Year: 2021

France, Germany and Italy resumed use Friday of a coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca after health officials sought to allay concerns it might cause blood clots.The European nations resumed inoculations after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said the AstraZeneca-University of Oxford vaccine was “safe and effective” and the World Health Organization said “available data do not suggest any overall increase in clotting conditions” among those who had been vaccinated.From left, German public health expert Karl Lauterbach, RKI health institute deputy director Lars Schaade and German Health Minister Jens Spahn speak at a news conference, March 19, 2021, in Berlin, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Germany and Italy are trying to avoid a third wave of coronavirus infections while France is experiencing its highest caseload in four months.Beginning Friday, several French regions, including…

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrived Friday in the southeastern U.S. state of Georgia, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the massage parlor killings of six Asian American women and two others Tuesday near Atlanta.The U.S. leaders will meet with Asian American leaders to discuss the shootings and the targeting of people of Asian descent in the U.S. in apparent hate crimes.Watch the president's remarks at 4:40 EDT, March 19, 2021:Georgia officials, however, have not yet labeled the massage parlor shootings as hate crimes because the suspect said the shootings were a result of his sexual issues.Before leaving the White House for Georgia, Biden issued a statement urging Congress to approve legislation related to the coronavirus and hate crimes.“I urge Congress to swiftly pass the COVID-19 Hate…

A 14-year-old South Sudanese girl who could not control her urine or bowel movements for two years is lying on a bed at the Lutheran Medical Center in Juba, recovering from an operation to repair a fistula - a medical condition in which a hole develops in the birth canal that is caused by prolonged obstructed labor.The girl, who VOA is not identifying for privacy reasons, said a doctor friend called her last month from Juba when she was in Rumbek to inform her about a two-week camp being run by the Barbara May Foundation, an Australian organization that helps women suffering from fistula in the South Sudanese capital.The girl told South Sudan in Focus that in 2019 an old man found her by the roadside, kidnapped her, and forced…

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are traveling to the southern U.S. state of Georgia on Friday, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the massage parlor shootings near Atlanta on Tuesday.The U.S. leaders will meet with Asian American leaders to discuss the shootings and the targeting of people of Asian descent in the U.S. in apparent hate crimes.Georgia officials, however, have not yet labeled the massage parlor shootings as hate crimes because the suspect said the shooting spree was a result of his sexual issues.The president and the vice president will also meet with officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while in Georgia to get an update on the U.S.  handling the COVID-19 pandemic.They were originally also planning to participate in a “Help Is…

German health officials Friday said coronavirus cases in the country are rising at “an exponential rate,” forcing the government to reconsider lifting COVID-19 restrictions. At a news conference in Berlin, Robert Koch Institute ((RKI)) for infectious Diseases Vice President Lars Schaade told reporters highly contagious virus variants were getting the upper hand in the nation, wiping out progress seen last month in containing the pandemic.Shaade, appearing with German Health Minister Jens Spahn, reported 17,482 new infections in the previous 24 hours and 226 deaths in Germany, with the seven-day incidence rate soaring to about 96 per 100,000 people, despite a months-long lockdown in much of the country.Shaade said increased infections were notably among younger people. “The incidence increases are clearly in the groups under 60 years old, especially in the group…

As the Northern Hemisphere enters a second spring of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts are saying the higher temperatures and sunnier days are unlikely to do much on their own to curtail the spread of the virus.Travel restrictions and mask mandates, along with people's behavior, have a much bigger impact than the weather, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report highlights that the steps people can take "far outweigh any external factors, and that's a really positive thing to know," said Dev Niyogi, geosciences professor at the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved in the report but wrote a study published in November with similar findings. “We saw waves of infection rise in warm seasons and warm regions in the first year of the…

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are traveling to the southern U.S. state of Georgia on Friday, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the massage parlor shootings near Atlanta on Tuesday.The U.S. leaders will meet with Asian American leaders to discuss the shootings and the targeting of people of Asian descent in the U.S. in apparent hate crimes.Georgia officials, however, have not yet labeled the massage parlor shootings as hate crimes because the suspect said the shooting spree was a result of his sexual issues.The president and the vice president will also meet with officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while in Georgia to get an update on the U.S.  handling the COVID-19 pandemic.They were originally also planning to participate in a “Help Is…

The European Medicines Agency has approved the continued use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the battle to contain the pandemic. The European regulator’s seal of approval comes after several European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, stopped using the vaccine following reports that the shots caused blood clots in some vaccine recipients.The agency said in a statement Thursday “the benefits of the vaccine in combating the still widespread threat of COVID-19 (which itself results in clotting problems and may be fatal) continue to outweigh the risk of side effects.”The agency added, “A causal link with the vaccine is not proven but is possible and deserves further analysis.”Meanwhile, the White House announced Thursday that it is sending millions of stockpiled doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Mexico and Canada.The…

NASA calls its latest mission on the surface of Mars a “Wright Brothers moment” of aeronautical pioneering. The ISS gets hardware upgrades, and Russia’s lone, female Cosmonaut now has a Barbie doll in her own image. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Camera: NASA/AP/ESA/REUTERS/SPACE X/MATTELProduced by: Arash Arabasadi   ...

U.S. and Mexican officials deny Washington is attaching any strings to a likely shipment of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses to America’s southern neighbor at a time of heightened migration passing through Mexico en route to the United States.“[P]reventing the spread of a global pandemic is part of one of our diplomatic objectives. Another one of our diplomatic objectives is working to address the challenges at the border. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that those conversations are both ongoing and happening,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki replied when asked about a link between lending vaccine supplies and commitments from Mexico to tighten the flow of migrants heading north.White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, March 18, 2021, in Washington.“These are…

Europe's drug regulator, the Europe Medicines Agency (EMA), said Thursday the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in protecting people from the disease and its benefits outweigh its possible risks. Speaking to a remote news conference from the agency's Amsterdam headquarters, Executive Director Emer Cooke said the review by the agency's safety committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of blood clots, also known as thromboembolic events.  Several European nations in the past week had suspended administering the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports patients who had received it had developed blood clots, that, in a few cases, led to death. The EMA review sprang from those reports. People arrive at a vaccination center to receive a dose of Oxford/AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine in Antwerp,…

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) director for Europe said Thursday that the COVID-19 situation in the continent has taken a step backward, with more people dying from the disease than at this time last year.   During a virtual briefing from his office in Copenhagen, Hans Kluge told reporters he is particularly concerned about central Europe, the Balkans and the Baltic states, where new cases, hospitalizations and deaths are now among the highest in the world.   Kluge said Europe is averaging more than 20,000 deaths from COVID-19 per week, with the overall death toll passing 900,000. He said there were more than 1.2 million new cases reported across Europe last week, the third consecutive week that infection numbers have increased.   Kluge said 46 countries in the region have…

Leading United Nations agencies are calling for urgent action to combat ageism, which they say harms the well-being of older people and national economies. The World Health Organization, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs and U.N. Population Fund have released the first global report on ageism.A survey of more than 83,000 people in 57 countries finds 1 in every 2 people holds moderately or highly ageist attitudes. Those beliefs are based on stereotypical  ideas about older people drummed into them at an early age.Alana Officer is the World Health Organization’s unit head for demographic change and healthy aging. She says biases start early in life and are reinforced over time. She says ageism is pervasive -- in health care systems, in…

Australia is beginning an urgent rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations in the Torres Strait in northern Queensland because of a sharp increase in infections in neighboring Papua New Guinea, a situation Health Minister Greg Hunt called a “clear and present danger” to both nations.Papua New Guinea, a South Pacific nation of more than 7 million people, is Australia’s nearest neighbor.It’s facing a public health crisis, and in Canberra, Australia Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is increasingly worried. Some of Australia’s most northerly islands are just a few kilometers from Papua New Guinea, raising concern the virus could spread easily and quickly across the border.“We do not want the virus sneaking across what is obviously a very small area, and we do not want people in north Queensland, particularly Indigenous communities, facing…

The European Union’s medications watchdog is due to release initial results Thursday of its investigation into whether there is a connection between the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and cases of recipients developing blood clots.The European Medicines Agency has been examining 30 reported blood coagulation disorders among the 5 million people in the EU who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine. Among the considerations is whether that rate is more common than the incidence found in the general population.The World Health Organization said Wednesday it is conducting its own assessment of the latest available safety data for the vaccine, but that at this time the agency considers the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks.“In extensive vaccination campaigns, it is routine for countries to signal potential adverse events following immunization,” the…

Scientists are rethinking the cause of water loss on Mars in the face of new evidence that challenges the long-held theory that the water may have evaporated into space. That’s according to new NASA-funded research published this week in the journal Science.Researchers hypothesize that about 30% and 99% of the water on Mars may have been lost to the crust, likely trapped within the minerals there.The lead author of the study, Eva Scheller, said “the water was lost by 3 billion years ago, meaning Mars has been the dry planet it is today for the past 3 billion years.”Once upon 3 billion years ago, Mars was covered with plentiful water that collected into pools, lakes, and deep oceans about half the volume of Earth’s Atlantic Ocean, researchers concluded based on…

Testing is under way for modified versions of COVID-19 vaccines that aim to deal with coronavirus variants. Experts say current vaccines still seem to work against the variants and prevent the most severe forms of disease, though the evidence is limited. Making changes may not be necessary for all the vaccines.  "We don't know yet," said Emory University Vaccine Center Associate Director Walter Orenstein. "But people want to get prepared just in case we need to." Testing and manufacturing will likely take months, he said, so now is the time to get started. All major Western manufacturers with shots in use have announced studies involving either new shots targeted against a specific variant or additional booster shots of their existing vaccines. A woman reacts to seeing a syringe of the Sinovac vaccine for COVID-19…

Mass migration and the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to the worldwide spread of female genital mutilation, or FGM, executed on girls from infancy to puberty, say aid organizations.Perpetrators cross borders to perform FGM in countries such as Chad, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan, where there is no legislation against the practice, according to research by This map from the University of Virginia Medical School is from 2017 and shows where FGM occurs most in the world.The practice dates back more than 2,000 years and is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital tissues, including suturing the genitalia. Among the four levels of FGM, some are banned in some countries, while other…

Kenya's constitutional court has dismissed a petition to strike down the Female Genital Mutilation Act, which outlaws the traditional practice of female circumcision.Women's rights groups welcomed the ruling and said the judges' pronouncement would protect millions of women and girls.The 2017 petition sought to invalidate the FGM measure on the ground that it took away a grown woman’s right to undergo the cut.Judge Lydia Achode read the ruling on behalf of the other two judges:"Our final orders shall be as follows: The amended petition is devoid of merit and is hereby dismissed. Two, the attorney general ... shall forward a proposal to the national assembly to consider amendment of Section 19 of the prohibition of female genital mutilation ... with a view to prohibiting all human practices of FGM as…

U.S. President Joe Biden says he is mystified about continuing opposition by some Americans to getting vaccinated against the coronavirus, particularly among Republicans who opposed his election."I honest to God thought that, once we guaranteed we had enough vaccine for everybody, things would start to calm down,” Biden told ABC News on Tuesday. “Well, they have calmed down a great deal.”Still, Biden told ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos, “I don't quite understand – you know – I just don't understand this sort of macho thing about, 'I'm not gonna get the vaccine. I have a right as an American, my freedom to not do it.'“Well, why don't you be a patriot? Protect other people,” Biden said.Biden, who was inoculated before his inauguration two months ago, said getting vaccinated let him show…

The European Union’s executive arm rolled out plans Wednesday for a green certificate to ensure COVID-19-safe travel across the 27-member grouping by June, even as the region grapples with an uptick of the pandemic and a slow vaccination rollout.EU leaders will discuss the COVID-19 travel certificate plan during a summit next week. But European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen laid out the basics of the initiative, intended to boost summertime tourism, culture and other struggling sectors.“It shows or states whether the person has either been vaccinated, or a recent negative test, or has recovered from COVID and thus antibodies," she said. "Secondly, the certificate will make sure the results ... or minimum set of data are mutually recognized in every member state.”She said the certificate would help safely reinstate…

U.S.-based pharmaceutical company Moderna has begun testing its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine in young children to determine if vaccinations should be expanded to people younger than 18 years of age.   The company will administer the vaccine to about 6,750 children in the United States and Canada between the ages of six months and 12 years old.  The doses would be given 28 days apart so researchers can monitor the side effects from the vaccine and determine its ultimate effectiveness.   The study is being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which helped Moderna in development of the vaccine. Moderna has been conducting a separate study on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness since December involving 3,000 children between the ages of 12 and 18 years old.A nurse draws a Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, in…

Researchers in Japan recently discovered that some sea slugs can regrow their bodies. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports that studying these slugs may one day help answer questions about our own health.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi    ...