Month: January 2022

The risk of dying from cancer in the United States has fallen by nearly a third in three decades, thanks to earlier diagnoses, better treatments and less smoking, an analysis said Wednesday.  The cancer death rate for men and women fell 32% from its peak in 1991 to 2019, the American Cancer Society said in its annual report.  The drop represents about 3.5 million total deaths averted. “This success is largely because of fewer people smoking, which resulted in declines in lung and other smoking-related cancers,” the report said, adding that lung cancer causes more deaths than any other kind.  And the rate of decline is accelerating, data show. In the 1990s, the risk dropped 1% yearly. Between 2015 and 2019, the rate shrank twice as fast, about 2% a year.  “Accelerating declines in the cancer death rate show the power of prevention, screening, early diagnosis, treatment and our overall potential to move closer to a world without cancer,” the cancer society report said.  “In recent years, more people with lung cancer are being diagnosed when the cancer is at an early stage and living longer as a result,” it added.  In 2004, only 21% of people diagnosed with lung cancer were still alive after three years. In 2018, the number grew to 31%.  Disparities persist Improving treatments and early screening are also helping to decrease death rates, but disparities in cancer outcomes persist.  The cancer society reports that cancer survival rates are lower for Black people than for white people across …

The White House COVID-19 response team on Wednesday reminded Americans of the continued need to slow the omicron variant’s spread despite its decreased severity and announced new efforts to help keep schools open. As the omicron variant sweeps across the U.S., Dr. Rochelle Walensky emphasized that wearing masks, getting vaccinated and undergoing COVID-19 testing when necessary are the best strategies to help lower cases of the virus. Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the omicron variant accounted for 98% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Earlier this week, the U.S. set a record for the number of daily infections at nearly 1.5 million, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. “All of us must do our part to protect our hospitals and our neighbors and reduce the further spread of this virus,” Walensky said. The White House team also announced that the Biden administration would distribute 10 million tests to schools across the country each month to ensure they remain open, more than doubling the testing volume from last year. Although the omicron variant is highly transmissible, it remains less severe than the delta variant, with a decreased risk of hospitalization and death. Walensky, citing a recent study comparing the two variants, said omicron infections were associated with a 91% reduction in the risk of death and a 74% reduction in the risk of ICU admission. She also said that infections with the variant had a 53% reduced risk of symptomatic hospitalization. …

From a seaside perch overlooking the hustle and bustle of ships coming and going at Port Canaveral on Florida’s east coast, Dale Ketcham reflects on decades of history with nostalgia.   “I moved here and learned how to walk on Cocoa Beach three years before NASA was created” in 1958, he said.   Not only can Ketcham trace his life alongside the U.S. space program, he’s had a firsthand view of the transformation of the economies of communities surrounding NASA’s Kennedy Space Center several times since the 1950s.   “The space program continued to progress, but it was always government-focused,” said Ketcham, adding that the configuration did not bring long-term stability to the local workforce. “For 50 years roughly, Florida’s Space Coast was the place for launch” but not production of spacecraft, said Brian Baluta of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) of Florida’s Space Coast.   Most of the equipment used in the Apollo and space shuttle programs in the last half of the 20th century was shipped to Florida for assembly.When Atlantis touched down in 2011 on the final shuttle mission, it marked the end of an era in human spaceflight, with painful economic consequences for the Space Coast.   “The job losses started to pile up, and that happened to coincide with the Great Recession,” Baluta said.“And that was really a one-two punch for this area. In 2011, unemployment was 12% at that point. The economy and its outlook (were) not that strong.”   Baluta’s organization responded by …

The common cold can provide some protection from COVID-19, according to new research led by Imperial College London, which says the findings provide a blueprint for future vaccines that could offer immunity to all variants of the coronavirus.  Since the start of the pandemic, scientists have questioned why some people are able to resist coronavirus infection despite prolonged exposure, while others are easily infected. The researchers set out to test a theory that a type of white blood cells called T cells, produced by the human body to fight the cold, could offer some protection. “Previous infection with common cold coronaviruses — these are distantly related cousins of SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19 — infection with those might induce T cells that would be able to cross-recognize and then attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus. That was the theory that we set about to test,” report co-author Ajit Lalvani, chair in infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said in an interview with VOA. The study began in September 2020 before any mass vaccination programs and before most people had been infected with COVID-19. Scientists sampled the blood of 52 people who lived in the same household as they would someone infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The sampling took place immediately after the COVID-19 diagnosis was confirmed. Exactly half of those sampled contracted COVID-19, while the others did not.  “Those contacts who had preexisting T cells that were induced by common cold coronavirus (and which could) cross-recognize and attack SARS-CoV-2 people with such T …

U.S adults usually catch one or two common colds a year. They’re usually little more than an annoyance, but new research suggests they may offer some protection from a virus that’s much more dangerous. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …

Space launches are once again a regular feature on the “Space Coast” of Florida, thanks to a boom in commercial space transportation and a NASA initiative to return astronauts to the moon, with the eventual goal of reaching Mars. As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, it’s a dramatic turnaround from a decade ago when the Space Shuttle program ended, forcing the industry to reinvent itself amid fierce global competition. …

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have forgotten about that age-old winter sickness: the flu. But it is flu season, and some unlucky people are getting hit with both illnesses. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera – Vazgen Varzhabetian. …

A snowy owl apparently touring iconic buildings of the nation’s capital is captivating birdwatchers who manage to get a glimpse of the rare, resplendent visitor from the Arctic. Far from its summer breeding grounds in Canada, the snowy owl was first seen on January 3, the day a winter storm dumped eight inches of snow on the city.  Since then, it’s been spotted in the evenings flying around Washington’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, landing on Union Station, the National Postal Museum, various Senate buildings, and Capitol Police headquarters.  Late last week about three dozen people in thick coats trained their binoculars on the football-sized bird with bright yellow eyes as it perched on the stone head of Archimedes, a famous ancient Greek mathematician, carved above the train station entrance. The nocturnal hunter appears to be targeting the city’s plentiful downtown rat population.  “Snowy owls are coming from a part of the world where they see almost nothing human, from completely treeless open Arctic tundra,” said Scott Weidensaul, a researcher at the nonprofit Project SNOWStorm, which tracks snowy owl movements. Some owls migrate south out of the Arctic every winter, but the number fluctuates, he said. About every 3 to 5 years, a spike in the population of lemmings, their chief food source, results in a larger number of surviving owl chicks. In those “irruption” years, more birds migrate and migrate farther.  Most winters, North American snowy owls don’t go much below the Great Lakes or Cape Cod area, Weidensaul said.  However, …

Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover as many as eight home COVID-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and make testing for the virus more convenient amid rising frustrations. Under the new policy, first detailed to the AP, Americans will be able to either purchase home testing kits for free under their insurance or submit receipts for the tests for reimbursement, up to the monthly per-person limit. A family of four, for instance, could be reimbursed for up to 32 tests per month. PCR tests and rapid tests ordered or administered by a health provider will continue to be fully covered by insurance with no limit.  President Joe Biden faced criticism over the holiday season for a shortage of at-home rapid tests as Americans traveled to see family amid the surge in cases from the more transmissible omicron variant. Now the administration is working to make COVID-19 home tests more accessible, both by increasing supply and bringing down costs.  Later this month, the federal government will launch a website to begin making 500 million at-home COVID-19 tests available via mail. The administration also is scaling up emergency rapid-testing sites in areas experiencing the greatest surges in cases.  The insurer-covered testing would dramatically reduce costs for many Americans, and the administration hopes that by easing a barrier to more regular at-home testing, it can help slow the spread of the virus, get …

In a medical first, doctors transplanted a pig heart into a patient in a last-ditch effort to save his life. A Maryland hospital said Monday that the patient is doing well three days after the highly experimental surgery.  While it’s too soon to know if the operation will work, it marks a step in the decadeslong quest to one day use animal organs for life-saving transplants. Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center say the transplant showed that a heart from a genetically modified animal can function in the human body without immediate rejection.  The patient, David Bennett, 57, knew there was no guarantee the experiment would work. “It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it’s a shot in the dark, but it’s my last choice,” Bennett said a day before the surgery, according to a statement provided by the University of Maryland School of Medicine. There’s a huge shortage of human organs donated for transplant, driving scientists to try to figure out how to use animal organs instead. Last year, there were just over 3,800 heart transplants in the U.S., a record number, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which oversees the nation’s transplant system. “If this works, there will be an endless supply of these organs for patients who are suffering,” said Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, scientific director of the university’s animal-to-human transplant program.  But prior attempts at such transplants – or xenotransplantation – have failed, largely because …

India began administering booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines to vulnerable groups on Monday, as infections surge to their highest levels in seven months fueled by the omicron variant and crowded cities like New Delhi and Mumbai reimpose restrictions to battle the third wave of the pandemic. Health care and frontline workers and senior citizens with comorbidities lined up Monday to get what India is calling a “precautionary shot.” “We raised the demand for boosters for health care workers and doctors four months ago,” said J.A. Jayalal, who was president of the Indian Medical Association until December.“The government has taken the decision a little late, but at least now they will get some protection. That is necessary to ensure that we have sufficient doctors to take care of patients.” In recent days, as India’s COVID-19 infection rate climbed steeply, hundreds of doctors and health care workers have contracted the virus according to reports in local media. That has led to warnings of staff shortages in hospitals. Early studies suggesting that booster shots may provide more protection against the highly transmissible omicron variant have prompted several countries to expand booster programs. In India, with a population of nearly 1.4 billion, roughly two-thirds of adults have been fully vaccinated while over 90 percent have received one shot. Last week, the inoculation program was also extended to those between 15 and 18 years old. India’s vaccination program picked up pace after the country was devastated by a deadly second wave last summer. At that …

Despite having the highest number of COVID infections in Africa, nearly two years into the pandemic, fewer than half of South African adults have been vaccinated. The government has been reluctant to order vaccine mandates, but private companies are to encouraging people to get the jab. Linda Givetash reports from Johannesburg. …

International business groups are urging Hong Kong to restart international flights after a ratings group warned the travel restrictions, imposed last week because of COVID-19 outbreaks, could have dire effects on the territory’s economy. Fitch Ratings said, “A new wave of restrictions on various social activities within Hong Kong and a further tightening of controls on international travel … are likely to dampen economic growth prospects.” Some Hong Kong executives who traveled out of the territory for the winter holidays found that they could not return to Hong Kong because of the new restrictions that are designed to be in place for at least two weeks but may last longer. Fitch said, “We believe the tightening of restrictions on international arrivals will create further obstacles to the territory’s ability to serve as a regional headquarters” for foreign multinational companies. The Cyprus Mail reports that a University of Cyprus scientist and his team have discovered a new COVID variant. Dr. Leontios Kostrikis told the publication that deltacron has the genetic background of the delta variant and some of the mutations of omicron. “The frequency of the mutations was higher among those in hospital which could mean there is a correlation between deltacron and hospitalizations,” Kostrikis told the Mail. Australia’s New South Wales state reported 16 deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, its deadliest day in the two-year pandemic. The state, Australia’s most populous, already has 200,000 people in isolation, and reported more than 30,000 new cases. On Sunday, New South Wales Health …

At the start of 2022 most measures show the U.S. economy is booming, with an unemployment rate that is approaching record lows and a demand for goods that has imports from the rest of the world surging. On Friday, the Labor Department announced that the unemployment rate had fallen to 3.9% in December, even as the economy produced a smaller-than-expected increase of 199,000 new jobs. The report came a day after the Commerce Department announced that U.S. imports in November had increased by 4.6% over the previous month to $304.4 billion. The rising level of imports contributed to a trade deficit of $80.2 billion for the month, which is close to the record high of $81.4 billion set in September. While a large trade deficit is seen as a negative by many, particularly former President Donald Trump, who went to great lengths to close the gap between imports and exports, economists say it points to a U.S. economy that is leading the global recovery from the pandemic-induced recession. “When we do better than everybody else, we get a bigger trade deficit,” said economist Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. US as economic engine It’s a popular misconception that a trade deficit is a sign of bad economic times in the United States, Hufbauer told VOA. “Not at all. It’s an indicator of great times in the U.S., relative to other countries. And that’s exactly where we are. We’re doing very well, relative to other …

The European Union is under increasing pressure to further ease rules on airport take-off and landing slots to cut the number of “ghost flights” airlines are running to retain them. Carriers say the requirement for them to use 50% of their slots — down from 80% in pre-pandemic days — or lose them is forcing them to operate empty or half-empty flights. A sluggish return to air travel, as travelers shrink away from the omicron COVID variant and quickly changing rules for passengers, is dragging out the practice longer than they planned. Belgium’s Brussels Airlines, for instance, says it will have to operate 3,000 under-capacity flights up to the end of March. Its parent company Lufthansa warned last month it expected it would have to run 18,000 “pointless flights” over the European winter. Belgium’s transport minister, Georges Gilkinet, has written to the European Commission urging it to loosen the slot rules, arguing the consequences run counter to the EU’s carbon-neutral ambitions. The current reduced quotas were introduced in March last year in a nod to the hardship airlines faced as COVID washed over Europe for a second year running, shriveling passenger numbers. In December, the commission said the 50% threshold would be raised to 64% for this year’s April-to-November summer flight season. “Despite our urgings for more flexibility at the time, the EU approved a 50%-use rule for every flight schedule/frequency held for the winter. This has clearly been unrealistic in the EU this winter against the backdrop of the …

Ambulances in Kansas speed toward hospitals then suddenly change direction because hospitals are full. Employee shortages in New York City cause delays in trash and subway services and diminish the ranks of firefighters and emergency workers. Airport officials shut down security checkpoints at the biggest terminal in Phoenix, and schools across the nation struggle to find teachers for their classrooms. The current explosion of omicron-fueled coronavirus infections in the U.S. is causing a breakdown in basic functions and services — the latest illustration of how COVID-19 keeps upending life more than two years into the pandemic. “This really does, I think, remind everyone of when COVID-19 first appeared and there were such major disruptions across every part of our normal life,” said Tom Cotter, director of emergency response and preparedness at the global health nonprofit Project HOPE. “And the unfortunate reality is, there’s no way of predicting what will happen next until we get our vaccination numbers — globally — up.” First responders, hospitals, schools and government agencies have employed an all-hands-on-deck approach to keep the public safe, but they are worried how much longer they can keep it up. In Kansas’ Johnson County, paramedics are working 80 hours a week. Ambulances have frequently been forced to alter course when the hospitals they’re heading to tell them they’re too overwhelmed to help, confusing the patients’ already anxious family members driving behind them. When the ambulances arrive at hospitals, some of their emergency patients end up in waiting rooms because there …

Australia’s New South Wales state reported 16 deaths from COVID-19 Sunday, its deadliest day in the two-year pandemic. The state, Australia’s most populous, already has 200,000 people in isolation, and reported more than 30,000 new cases. On Sunday, New South Wales Health issued a statement allowing essential workers to return to work if they do not have any symptoms, if their employer says they are needed. They must wear a mask and pass a daily rapid antigen test. Some employers are reporting as many as half their workers are staying home because they have had contact with an infected person. Victoria, Australia’s second-largest state, reported more than 44,000 new cases and four deaths, Reuters reported. The entire country will surpass 1 million infections sometime Sunday, according to the Australia Broadcasting Corp. Saturday, more than 100,000 people took to the streets across France to protest proposed new restrictions that will require proof of vaccination to eat out, travel on inter-city trains or go to a cultural event. The turnout was four times the government’s estimate of 25,000 protesters who marched on Dec. 18, Agence France-Presse reported. Protesters also marched in several German cities Saturday, demanding a halt to restrictions on those who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The main demonstrations occurred in Duesseldorf, Frankfurt and Magdeburg. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Friday that proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test will now be required to enter bars and restaurants in the country. Currently, proof of vaccination is …

NASA’s new space telescope opened its huge, gold-plated, flower-shaped mirror Saturday, the final step in the observatory’s dramatic unfurling.   The last portion of the 6.5-meter (21-foot) mirror swung into place at flight controllers’ command, completing the unfolding of the James Webb Space Telescope. “I’m emotional about it. What an amazing milestone. We see that beautiful pattern out there in the sky now,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, chief of NASA’s science missions. More powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope, the $10 billion Webb will scan the cosmos for light streaming from the first stars and galaxies formed 13.7 billion years ago. To accomplish this, NASA had to outfit Webb with the largest and most sensitive mirror ever launched—its “golden eye,” as scientists call it.   Webb is so big that it had to be folded origami-style to fit in the rocket that soared from South America two weeks ago. The riskiest operation occurred earlier in the week, when the tennis court-size sunshield unfurled, providing subzero shade for the mirror and infrared detectors.   Flight controllers in Baltimore began opening the primary mirror Friday, unfolding the left side like a drop-leaf table. The mood was even more upbeat Saturday, with peppy music filling the control room as the right side snapped into place. After applauding, the controllers immediately got back to work, latching everything down. They jumped to their feet and cheered when the operation was finally complete two hours later. “We have a deployed telescope in orbit, a magnificent telescope the …

Novak Djokovic’s legal challenge to the Australian government’s decision to cancel his visa on arrival this week says a certified COVID-19 infection in December meant he qualified for a medical exemption to the county’s vaccination requirements. A 35-page document lodged in the Federal Circuit and Family Court by his legal team Saturday outlines the Serbian’s case for challenging the visa cancellation which would prevent him from playing in the Australian Open. The challenge will be heard in court on Monday morning. The tennis world No. 1 has been held in immigration detention in a hotel in Melbourne since Thursday morning after border officials rejected his claim for a medical exemption. The filing shows Djokovic said he had received a letter from Tennis Australia’s Chief Medical Officer on Dec. 30 stating he had a medical exemption from vaccination on the basis that he had recently recovered from a COVID infection. The documents show he had tested positive for COVID on Dec. 16, and by Dec. 30 had been free of symptoms or fever in the previous 72 hours. The application said he had a valid visa to travel and also received an assessment from the Department of Home Affairs stating, “responses indicate(d) that (he met) the requirements for a quarantine-free arrival into Australia where permitted by the jurisdiction of your arrival,” with Victoria the nominated jurisdiction. The legal documents state that early Thursday morning, after being informed at Melbourne Airport his visa would be rescinded, a confused Djokovic pleaded to be …

The top men’s tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, spent Orthodox Christmas in an immigration detention hotel in Australia on Friday as he sought to fend off deportation over the country’s COVID-19 rules and compete in the Australian Open. Djokovic received calls from his native Serbia, including from his parents and the president, who hoped to boost his spirits on the holiday. On Instagram, he posted: “Thank you to the people around the world for your continuous support. I can feel it and it is greatly appreciated.” The 34-year-old athlete and vaccine skeptic was barred from entering the country late Wednesday when federal border authorities at the Melbourne airport rejected his medical exemption to Australia’s strict COVID-19 vaccination requirements. He has been confined to the detention hotel in Melbourne pending a court hearing on Monday, a week before the start of the tournament, where he is seeking to win his record-breaking 21st Grand Slam singles title. During the day, Djokovic’s supporters, waving banners, gathered outside the Park Hotel, used to house refugees and asylum-seekers. A priest from the Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Melbourne asked to visit the nine-time Australian Open champion to celebrate Orthodox Christmas but was turned down by immigration officials because the hotel is under lockdown. “Our Christmas is rich in many customs, and it is so important that a priest visits him,” the church’s dean, Milorad Locard, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “The whole thing around this event is appalling. That he has to …

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled Friday to hear oral arguments against two of President Joe Biden’s administration’s COVID-19 vaccine policies issued by government agencies to combat the deadly coronavirus. The policies “are critical to our nation’s COVID-19 response,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. The mandates coming under review were issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The OSHA policy requires employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are either fully vaccinated or tested weekly. The CMS mandate for workers at health care facilities accepting federal Medicare and Medicaid funds requires workers to be fully vaccinated, with exemptions, including for sincerely held religious beliefs. Republican-led states and an alliance of business and religious groups are challenging the policies’ broad sweep and the effects the mandates are having on companies and workers. The policies have, however, been endorsed by the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association and a number of former federal health officials. The challenge is being presented before the Supreme Court after a number of lower courts issued differing opinions on the policies. COVID-19 has infected millions of people in the U.S. and killed more than 800,000. …