Year: 2021

Scientists are warning that a variant of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Brazil could reinfect people already recovering from COVID-19.  The P.1 variant has spread to more than 20 countries since it was first detected last November in the Amazonian region city of…

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday “now is not the time” to lift COVID-19 restrictions, one day after the governor of Texas announced the southern U.S. state was “100 percent open.”  At a virtual news briefing for…

The World Health Organization says one in 10 people worldwide is expected to suffer from hearing loss by 2050. But in the United States, health officials say around 20 percent of America’s adult population is already experiencing some level of hearing loss and the coronavirus…

Scientists are warning that a variant of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Brazil could reinfect people already recovering from COVID-19.  The P.1 variant has spread to more than 20 countries since it was first detected last November in the Amazonian region city of…

To mark World Hearing Day, the World Health Organization is calling for action to stem the epidemic of hearing loss, which currently affects 1.5 billion people globally.  A roadmap for action is contained in WHO’s first World Report on Hearing.     WHO officials warn nearly 2.5 billion…

It's the sort of chance that comes along just once in a blue Moon: a Japanese billionaire is throwing open a private lunar expedition to eight people from around the world. Yusaku Maezawa, an online fashion tycoon, was announced in 2018 as the first man to book…

Merck will help its pharmaceutical competitor Johnson & Johnson make the single-shot coronavirus vaccine. That was announced on Tuesday by President Joe Biden.VOA’s White House bureau chief Steve Herman was in the room when the president also said he wants every American educator to receive…

Texas is lifting its mask mandate, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday, making it the largest state to no longer require one of the most effective ways to slow the spread of the coronavirus.The announcement in Texas, where the virus has killed more than 42,000 people,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Spacewalking astronauts ventured out Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year.NASA's Kate Rubins and Victor Glover put the first set of mounting brackets and struts together, then bolted them into place next to…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally authorized the use of the Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine Saturday, clearing the way for shots to go into arms as early as Monday.The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 85% effective against serious illness, hospitalization and death from…

The U.S. moved a step closer Friday to having another vaccine in its coronavirus arsenal, after an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously endorsed Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose COVID vaccine.Formal authorization for the vaccine could come in the next few days. The…

U.S. health advisers endorsed a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson on Friday, putting the nation on the cusp of adding an easier-to-use option to fight the pandemic. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to quickly follow the recommendation and make Johnson & Johnson's…

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday her government is supporting a new project using drones designed to monitor and protect the Maui dolphin, one of the world's rarest marine mammals.  Maui dolphins are found only in a small stretch of ocean off the…

International crime fighting agencies say organized crime groups have all the networks and methods needed to smuggle falsified, substandard and stolen COVID-19 vaccines across Africa.     Interpol crime intelligence analyst John-Patrick Broome said, as is the case in the rest of the continent, criminal…

The World Health Organization on Friday said there is low risk of human-to-human spread of the H5N8 strain of bird flu, after a case of the virus being transmitted to people was recorded Feb. 20 in Russia.     The WHO statement comes after seven…