Category: Medical/Health Care

Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, called Friday for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for anyone who was fully vaccinated at least six months ago, as the nation faces a fourth wave of coronavirus infections.

Speaking to reporters following a two-day summit in Bavaria with health ministers from the 16 German states, Spahn said Germany’s COVID-19 situation is entering a very difficult period, as the country’s Robert Koch Institute reported a record 37,120 new daily cases Friday.

Spahn said the “fourth wave” is not only here, but it has “been here for a long time,” and is gaining strength “and has clearly accelerated.”

The minister said some German state leaders have warned the country may need a new lockdown if urgent action is not taken.

The surge in Germany is part of a rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Europe that have made the region the new epicenter of the pandemic, Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Europe regional director, said Thursday.

At a regular COVID-19 briefing at the agency headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other experts discussed the surge in Europe, where cases have risen 55% in the past four weeks, despite an ample supply of vaccines.

“Let me be very clear: This should not be happening. We have all the tools to prevent COVID-19 transmission and save lives, and we continue to call on all countries to use those tools,” Tedros said.

The WHO chief also decried the fact that the world’s low-income nations have received only 0.4% of the world’s vaccines. He said those nations rely almost exclusively on vaccines distributed through the WHO-managed global vaccine cooperative, COVAX.

Tedros said no more vaccines should go to nations that have vaccinated more than 40% of their populations and no more boosters should be administered, except to patients who are immunocompromised, until COVAX gets the vaccines it needs to inoculate low-income nations to the 40% level.

Separately, in the United States, the Biden administration says it has severed ties with a U.S. company that was awarded a $628 million deal by the Trump administration to produce COVID-19 vaccines.

Earlier this year, Emergent BioSolutions was found to have contaminated 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine with ingredients designated for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration later threw out at least 60 million more Johnson & Johnson shots produced at the Baltimore plant.

Americans who work for companies with at least 100 employees must be fully vaccinated by January 4 or undergo weekly testing for COVID-19, the Biden administration said Thursday. The new rule affects about 84 million workers, but it is not immediately clear how many of those workers are unvaccinated.

WHO has issued an alert about fake AstraZeneca vaccines in Iran. WHO said the “difficult to detect products” are “illicitly refilled vials of used and discarded genuine COVID-19 VACCINE AstraZeneca” and pose a risk for being “illicitly or accidentally inserted into the regulated supply chain or authorized immunization program.”

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center said early Friday that it has recorded 248.7 million global COVID-19 cases and more than 5 million deaths. The center said 7.1 billion vaccine doses have been administered.

Source: Voice of America

The World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe said Thursday the continent is now the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for 59 percent of all cases globally.

At a virtual news briefing from Copenhagen, Hans Kluge said the current pace of transmission across the region’s 53 countries is of grave concern. He said new cases are approaching record levels, with the delta variant of the coronavirus driving the surge.

Kluge said his agency’s latest data shows hospitalizations in the region more than doubled in one week.

He noted officials are seeing increasing trends across all age groups, but that the rapid increase in the older population is of the most concern. He said this is translating into more people having severe cases and dying, with 75 percent of the deaths among persons aged 65 or older.

Kluge said one reliable projection indicates that at the current pace, Europe could see another half a million COVID-19 deaths by the first of February. COVID-19 is caused by the coronavirus.

He also cited uneven vaccination rates and the relaxation of public health and social measures throughout the region as the cause of the surge.

While a billion doses of vaccine have been distributed, in Europe, only 47 percent of the total population are fully vaccinated. He says in eight nations, at least 70 percent of the people have been inoculated fully. Kluge notes the rate remains below 10 percent in two other countries.

Kluge encouraged nations with low vaccination rates to increase coverage, particularly among priority groups such as the elderly. He urged nations with high vaccination rates and ample supply to share with less fortunate nations.

He also said that vaccines are most effective when used with other preventive measures, such as social distancing and mask-wearing. Kluge said if the region achieved universal mask use, 188,000 lives could be saved between now and February.

The WHO region chief said, “We must change our tactics, from reacting to surges” of COVID-19 to “preventing them from happening in the first place.”

PENTAGON —

About 10,000 active duty Air Force airmen and Space Force guardians remain unvaccinated for COVID-19, according to the latest data provided on the day of the military’s first vaccination deadline Tuesday.

That leaves senior leaders with tough choices concerning the fate of those who have refused to follow orders or are seeking exemptions.

The Air Force and Space Force’s COVID-19 vaccination compliance deadline is Tuesday for active duty troops. According to data obtained by VOA, 97% of active duty airmen and guardians have had at least one vaccine dose, with 95% fully vaccinated.

Asked whether Air Force and Space Force leadership is planning to issue new guidance to commanders now that the deadline is here, a senior Air Force official told VOA, “The guidance (to commanders) is clear. Use all tools at your disposal to encourage your people to get vaccinated.”

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters that 97% of all active duty troops had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday, with deadlines for active duty troops in the Army, Navy and Marines coming later this year.

Some exemptions have been granted on rare occasions, including five permanent medical waivers granted to sailors in the Navy.

Kirby said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has asked commanders to first execute options other than punitive measures, but Kirby added that commanders may eventually need to escalate the pressure to comply with the lawful vaccination order.

“I think the secretary has been very clear with the leaders of the military departments that he wants them to execute the mandate with a sense of compassion and understanding,” Kirby said. “He knows, as a former commander himself, that leaders have a range of tools available to them to help troops make the right decisions for themselves, for the units, for the families, short of using the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

Data provided to VOA from the military service branches Tuesday showed 94% of the Army, 99% of the Navy and 93% of the Marine Corps are fully or partially vaccinated.

But active duty troops are vaccinated at a much higher rate than their Reserve and Guard counterparts, some of whom have deadlines as late as June 30, 2022.

About one-fifth of the total population of U.S. service members — hundreds of thousands of troops — has yet to get a single COVID-19 vaccine dose.

According to spokesman Major Charlie Dietz, the Pentagon requires at least nine vaccines for individuals entering military service, including hepatitis A; hepatitis B; influenza; measles; poliovirus; tetanus, diphtheria; pertussis; and varicella. Up to 17 vaccines are required for service members, depending on their role and geographic region.

Exemptions have been granted to service members for some required vaccines, such as the vaccine for anthrax.

Source: Voice of America

The White House COVID-19 response team said Monday it is anticipating final approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is prepared to administer the first vaccines to U.S. children ages 5-11 later this week.

Last Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency approval for the distribution of children’s doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC’s advisory committee will consider the children’s doses of the vaccine for approval on Tuesday.

But during the White House COVID-19 briefing Monday, response coordinator Jeff Zients said the White House has been preparing for this moment for weeks. He said almost two weeks ago officials reached out to states and took their initial orders for the vaccine.

The FDA’s announcement Friday prompted the White House to begin sending the children’s doses of the vaccine to pediatricians, pharmacies and community health centers all over the country. Zients said, pending CDC approval, the first children will get their initial vaccinations perhaps as early as Wednesday, and certainly by the end of the week.

He said by this time next week – the week of Nov. 7 – the children vaccination program will be fully up and running across the country. Zients said again, the White House has procured 28 million children’s doses of the Pfizer vaccine, enough for every child between the ages of 5 and 11 in the United States.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky offered assurance the CDC advisory committee will conduct a comprehensive, fair and open review of the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine for children. She said the vaccine, once approved, will be an important tool for protecting children from the virus that causes COVID-19. Walensky added that the best protection for children is surrounding them with vaccinated adults.

Walensky said that while, as of Monday, 70 percent of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated, there are still 60 million U.S. residents who are unvaccinated. She urged anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to do so.

Source: voice of America

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized on Friday the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children 5-11 years old.

The FDA approved for children doses that are one-third the amount that teens and adults receive.

“With this vaccine kids can go back to something that’s better than being locked at home on remote schooling, not being able to see their friends,” Dr. Kawsar Talaat of Johns Hopkins University said, according to The Associated Press. “The vaccine will protect them and also protect our communities.”

On Tuesday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make detailed recommendations, and the CDC director will have the final say.

Approval by the regulatory agencies would make the vaccine available in the coming days to 28 million American children, many of whom are back in school for in-person learning. Only a few other countries, including China, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates, have so far cleared COVID-19 vaccines for children in this age group and younger.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe on Friday called for schools to stay open, provided appropriate prevention and response measures are in place.

The recommendation comes after WHO reported the European region has now seen four consecutive weeks of growing COVID-19 transmission, the only WHO region to do so. The agency said Europe’s rising numbers accounted for 57% of new cases worldwide in the third week of October.

In a statement from the agency’s website, WHO/Europe says instead of closing educational institutions in response to this latest surge, it recommends a “whole-of-society approach” to reducing transmission through mitigation measures such as maintaining physical distancing, cleaning hands frequently, wearing masks and ensuring adequate ventilation.

The WHO regional director for Europe, Dr. Hans Henri Kluge, said, “Last year’s widespread school closures, disrupting the education of millions of children and adolescents, did more harm than good, especially to children’s mental and social well-being. We can’t repeat the same mistakes.”

Kluge said that in the coming months, decisions by governments and the public to reduce the impact of COVID-19 should be based on data and evidence, “with the understanding that the epidemiological situation can change, and that our behavior must change with it. Science must trump politics.”

Source: Voice of America

Geneva, The World Health Organization said Friday that its Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is running unopposed for a second five-year term.

The U.N. health agency made the announcement after the deadline for candidacies for the next term expired on Sept. 23. The formal selection of the next director-general takes place at the WHO’s next assembly in May.

Tedros, an Ethiopian national who is the first African to head WHO, has overseen the agency’s complex response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has overshadowed his tenure. Trained in biology and infectious diseases with a doctorate in community health, he is also the first WHO chief who is not a medical doctor.

A former health and foreign minister from Ethiopia, Tedros — who goes by his first name — received a strong endorsement when France and Germany announced their support for him shortly after the nomination period closed.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

The managing body of South African National Parks (SANParks) announced that annual National Parks Week will be held on Nov 22-28 to give citizens free access to most of its parks.

SANParks traditionally hosted the week-long event in September to cultivate a sense of pride in South Africa’s natural, cultural and historical heritage and a deeper appreciation of biodiversity. It announced postponement in September due to concerns over COVID-19.

South Africa has 19 national parks. Since the free access week started in 2006, over 591,000 South Africans have been afforded the opportunity to enter national parks, according to SANParks.

South Africa on Wednesday reported 472 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national tally to 2,920,581.

Source: Nam New Network

Following are Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the Security Council’s virtual high-level debate on cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations — African Union:

The Secretary-General regrettably could not join you today and he therefore asked me to convey his regards and to provide this briefing on his behalf.

Let me begin by congratulating Your Excellency, President Uhuru Kenyatta, as Kenya concludes a prolific month as President of the Security Council. I also salute Donald Kaberuka, African Union High Representative for Financing of the Union and the African Union Peace Fund, who joins us today.

And thank you to the members of the Security Council for helping us shine a spotlight on the vital importance of peace and security in Africa. And how the United Nations — and all Member States — can join forces with the African Union and other regional and subregional groups to achieve this vision.

This discussion takes place in the context of a number of worrying trends across the continent. COVID-19 has created additional socioeconomic burdens on countries’ efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.

In too many places, we are seeing a rise in seizures of power by force. Earlier this week, a military coup d’état took place in Sudan, posing a major threat to the political transition taking place since the signing of the Constitutional Declaration in August 2019.

The conflict in northern Ethiopia continues unabated, despite appeals by the African Union and the United Nations for a permanent ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to the Tigray region.

In the Sahel, and throughout the Lake Chad Basin region, we face persistent threats of terrorism and violent extremism from groups affiliated to Al-Qaida, Da’esh and Boko Haram. And we’re seeing a proliferation of militias.

And across Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated poverty, inequalities and all the drivers of conflict. It has undercut the provision of public services, disrupted supply chains, slowed economic activity, and hampered peace agreements and conflict resolution.

Despite these worrisome developments, the people of Africa are determined to work relentlessly for a more prosperous, sustainable and peaceful continent. One based on shared values and the universal principles of human rights.

The Secretary-General’s annual report on the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union contains a number of hopeful developments. This includes a peaceful and inclusive election in Burkina Faso. And peaceful transfers of power in Niger and Zambia following presidential elections.

Throughout, we’re seeing growing cooperation between the United Nations, the African Union, and subregional organizations on sustainable development, elections and peace processes. In Libya, for example, the United Nations is working closely with the African Union, the League of Arab States, and the European Union to support the ceasefire agreement and preparations for the upcoming elections.

The African Union has played a particularly active role in the International Follow-Up Committee on Libya of the Berlin process, including as a co-chair of the Security Working Group. I also welcome the African Union’s efforts to lead international support for the Libyan reconciliation process. The United Nations stands ready to work with the African Union in support of Libyan authorities and support a rights-based reconciliation process.

We’re also working closely with the African Union and subregional organizations to support the countries of the Sahel and beyond, including to address the return of mercenaries and foreign fighters to their countries of origin. And we’re committed to continuing our support for the African Union-led negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The United Nations special political missions, peacekeeping missions, and country teams in Africa continue to provide comprehensive support to other peace initiatives and political transitions — including in Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.

We work closely with the African Union on regular joint consultations and analyses through our cooperation frameworks for peace and security, humanitarian aid and for sustainable development — our blueprint for joint integrated action. The United Nations Office to the African Union is playing a key role in that regard.

And once the ongoing discussions on the division of responsibilities between the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms are concluded, the United Nations looks forward to continue harnessing the opportunities and strengths of each organization, and build effective conflict prevention and resolution strategies as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change continues to affect the continent, particularly women and youth.

While our partnership with the African Union and subregional organizations is a necessary condition for peace, security, humanitarian, development, and justice in Africa, we also recognize that all Member States need to support these efforts.

In the Secretary-General’s report on Our Common Agenda, he underlined the need to re-embrace global solidarity to find new ways to work together for the common good of all people in every country, grounded in human rights and through a stronger, more networked and inclusive multilateral system. In this context, I would like to add three urgent actions that require global solidarity and support.

First, we need to prioritize our response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa through accelerated vaccine distribution, strengthening national health systems and much needed investments in preparedness. Today, only about 5 per cent of the population in Africa is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. We urgently require universal access to COVID-19 vaccines, support for domestic manufacturing of vaccines, and financing to alleviate the socioeconomic challenges caused by the pandemic.

Second, we need to reaffirm our focus on sustainable development, with Agenda 2030 and 2063 at the heart of our common efforts. Ultimately, sustainable and inclusive development is our best chance to address the root causes of conflict and achieve a future of peace and prosperity for all.

Despite the pandemic, African countries have shown remarkable resilience. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates, economic growth will expand at 3.4 per cent in 2021, but African countries are in urgent need of liquidity and debt relief to create jobs, expand social protection and reverse poverty trends. Recovery must be grounded in advancing just transitions in key areas such as energy, food systems, digital connectivity and infrastructure. Urgent action is needed to speed up the re-channelling of special drawing rights (SDRs) and increase fiscal space.

Spurring these transitions and implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area — a major achievement for the region — will facilitate trade, help reduce emissions, support those who are shifting from the brown economy and create new jobs geared to the economy of tomorrow for Africa’s burgeoning youth population. It could also boost the region’s combined GDP by $44 billion and create millions of jobs. In addition, digital transformation offers the potential to considerably accelerate trade, job creation and access to services.

And as we look to a sustainable and green recovery out of COVID-19 and to meet the promises of the 2030 Agenda, we should redouble our commitment to strengthening our institutions to respond to the needs of all people — especially women, youth, and minorities. One powerful litmus test will be ensuring the full representation of women as countries make the journey to peace and stability.

And third, we need to continue securing adequate, predictable, and sustainable resources that will bring to life development, peace and security mandates across Africa. Here, I would like to highlight the centrality of ensuring coherent action across peace, development and humanitarian objectives in the continent — in establishing a common vision, in ensuring complementarity and safeguarding of investments.

The African Union Peace Fund is an inspiring example. I call on the members of this Council to work with the African Union’s Peace and Security Council to strengthen financing mechanisms for African Union-led peace support operations authorized by the Security Council.

In the Sahel, the United Nations stands ready to, jointly with the African Union, convene an international forum with the G5 Sahel States and their partners to bolster peace and development efforts across the Sahel in support of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel.

Under the guidance of Member States, we will spare no effort to make our partnerships more effective to help all Africans build a more inclusive, prosperous, integrated and peaceful continent, as envisaged in Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Source: United Nations