Updates

February 02, 2021

COVID-19 Is Largely An Afterthought In Camps Hosting Ethiopian Refugees-Devex

Humanitarian actors at the camps are overwhelmed with the needs of the constant influx of people arriving, and have limited funding. COVID-19 is just one of many challenges burdening the camps, and in many ways, remains deprioritized. With limited testing, no official isolation centers, and very few COVID-19 protocols in place, aid workers worry about their ability to manage the pandemic response if there is a sudden rise in severe cases. Devex, … Continue Reading


February 01, 2021

Israel To Give 5,000 Coronavirus Vaccines To Palestinian Doctors-NBC News

Israel has agreed to transfer 5,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine to the Palestinians to immunize frontline medical workers, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz's office announced Sunday. It was the first time that Israel has confirmed the transfer of vaccines to the Palestinians, who lag far behind Israel's aggressive vaccination campaign and have not yet received any vaccines. NBC News, … Continue Reading


February 01, 2021

AstraZeneca To Deliver 9M More Coronavirus Vaccine Doses To EU-Politico

AstraZeneca will deliver 9 million more doses of its coronavirus vaccine to the EU than it offered last week, the European Commission announced, following a week of escalating tensions over massive anticipated shortfalls. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday after a virtual meeting with the CEOs of vaccine producers including AstraZeneca that the company will now send a total of 40 million doses in the first quarter of the year and start deliveries one week earlier than … Continue Reading


February 01, 2021

For Emerging Adults, Pandemic Serves Up Unique Challenges-The Associated Press

The coronavirus pandemic has been hard on both kids and adults. But what about those who are in between? Demographic shifts during the last century have given rise to a distinct developmental stage called “emerging adulthood.” Spanning the late teens and early 20s, it’s a volitional, transitional period marked by exploration of life and love, work and world views. But with the now nearly yearlong pandemic causing major disruptions in education, employment, housing and more, young people who … Continue Reading


February 01, 2021

Biden To Meet Republicans On COVID-19 Plan In Test Of Bipartisan Approach-Reuters

President Joe Biden will meet 10 moderate Republican senators on Monday to discuss their proposal to shrink his sweeping $1.9 trillion U.S. COVID-19 relief package, even as Democrats prepare to push legislation through Congress without Republican support. Reuters, … Continue Reading


February 01, 2021

CDC Issues Sweeping New Mask Mandate For U.S. Travelers, Extends Eviction Moratorium-NPR

Starting early next week, travelers and commuters will be required to wear face masks on nearly all forms of public transportation as part of a sweeping new order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. The order, issued late Friday, will require masks to be worn by "all passengers on public conveyances" traveling into or within the United States, including airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-shares. NPR, … Continue Reading


January 29, 2021

CDC Director Says Community Spread Of South African Strain Is Here-NBC News

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that the South African Covid-19 variant, which was just detected in two people in South Carolina, had already reached the point of community spread in the U.S. Walensky said sequencing of the virus has been "scaled up" under the new administration, meaning there's more of a chance to catch a new strain. Because the South African variant was detected on Thursday doesn't mean it just arrived since the U.S. has lagged … Continue Reading


January 29, 2021

Hungary First In EU To Approve Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine-The Associated Press

Hungary’s medicine and food safety regulator on Friday approved China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, making it the first country in the European Union to do so. The decision followed a government decree on Thursday that streamlined Hungary’s vaccine approval procedure. Any vaccine that has been administered to at least one million people worldwide may now be approved for use in Hungary — without being assessed by the country’s medicines regulator. The Associated Press, … Continue Reading


January 29, 2021

European Regulator Gives Green Light For Astra-Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine-Reuters

Europe’s medicines regulator on Friday approved AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 18, the third vaccine to be cleared for use in the European Union. The AstraZeneca vaccine demonstrated an efficacy of around 60% in the trials on which the decision was based, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in a statement. Reuters, … Continue Reading


January 29, 2021

Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Is 66% Effective In Preventing Moderate To Severe COVID-19-NPR

A global study of nearly 44,000 found that the COVID-19 vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson is 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe disease. The study was conducted in the U.S., Latin America and South Africa. The vaccine did better at preventing disease in the U.S. - 72% — and less well in South Africa - 57% efficacy. The efficacy seen in Latin America was 66%. The South African results are troubling because of the coronavirus variant spreading there that has now been detected in … Continue Reading


January 29, 2021

Global Fund's $5B Ask For COVID-19 Response Still Lacking Funds-Devex

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria made an appeal in August for an additional $5 billion to continue supporting countries in its response to the coronavirus. But after more than five months, only $259 million — or about 5% of that ask — has been filled to date. Part of the challenge is that the global health financing framework is not built to address a crisis with the magnitude of COVID-19, according to Francoise Vanni, director of external relations and communications at … Continue Reading


January 28, 2021

CDC Doesn't Know If New Covid-19 Variants Are Causing Rare Complication In Children-CNN

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday it does not know if the new Covid-19 variants are causing more cases of a rare complication in children called multisystem inflammatory syndrome. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) in children is a troubling complication of Covid-19 infection that can cause heart damage and typically shows up about three weeks after a child has been infected. Many MIS-C cases follow a Covid-19 infection that had no symptoms. CNN, … Continue Reading


January 28, 2021

WHO Team In Wuhan Departs Quarantine For COVID Origins Study-The Associated Press

A World Health Organization team emerged from quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday to start field work in a fact-finding mission on the origins of the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers, who were required to isolate for 14 days after arriving in China, left their quarantine hotel with their luggage — including at least four yoga mats — in the midafternoon and headed to another hotel. The mission has become politically charged, as China seeks to avoid blame … Continue Reading


January 28, 2021

Racing The Virus: Why Tweaking The Vaccines Won't Be Simple-Reuters

After developing and rolling out COVID-19 vaccines at record speed, drugmakers are already facing variants of the rapidly-evolving coronavirus that may render them ineffective, a challenge that will require months of research and a massive financial investment, according to disease experts. Executives from Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE are considering new versions of their vaccines to respond to the most concerning variants identified so far. That is just one piece of the … Continue Reading


January 28, 2021

South Carolina Identifies The First U.S. Cases Of Coronavirus Variant First Seen In South Africa-STAT

Health authorities have identified the first U.S. cases of Covid-19 caused by a fast-spreading form of the coronavirus initially seen in South Africa, in two people in South Carolina. Neither person has a history of travel to countries where the variant has been confirmed, and there is no connection between the two people, South Carolina health officials said Thursday. That indicates there has been some local spread of the variant after it arrived in the United States. STAT, … Continue Reading


January 28, 2021

How Is The COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Going In Your State?-NPR

The U.S. is working to vaccinate a high percentage of its population against COVID-19 as soon as possible to stop the spread of the disease and end the outbreak in the country. The mission becomes even more urgent as coronavirus variants emerge around the world, raising concerns that the virus could evade our efforts to control it, if the spread is not curbed quickly. Since vaccine distribution began in the U.S. on Dec. 14, more than 24 million doses have been administered, reaching 6.2% of … Continue Reading


January 27, 2021

France’s Sanofi To Help Rival Pfizer-BioNTech Make Vaccines-The Associated Press

In an unusual and potentially groundbreaking decision, French drugmaker Sanofi said Wednesday it will help bottle and package 125 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by its rivals Pfizer and BioNTech, while its own vaccine candidate faces delays. The announcement came as delays or production problems for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and a vaccine from Britain’s AstraZeneca have caused political uproar across the European Union. The Associated Press, … Continue Reading


January 27, 2021

Raging Virus, Few Shots. How Brazil Missed Its Chance To Secure COVID-19 Vaccines-Reuters

Weeks after other Latin American countries began inoculating their citizens against coronavirus, Brazil finally administered its first shot on Jan. 17 using China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd vaccine. With efficacy of just over 50% - barely above Brazil’s threshold for regulatory approval - the Chinese shot was not the government’s first choice. But for now, there is little else available. Reuters, … Continue Reading


January 27, 2021

U.S. Will Have Enough Covid-19 Vaccines For 300 Million Americans By End Of Summer, Biden Says-STAT

President Biden plans to purchase another 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which should give the U.S. enough to fully vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of summer 2021, the administration announced in a press release Tuesday. The Biden administration will also increase the number of vaccines being shipped weekly to states from 8.6 million to 10 million. STAT, … Continue Reading


January 27, 2021

Why N95 Masks Are Still In Short Supply In The U.S.-NPR

A year ago, hundreds of desperate consumers were emailing Mike Bowen's Texas medical supply factory every day, looking to buy N95 medical respirator masks that can filter viruses: "Scared Americans and moms and old people and people saying, 'Help me,' " Bowen recalls. Today, most consumers still aren't able to buy N95 masks, because the supply available to retailers remains very limited. Even hospital workers are still being asked to ration and reuse their supplies of N95s, and the website of … Continue Reading

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