Month: March 2021

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has relaxed Zimbabwe's coronavirus lockdown, saying new infections continue to decrease. Vendors welcome the move but say they need help buying protective equipment so they can safely operate. Meanwhile, the main opposition party says more needs to be done to help the country bounce back from the pandemic.In a nationally televised address late Monday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was with immediate effect relaxing most lockdown regulations – which the country reimposed early January following a spike in cases.“It is noteworthy that the number of COVID-19 positive cases, fatalities and hospitalizations continue to steadily decrease. We must, however, remain alert and on guard to maintain this positive momentum attained so far. The government has rolled out the first phase of the national COVID-19 vaccination program which targets…

U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck has agreed to help manufacture rival Johnson & Johnson’s new coronavirus vaccine to help speed production of millions of new doses of the single shots to inoculate more Americans in the coming months, White House officials said Tuesday.Johnson & Johnson has encountered unexpected production problems, even as it won emergency use approval last weekend for the vaccine. The company has manufactured 3.9 million doses so far, but says it is on pace to produce 100 million doses by the end of June.President Joe Biden is set to spell out details of the agreement between the two pharmaceutical companies later Tuesday. But officials familiar with the deal say Merck will use two sites in the U.S., one to help make the vaccine and the other to provide…

The global COVAX vaccine distribution plan aims to deliver tens of millions of vaccine doses to low-income countries -- many of them in Africa – in the coming months, top global health officials say, describing this as a turning point in the quest to quash the coronavirus pandemic.The world’s largest, fastest, and most ambitious vaccine drive delivered 11 million vaccine doses Tuesday to Angola, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria. Between now and the end of May, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the COVAX facility will deliver 270 million doses to 142 participating countries and economies.The global initiative was set up last April to ensure that poorer nations aren’t left out of the worldwide scramble for vaccine access. The program, which is projected to cost about…

France will now vaccinate people aged 65 years and older with the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca.   The decision was announced Tuesday by Health Minister Olivier Veran during a televised interview.  Veran said anyone older than the age of 50 with pre-existing conditions can receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, “including those between 65 and 74." France was among many European nations that refused to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca for its elderly citizens.  The developers did not enroll many people in those age groups for their large-scale clinical trials, leading to a lack of data about its potential efficacy.  French President Emmanuel Macron even went so far as describing the vaccine as “quasi-ineffective.”   FILE - A medical worker holds a vial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus…

One in four of the world's population will suffer from hearing problems by 2050, the World Health Organization warned Tuesday, calling for extra investment in prevention and treatment. The first-ever global report on hearing said that the causes of many of the problems -- such as infections, diseases, birth defects, noise exposure and lifestyle choices -- could be prevented.  The report proposed a package of measures, which it calculated would cost $1.33 per person per year. Against that, it set the figure of nearly $1 trillion lost every year because the issue was not being properly addressed. "Failure to act will be costly in terms of the health and well-being of those affected, and the financial losses arising from their exclusion from communication, education and employment," said the report. One in five people worldwide have hearing…

A third COVID-19 vaccine is heading to clinics and pharmacies across the United States. But U.S. health officials are warning that another surge in cases could be on the horizon.Regulators authorized the vaccine from pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson over the weekend. Nearly 4 million doses are expected to be available at vaccination sites beginning as soon as Tuesday.But after a sharp fall over the past several weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths has increased again. Experts are concerned that newer, more infectious variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 may be taking over.The reversal comes as most states are easing restrictions that contain the disease."Now is not the time to relax the critical safeguards that we know can stop the spread of COVID-19," Rochelle Walensky, director of…

More than 86,000 people died from drug overdoses last year in the U.S. – a massive increase of just over 24 percent. It is an epidemic that as VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, has been shoved in the shadows by the pandemic – but is no less serious a public health issue.Camera: Veronica Balderas Iglesias  Produced by: Veronica Balderas Iglesias   ...

Scientists with the British Antarctica Survey (BAS) say a huge iceberg — larger than New York City — has broken off from the northwestern Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, almost 10 years after scientists discovered the first cracks. In a statement on its website, the BAS says the iceberg broke away Friday and that it covers about 1,270 square kilometers. The BAS says the mass is about 150 meters thick.  The agency said Halley Research Station, also situated on Brunt Ice Shelf, is not expected to be impacted as it is located on an area of the ice shelf still connected to the continent. The BAS took the precaution of moving the station in 2016 to avoid the paths of cracks in the ice its staff had been observing. In the statement, the BAS director,…

An international study shows an upward trend in support for receiving COVID-19 vaccines in several countries compared to the end of 2020, with the biggest increase in Britain and Sweden.  Multinational communication firm Kekst CNC Monday published the results of the survey conducted in six countries – Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and United States. The poll indicated 89% of Britons were in favor of getting vaccinated now, compared to 65% last September.The AstraZeneca vaccine is prepared in the COVID-19 vaccination center at the Odeon Luxe Cinema in Maidstone, Britain, Feb. 10, 2021.In Sweden, 76% of those interviewed were in favor of inoculation, compared to 51% in September 2020.  The study shows that 68% of men worldwide support vaccination, the ratio is lower among women at 55%. Older and middle-aged people have become more likely to get a vaccine since September, the survey found.   The study also shows that 75% of Britons are pleased with the pace of the vaccination campaign in the country, but the ratio drops in the other countries surveyed, to 32% in U.S., 22% in France and 20% in Sweden. Kekst CNC conducted the survey in mid-February over ten days, with…

The Philippines launched its national coronavirus vaccination campaign Monday amid widespread public skepticism and a struggle to procure vaccines.   Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, the director of the state-run Philippine General Hospital in Manila, received the first dose of the CoronaVac vaccine developed by China-based Sinovac Biotech Limited.  The doctor’s inoculation came just hours after President Rodrigo Duterte greeted the arrival of 600,000 doses of Sinovac donated by Beijing. The Philippines is the last Southeast Asian nation to receive a COVID-19 vaccine supply.  The Duterte administration is aiming to vaccinate 70 million of its citizens, but some public opinion polls have revealed a resistance among a majority of people due to uncertainty over the safety and efficacy of the CoronaVac vaccine.Used vials of China's Sinovac vaccine are shown during the first batch of vaccination at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon city, Philippines…