Year: 2021

The coronavirus pandemic will cause significant global unrest for several years, U.S. intelligence chiefs warned lawmakers Wednesday. In the first public worldwide threats briefing in more than two years, China’s failure to stop the spread of COVID-19, along with increasing competition with the United States, was named the top threat. VOA's congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol Hill. ...

Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine remained in limbo on Wednesday as a U.S. health panel called for more data before deciding how and whether to resume use of the one-dose shot, putting off a vote for a week or more.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel decided to delay a vote on how best to use the J&J shot even after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientist told advisers he believed warnings could mitigate the risk of extremely rare but serious blood clots.The panel is reviewing six reported cases of rare brain blood clots in women who received the J&J vaccine, a day after the FDA and CDC jointly recommended pausing its use to assess the issue.Dr. Lynn Batha, an epidemiologist at the Minnesota…

Kurdish officials in northeast Syria are expressing concerns over a sharp increase in coronavirus cases in their region, calling on international health organizations to intervene to prevent a “humanitarian catastrophe.”   A 10-day curfew went into effect Tuesday in an attempt to curb the spread of the deadly virus in the semiautonomous region, which is home to nearly 5 million people, including thousands of internally displaced people, refugees and prisoners of the Islamic State (IS) terror group, also known as ISIS or its Arabic acronym, Daesh.   “The situation is getting out of control,” said Jowan Mustafa, co-chair of the Health Department at the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES), a governing body affiliated with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).   “In the past few weeks, we…

South Africa’s health minister says the nation will still hit its COVID-19 vaccination targets, even as it pauses the use of the Johnson & Johnson shot amid concerns over blood clots. South Africa’s mass-inoculation campaign was dealt the setback following word that six women in the United States developed a blood clotting disorder after receiving the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. One person died. Nearly 7 million doses have been administered in the United States.    This is now the second time that South Africa has had to shift gears in its vaccination campaign. In February, just days after receiving its first shipment of vaccines, authorities jettisoned plans to use the AstraZeneca product amid reports that it did not protect against the variant of the coronavirus that is most prevalent in South…

Hours after U.S. federal health officials urged a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine after it was linked to a rare but dangerous blood clot, the U.S. pharmaceutical giant announced Tuesday it was delaying rollout of the single-dose vaccine in Europe.“We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communication of this information to healthcare professionals and the public,” the company said in a written statement.Syringes with AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines are prepared in Fasano, Italy, Apr. 13, 2021.The delay strikes a major blow to Europe’s already sluggish vaccination efforts, which has been plagued by logistical problems and a shortage of vaccines. The continent’s vaccination campaign has also been hindered by the troubled rollout of the vaccine…

The U.N. Population Fund called on nations Wednesday to respect bodily autonomy as a universal right, saying too many women and girls are denied this basic power over their own bodies.“The right to autonomy over our bodies means that we must have the power and agency to make choices without fear of violence or having someone else decide for us,” UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem told reporters.Natalia Kanem, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, gives a press conference in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on March 22, 2021.Those other decision-makers include partners, family members, society and government.In a new report, “My Body is My Own,” UNFPA reviewed data from nearly 60 countries, representing about a quarter of the world’s population. It found that nearly half of the women lack…

European Commission President Urusula Von der Leyen Wednesday announced the European Union has reached a deal with pharmaceutical partners Pfizer-BioNTech for 50 million additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine, to be delivered in the coming months. At a news briefing in Brussels, Von der Leyen said the new deal means the EU will have obtained 250 million doses. She said the bloc is negotiating a third contract with the partners for 1.8 billion doses to be delivered in 2022 and 2023.   She said the deal will “not only include the production of vaccines, but also the essential components. All of that will be based in the European Union." Von der Leyen said 100 million doses have been administered in the 27-nation EU bloc already, saying this is “a milestone we…

Hours after U.S. federal health officials urged a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine after it was linked to a rare but dangerous blood clot, the U.S. pharmaceutical giant announced Tuesday it was delaying rollout of the single-dose vaccine in Europe.“We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communication of this information to healthcare professionals and the public,” the company said in a written statement.Syringes with AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines are prepared in Fasano, Italy, Apr. 13, 2021.The delay strikes a major blow to Europe’s already sluggish vaccination efforts, which has been plagued by logistical problems and a shortage of vaccines. The continent’s vaccination campaign has also been hindered by the troubled rollout of the vaccine…

U.S. health officials have pressed pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after a handful of people developed a rare but serious blood-clotting disorder following vaccination. Six cases have been reported so far, out of nearly 7 million doses given. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up a small proportion of the U.S. vaccine supply, so the setback may be relatively minor. But experts say the problem may make more people reluctant to get vaccinated. The six cases occurred among women between 18 and 48 years old, between six and 13 days after vaccination. The patients developed an unusual combination of blood clots and low platelet counts. One woman died, and one was hospitalized.  Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can A Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is administered…

The U.N. Population Fund called on nations Wednesday to respect bodily autonomy as a universal right, saying too many women and girls are denied this basic power over their own bodies.“The right to autonomy over our bodies means that we must have the power and agency to make choices without fear of violence or having someone else decide for us,” UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem told reporters.Natalia Kanem, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, gives a press conference in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on March 22, 2021.Those other decision-makers include partners, family members, society and government.In a new report, “My Body is My Own,” UNFPA reviewed data from nearly 60 countries, representing about a quarter of the world’s population. It found that nearly half of the women lack…

Several U.S. states have temporarily stopped providing Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines in line with federal guidance after six people who received the shots developed rare blood clots. Meanwhile, several countries have suspended the AstraZeneca vaccines after reports it, too, may be linked to blood clots. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports.  ...

Confidence is fading fast in Britain’s AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in the wake of regulators identifying last week a link between the shot and a very rare blood disorder. Europeans are refusing the inoculation in rising numbers, prompting more of Europe’s governments to consider buying Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.     Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and France have decided to restrict the vaccine to older adults, but they’re encountering rising public resistance to the injection. An opinion poll in Germany suggests more than 40% of Germans would decline the AstraZeneca vaccine.  People wait to receive a dose of AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in Fasano, Italy, Apr. 13, 2020.The governor of the southern Italian region of Puglia, Michele Emiliano, told the La Repubblica newspaper last week that half of his…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday she is asking Parliament for temporary powers that would allow her federal government to implement nationwide coronavirus lockdowns to curb a third wave of the pandemic in the country.   Merkel spoke to reporters after her Cabinet approved a draft of legislation that would give her government the power to impose pandemic-related restrictions, including curfews and school and business closings in areas with high infection rates.   The chancellor said the measures are needed to “break the third wave of the pandemic and stop the rapid rise in infections” in those areas where infection rates are more than 100 per 100,000 residents for three consecutive days within a week.   Earlier this year, when laying out a plan for reopening the nation and lifting…

U.S federal health officials Tuesday said “out of an abundance of caution” they are recommending an immediate pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after six cases of blood clots were reported in the United States. At a joint virtual news briefing, officials of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the pause would last “a matter of days” while the agencies investigate the cases of blood clotting, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), which occurred in women between 18 and 48 years old within six to 13 days after receiving the one-dose vaccine.   They note the six cases occurred out of more than 6.8 million doses of the vaccine administered.   CDC Principal…

Scientists with the U.S. space agency, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) say the much-anticipated first flight of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars has been delayed again while scientists make some software modifications.   Scientists had hoped to perform the first controlled powered flight of an aircraft on a planet other than Earth as early as Sunday. Problems encountered last week, though, when high-speed tests on the rotors were performed switching from “pre-flight” means the helicopter won’t be attempted as planned Wednesday.   A statement issued by JPL  Tuesday said they identified a software solution to the problem, but that it would take some time to implement.  They said it is not clear at this point when the tiny helicopter will make its first brief flight, but it likely…

Much of Europe has been forced back into lockdown amid a deadly third wave of the coronavirus. In Britain however, pubs, shops and services reopened Monday as the government hailed its vaccination program for cutting infections. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.Camera: Henry Ridgwell  Producer: Jason Godman   ...

Federal health officials in the United States are recommending an immediate pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.   The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration issued a joint statement early Tuesday announcing the agencies are investigating six instances of “a rare and severe blood clot” occurring in women between 18 and 48 years old within six to 13 days after receiving the one-dose vaccine.  The statement noted that more than 6.8 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the country. The New York Times is reporting that one woman has died and another woman in the western state of Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition.   The CDC says it will…

A new single-day record of COVID-19 cases has pushed India into second place behind the United States for the world’s most confirmed coronavirus infections.The South Asian nation’s 168,912 new COVID-19 cases posted on Monday gives India 13,527,717 total cases, compared to Brazil’s 13,517,808 total cases, according to the FILE PHOTO: File labelled "Sputnik V coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine", March 24, 2021.Reuters is reporting that India has approved the use of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.In the United States, the Biden administration is urging the midwestern state of Michigan to impose a mandatory lockdown to deal with a new surge of coronavirus infections sweeping the state.Michigan ‘s Governor Gretchen Whitmer has pleaded with the administration to provide extra doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the state in an effort to blunt the…

Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe, Africa's largest tobacco producer, are pinning their economic hopes on the addictive plant. Despite anti-smoking campaigns ahead of the World Health Organization's No Tobacco Day on May 31, farmers say the crop is one of their biggest sources of income. After quitting journalism at a government-controlled company four years ago, 39-year-old Itai Mazire went into farming. This year, he expects to sell at least 9,000 kilograms of tobacco from his eight-hectare plot, about 150 kilometers east of Harare. Mazire says delayed selling seasons, due to the coronavirus pandemic, forced him to dip into his savings to pay workers. But Mazire says his harvest this year was the biggest ever and he expects sales to more than double that of 2020.       “This season is a success…

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday the world has now seen seven consecutive weeks of rising COVID-19 infections and four consecutive weeks of increasing numbers of deaths after starting the year with six weeks of declining numbers.   At the agency’s Monday briefing from its headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the fourth-highest number of cases in a single week since the pandemic began occurred last week. This, after the world has delivered more than 780 million doses of vaccine.   The WHO chief blamed “confusion, complacency and inconsistency in public health measures and their application” for driving up infections and costing lives. He said while vaccines are a vital and powerful tool in fighting the pandemic, they are not the only tool.    …

Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe, Africa's largest tobacco producer, are pinning their economic hopes on the addictive plant.  Despite anti-smoking campaigns ahead of the World Health Organization's No Tobacco Day (on May 31), farmers say the crop is one of their biggest earners. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Murehwa district, Zimbabwe.  Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe    ...

The Mekong is one of the world’s great rivers — a 5,000-kilometer waterway threading from China through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.  However, dams have subverted the ecosystem, bringing drought during the monsoon season and high waters when it should be dry. That has forever changed the lives of those who depend on the river for food and work in northeastern Thailand, a poor region bordering Laos and Cambodia. Vijitra Duangdee reports for VOA news, from Nong Khai, Thailand.Camera: Black Squirrel Productions   ...

When plotted on a graph, the curve of Bhutan's COVID-19 vaccination drive shoots upwards from the very first day, crossing Israel, United States, Bahrain and other countries known for vaccinating people rapidly. Those countries took months to reach where they are, painstakingly strengthening their vaccination campaigns in the face of rising coronavirus cases. But the story of Bhutan's vaccination campaign is nearly finished — just 16 days after it began. The tiny Himalayan kingdom wedged between India and China has vaccinated nearly 93% of its adult population since March 27. Overall, the country has vaccinated 62% of its 800,000 people. The rapid rollout of the vaccine puts the tiny nation just behind Seychelles, which has given jabs to 66% of its population of nearly 100,000 people.Its small population helped Bhutan…