate, along with all other restrictions on businesses, …

The World Health Organization says one in 10 people worldwide is expected to suffer from hearing loss by 2050. But in the United States, health officials say around 20 percent of America’s adult population is already experiencing some level of hearing loss and the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the problem to a greater extent. As the country marks FILE – Director of Empowering Deaf Society Mangai Sutharsan, puts on a partially transparent mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Ilford, London, Britain, July 29, 2020.Experts are also worried about the next generation of Americans. While children with hearing problems often show poor school performance, hearing loss in teenagers has been on the rise.  Currently, one in five teens exhibits some level of loss, according to the Hearing Loss Association of America. This number has increased by more than 30 percent since the 1990s, which to some extent has to do with “listening to loud music,” Shoup said. About 466 million people worldwide struggle with disabling hearing loss, according to the WHO. By 2050, this number could rise to 900 million people. In 2007, the World Health Organization designated March 3 as World Hearing Health Day to raise awareness of the growing numbers of those suffering from hearing loss and the importance of hearing health care. FILE – Resound LiNX2 connected smart hearing aids are shown at ShowStoppers during the 2017 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jan. 5, 2017.In 2017, the National Institute on Deafness & Other Communication Disorders, whisih is …

Scientists are warning that a variant of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Brazil could reinfect people already recovering from COVID-19.  The P.1 variant has spread to more than 20 countries since it was first detected last November in the Amazonian region city of Manaus.  A joint study by scientists in Britain and Brazil says the variant is 1.4 to 2.4 times more transmissible than the original version of the coronavirus.  Manaus was struck by an initial wave of COVID-19 infections in April and May of last year.  According to researchers, by October almost 80% of recovering coronavirus patients should have developed antibodies that would have made them immune to the virus. Peru will Receive a Second Vaccine Wednesday to Battle COVID-19Peru to receive the first batch of 50,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine Wednesday    But 25% to 61% of those who had recovered from a first bout of COVID-19 were reinfected with the P.1 variant, according to the study, which has not been peer-reviewed.Scientists are worried that new and more infectious variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could be resistant to vaccine now being distributed around the world.  But Nuno Faria, a virologist at Imperial College London who co-led the study, says it is too early to determine if the situation in Brazil with the P.1 variant will also occur elsewhere.  The release of the study on the P.1 variant coincided with official data from Brazil showing it had recorded its highest single-day number of COVID-19 deaths with 1,641.The COVID-19 pandemic …

To mark World Hearing Day, the World Health Organization is calling for action to stem the epidemic of hearing loss, which currently affects 1.5 billion people globally.  A roadmap for action is contained in WHO’s first World Report on Hearing.     WHO officials warn nearly 2.5 billion people will be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050 if nothing is done to prevent or mitigate this condition.  Nearly a third, they say will require hearing rehabilitation.   The personal and economic cost of this condition is huge.  Many people who are deaf or suffer from varying degrees of hearing loss are stigmatized and spend much of their lives in isolation.   Additionally, WHO reports unaddressed hearing loss costs the global economy nearly $1 trillion  each year.   WHO technical officer on ear and hearing care Shelly Chadha says much of this hearing loss can be prevented.   “Many of the causes, for example, hearing loss which is caused by listening to loud music over one’s headphones and earphones — this can be prevented.  As can be hearing loss, which is caused by loud noise in one’s workplace.  Other common causes of hearing loss — ear infections, rubella, meningitis — these are causes which can be prevented by established public health strategies.”     Chadha notes almost 60% of hearing loss in children is due to avoidable causes such as ear infections and birth complications.  She says solutions are available.  She says hearing technologies, such as hearing aids and cochlear implants accompanied by rehabilitative therapy can mitigate the adverse effects of hearing loss.   “Millions …

It’s the sort of chance that comes along just once in a blue Moon: a Japanese billionaire is throwing open a private lunar expedition to eight people from around the world. Yusaku Maezawa, an online fashion tycoon, was announced in 2018 as the first man to book a spot aboard the lunar spaceship being developed by SpaceX. Maezawa, who paid an undisclosed sum for the trip expected to launch around 2023, originally said he planned to invite six to eight artists to join him on the voyage.But on Wednesday, in a video posted on his Twitter account, he revealed a broader application process. “I’m inviting you to join me on this mission. Eight of you from all around the world,” he said. “I have bought all the seats, so it will be a private ride,” he added. Maezawa said his initial plan of inviting artists had “evolved” because he came to believe that “every single person who is doing something creative could be called an artist.” The Japanese entrepreneur said applicants would need to fulfill just two criteria: being ready to “push the envelope” creatively, and being willing to help other crew members do the same. In all, he said around 10 to 12 people will be on board the trip, which is expected to loop around the Moon before returning to Earth. The application timeline for spots on the trip calls for would-be space travelers to pre-register by March 14th, with initial screening carried out by March 21st. No deadlines are given for the next stages – an “assignment” and an online …

Merck will help its pharmaceutical competitor Johnson & Johnson make the single-shot coronavirus vaccine. That was announced on Tuesday by President Joe Biden.VOA’s White House bureau chief Steve Herman was in the room when the president also said he wants every American educator to receive at least one vaccine dose by the end of this month, as part of the effort to get the country back to normal as quickly as possible.President Biden, speaking in the White House State Dining Room, says the cooperation among competitors to produce more doses and other actions will speed up the timeline by two months to have enough vaccine to inoculate every adult American.“Here’s what all this means – we’re now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May.”The president, in response to a reporter’s question, said he hopes that “by this time next year” or sooner, things will be back to normal.   …