Month: December 2021

Worried that a new COVID-19 wave could overwhelm understaffed U.S. hospitals, federal officials on Thursday loosened rules that call on health care workers to stay out of work for 10 days if they test positive. Those workers will now be allowed to come back to work after seven days if they test negative and don't have symptoms. Isolation time can be cut to five days or even fewer if there are severe staffing shortages, according to new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "As the health care community prepares for an anticipated surge in patients due to omicron, CDC is updating our recommendations to reflect what we know about infection and exposure in the context of vaccination and booster doses," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a…

NASA looks likely to launch a much hyped and often-delayed space telescope. Plus, SpaceX makes history again, and a space tourist is already planning his next trip. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space. ...

New research from Britain and South Africa suggests the fast-spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus is milder and results in fewer hospitalizations than other versions.   Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland unveiled a study Wednesday showing that people who had contracted omicron were at least 60% less likely to be admitted, compared to those who had been infected with the delta variant, which had been dominating the world in recent months. A separate study conducted at Imperial College London revealed that people diagnosed with omicron were 15%-20% less likely to seek emergency care at a hospital, while also showing a 40%-45% decline in the number of omicron patients who needed to be admitted for severe symptoms.   And scientists at South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases Wednesday released…

A suggestion by Australia’s most populous state to charge unvaccinated people for COVID-19 medical costs has received widespread criticism. The New South Wales proposal has angered doctors and some federal politicians, who argue that health care in Australia is free and universal. The New South Wales government has said that unvaccinated patients being treated for COVID-19 have been irresponsible and have burdened taxpayers with “very substantial costs.” And they could be forced to pay for their hospital care. “There already is two classes of the hospital system because you have got the unvaccinated that are there because they have not been taking responsibility for their actions, and you have got the vaccinated there who have got a genuine requirement for health care, said State Transport Minister David Elliott. But members…

U.S. health officials say 2021 is shaping up to be even deadlier than last year. It's too early to say for sure, since all the death reports for November and December won't be in for many weeks. But based on available information, it seems likely 2021 will surpass last year's record number of deaths by at least 15,000, said Robert Anderson, who oversees the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's death statistics. Last year was the most lethal in U.S. history, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A CDC report released Wednesday shows 2020 was actually worse than the agency previously reported. The report presents a final tally for last year of about 3.384 million U.S. deaths, about 25,000 more than a provisional count released earlier this year. Such…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of an antiviral COVID-19 pill, the pill’s maker Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday. The company says the pill, which is to be taken with another antiviral drug, ritonavir, is 90% effective in preventing hospitalization and death in high-risk people. “The efficacy is high, the side effects are low and it’s oral. It checks all the boxes,” Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic told The Associated Press. “You’re looking at a 90% decreased risk of hospitalization and death in a high-risk group—that’s stunning.” The pill is the first at-home treatment for the virus and is approved for use in those 12 and older who are at high risk. Pfizer says it’s ready to start delivery of the drug immediately in the U.S. and will produce 120 million…

Researchers in Australia have identified a gene that indicates the kidney has its own way of resisting damage. However, they have also identified a mutation of the gene that can in patients with, for example, diabetes, trigger the development of renal disease.  A gene called VANGL1 has been found to help stop the immune system from attacking the kidney. But Australian researchers say the genetic mutation, which is present in about 15% of the population worldwide, can cause renal disease in patients with diabetes and other autoimmune conditions.    The mutation is highly prevalent among indigenous people on the Tiwi Islands, 80 kilometers from the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory. According to the study, just less than 50% of the islands’ residents have the genetic mutation.    The islands’ recorded rates of kidney disease are four times those of mainland indigenous Australians and about 11 times that of non-Indigenous Australians, according to…

The United Nations estimates 7.7 million people, half of Somalia’s population, will require humanitarian assistance and protection in 2022.It is appealing for $1.5 billion to assist 5.5 million of the most vulnerable among them. Decades of conflict, recurrent climatic shocks, disease outbreaks, and increasing poverty, including the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are devastating the lives and livelihoods of people in Somalia. They are facing acute hunger. Many are on the verge of famine because the rains have failed to fall for a third year in a row.U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula says 80 percent of the country is affected by drought.  Speaking on a video link from the capital Mogadishu, he tells VOA 169,000 people have abandoned their homes in search of water, food, and grazing…

U.S.-based drugmaker Moderna says that initial laboratory tests show a third shot of its current COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the fast-spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus.  In a statement released Monday, the company said a half dose of the vaccine given as a booster increased the antibodies levels 37 fold, while a full dose of the vaccine — which is used in the full dose regimen — boosted antibodies levels over 80 fold. Dr. Paul Burton, Moderna’s chief medical officer, says the study — which has not been peer-reviewed — proves the company’s vaccine is effective, “extremely safe” and “will protect people through the coming holiday period and through these winter months, when we’re going to see the most severe pressure of omicron.”  U.S. federal health officials authorized both the Moderna…

CNN is closing its offices in the United States to all nonessential employees as COVID-19 cases increase, the network said on Saturday in an internal memo to staff seen by Reuters. CNN, part of AT&T Inc's WarnerMedia division, will close its offices to all employees who do not have work in the office, the memo said. "We are doing this out of an abundance of caution," CNN President Jeff Zucker said in the memo. "And it will also protect those who will be in the office by minimizing the number of people who are there." Employees who need to come to the office will be required to wear a mask at all times, CNN said. The network will also make changes to its studios and control rooms to minimize the…

“The Netherlands is shutting down again,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Saturday in a televised address. The new measures, beginning Sunday, Rutte said, are because of a “fifth wave” of COVID-19, due to the highly contagious omicron variant. Under the new rules, all non-essential shops will be closed to at least mid-January. Only two guests will be permitted to visit a household at one time. Four guests, however, will be allowed during the upcoming holidays from Dec. 24-26 and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Schools will be immediately closed until at least Jan. 9. While the Netherland boasts an 85% inoculation rate of its population, only 9% have received booster shots. Jaap van Dissel, the chief of the Dutch outbreak management team, said the shutdown will give people…

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration said Saturday that it would not issue citations tied to its coronavirus vaccination mandate before Jan. 10, so that companies have time to adjust to and implement the requirements. The federal agency separately said there would be no citations of companies regarding its testing requirements before Feb. 9. The announcement came after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District in Cincinnati decided on Friday that the mandate for large employers could go forward, reversing a previous court decision made after 27 Republican-led states, conservative groups, business associations and some individual companies challenged the mandate. OSHA said in a statement that it would not issue citations before the listed dates "so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come…

Egyptian health authorities said they have identified the country’s first cases of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus. Three people were found to have the variant among 26 travelers who tested positive for coronavirus at Cairo International Airport, the Health Ministry said in a statement late Friday. It didn’t say where the three came from. The local Masrawy news outlet reported the three were among travelers from South Africa. The ministry said two of the people infected showed no symptoms, while the third suffered from mild symptoms. The three have been isolated in a Cairo hospital, it said. Authorities on Friday reported more than 900 confirmed new cases of coronavirus and 43 deaths over the previous 24 hours. Egypt has reported a total 373,500 cases, including 21,277 fatalities,…

Pfizer Inc on Friday forecast that the COVID-19 pandemic would not be behind us until 2024 and said a lower-dose version of its vaccine for 2- to 4-year-olds generated a weaker immune response than expected, potentially delaying authorization. Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said in a presentation to investors that the company expects some regions to continue to see pandemic levels of COVID-19 cases over the next year or two. Other countries will transition to "endemic" with low, manageable caseloads during that same time period. By 2024, the disease should be endemic around the globe, the company projected. "When and how exactly this happens will depend on evolution of the disease, how effectively society deploys vaccines and treatments, and equitable distribution to places where vaccination rates are low," Dolsten…

The head of the World Health Organization says the continuing surge of COVID-19 cases is a result of the unequal distribution of vaccines. Speaking at the First International Conference on Public Health in Africa, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that it has been just over a year since the first COVID-19 vaccines began to be administered. He said, “A year ago, we all hoped that by now vaccines would be helping us all emerge from the long, dark tunnel of the pandemic. Instead, as we enter the third year of the pandemic, the death toll has more than tripled, and the world remains in its grip. COVID-19 has now killed more than 5 million people. And they’re just the reported deaths.” Tedros told the virtual conference that the rapid…

New York state reported Friday that just over 21,000 people had tested positive for COVID-19 the previous day, the highest single-day total for new cases since testing became widely available. Just under half of the positive results were in the city, where lines were growing at testing stations, the Rockettes Christmas show was canceled for the season and some Broadway shows nixed performances because of outbreaks among cast members. One-day snapshots of virus statistics can be an unreliable way to measure trends, but the new record punctuated a steady increase that started in the western part of the state in late October and has taken off in New York City in the past week as the omicron variant spreads. "This is changing so quickly. The numbers are going up exponentially…

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday issued guidelines for keeping children in school even if they are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. During a virtual briefing by the White House COVID-19 response team, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the test-to-stay protocol involves testing twice in a seven-day period anyone who has had close contact with someone infected with COVID-19. She said if exposed children meet certain criteria and continue to test negative, they can stay in school instead of quarantining at home. Walensky said numerous jurisdictions have been experimenting with test-to-stay strategies. Some were testing every day, some every other day, and some twice a week. From those experiments, she said, the CDC will recommend no less than twice-weekly…

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday his government is seeking to accelerate its COVID-19 booster shots campaign and has reached out to the head of U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer to secure additional vaccines. Kishida told reporters the government has been negotiating to receive 120 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine ahead of schedule. He said during his call with the company’s CEO, Albert Bourla, he also agreed to purchase two million doses of Pfizer’s oral COVID-19 treatment, Paxlovid. The government started arrangements Thursday to adjust the timeframe for workers and patients in elder-care facilities to receive booster shots to six months after their second shots. Health officials shortened the original eight-month timeline between initial vaccinations and booster shots after the discovery of the new omicron variant of coronavirus, the…

The U.S. government on Thursday permanently eased some restrictions on a pill used to terminate early pregnancies, allowing the drug to be sent by mail rather than requiring it to be dispensed in person. The decision by the Food and Drug Administration comes as the right to obtain an abortion, established in the 1973 Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance. The medication, generically known as mifepristone, is approved for use up to 10 weeks of pregnancy and is also sometimes prescribed to treat women who are having miscarriages. "The FDA’s decision will come as a tremendous relief for countless abortion and miscarriage patients," said Georgeanne Usova, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. The restrictions on the pill had been in place since the FDA approved…

A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday voted to recommend that Americans choose one of the other two authorized COVID-19 vaccines over Johnson & Johnson's shot because of the rare but sometimes fatal cases of blood clotting. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted unanimously on the recommendation. The regulator still needs to sign off on the guidance. Cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), which involves blood clots accompanied by a low level of platelets, have previously been reported in recipients of the J&J vaccine. The highest reporting rates are in women under 50. The CDC said that the rate of such incidents is higher than previously estimated in both women and men. At least nine people have died…