NEW: Responding to my question what he says to Democrats worried about the midterms, President Obama tells me: “We got a story to tell, just got to tell it.” pic.twitter.com/eBFsi0o9rA
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) April 5, 2022
This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs, GOP Death Cult, Proud to Be A Democrat, Readership Capture
NEW: Responding to my question what he says to Democrats worried about the midterms, President Obama tells me: “We got a story to tell, just got to tell it.” pic.twitter.com/eBFsi0o9rA
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) April 5, 2022
Biden's public approval rating up three points to 45%: Reuters/Ipsos poll https://t.co/9c40oaj9zf pic.twitter.com/wcPPxTQlir
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 6, 2022
You don’t understand — Steve has a stylish ‘Roland Headley War Correspondent’ outfit all picked out!
Steven Portnoy of CBS News asks Jen Psaki why the US isn't calling for a world war against Russia at this point pic.twitter.com/NVbnGNavA9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 5, 2022
Top U.S. Senate Republican: Passing COVID aid requires border amendment https://t.co/ieCqlvpRZ8 pic.twitter.com/vWzdddn6zq
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 5, 2022
Study: States won by Trump in the 2020 election have higher murder rates than those carried by Joe Biden. The highest murder rates, the study found, are often in conservative, rural states. https://t.co/jUbtnOzsEX
— Eugene Scott (@Eugene_Scott) April 5, 2022
They agree that NATO is very accomplished, but they can’t support NATO’s legislating from the bench. https://t.co/KJfPxNygYR
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) April 5, 2022
A plausible reason for the timing of the invasion, in fact, is Kremlin concern about the closure of a window of opportunity as the damage the previous — and Republican-led — U.S. administration had done to NATO partnerships & Ukraine’s self defense was repaired.
— Greg Greene (@ggreeneva) April 5, 2022
Probably the 20th fully vaxed person who I’ve heard has tested positive in the past three days (one of whom was me).
If you are due for a booster and haven’t gotten it yet, do it. https://t.co/065oUl6ntB
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) April 6, 2022
One needs only see Putin cite cancel culture as a justification for invading Europe while a Supreme Court justice hides his wife's involvement in a coup driven by a belief in extradimensional lizard currency to know this is an astute observation by the President. https://t.co/hXXW3fxHXN
— zeddy (@Zeddary) April 4, 2022
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs
Biden launches U.S. plan to help Americans struggling with long COVID https://t.co/YIKQtt4oXc pic.twitter.com/TOUCJaLYRh
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 5, 2022
President Joe Biden on Tuesday tasked the U.S. health department with developing a national action plan to tackle the looming health crisis of long COVID, a complex, multi-symptom condition that leaves many of its sufferers unable to work.
Long COVID, which arises months after a COVID-19 infection, affects nearly 7% of all U.S. adults and 2.3% of the overall population and has cost an estimated $386 billion in lost wages, savings and medical bills, according to an analysis by the Solve Long Covid Initiative, a non-profit research and advocacy group…
The plan will expand research, care and disability services for people suffering from the condition, the White House said. Becerra will release the jointly developed National Research Action Plan within 120 days, Biden said in a presidential memorandum.
It addresses some concerns raised by patient advocacy groups, which have criticized the slow speed of the National Institutes of Health’s $1.15 billion RECOVER research program, and aims to accelerate the enrollment of 40,000 people with and without long COVID.
Under the new plan, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will invest $20 million next year to investigate how healthcare systems can best help those with long COVID, mentor primary care practices, and develop multi-specialty clinics across the country…
The plan also aims to translate its findings into actionable disability policies with the Social Security Administration, and work with the Department of Labor on helping affected workers who are deciding if they are able to return to their jobs.
eh, it's just widespread disability and deathhttps://t.co/eUjgQTwbLs
— Karl Bode (@KarlBode) April 5, 2022
Read the whole thing — it’s not very long!
The U.S. literally stopped tracking the pandemic (or maintaining even baseline safety precautions) because it was to politically, economically, and personally inconvenient to give a fuck pic.twitter.com/wHg1QXKV4b
— Karl Bode (@KarlBode) April 5, 2022
The CDC's director, Rochelle Walensky says she "really would encourage" 2nd boosters for older people & those w/ chronic conditions. Her suggestions are her clearest to date on who should get a 4th shot: People over 50 w/ chronic disorders & anyone 65 & up https://t.co/GHOF6YR5Gr
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 6, 2022
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Countries around the world should provide $15 billion in grants this year and $10 billion a year thereafter to manage the long-term risks of COVID-19, the International Monetary Fund said in a new staff paper released on Tuesday. https://t.co/nKPhCc1e1A
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) April 5, 2022
… The global alliance did not exercise the option for 166 million doses of the shot for the third quarter of 2022, as well for 166 million doses in the fourth quarter, which expired on April 1, a Moderna spokesperson said.
COVAX, which is backed by Gavi, the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, is struggling to place more than 300 million doses, Reuters reported in February.
Moderna and Gavi have agreements for up to 650 million doses of the company’s vaccine to be made available to COVAX participants through 2021 and 2022…
COVAX has picked up pace of supplies after struggling to acquire shots last year, delivering about 1.40 billion doses to 144 countries as of April 1.
As supply and donations ramped up, some poorer nations are, however, facing hurdles such as gaps in cold-chain shortage, vaccine hesitancy and a lack of funds to support distribution networks.
“We are in conversations with manufacturers … to align with magnitude and timing of country needs,” the Gavi spokesperson said.
The colour-coded Covid app that’s become part of life in China https://t.co/WAGfZglAuJ
— South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews) April 5, 2022
As the pandemic enters its third year, China is trying to put more emphasis on targeted responses to cases in its pursuit of zero-Covid, as it seeks to limit the economic and social costs of mass testing and sweeping lockdowns.
To do this, accurate contact tracing and risk prediction is needed. And that relies on people voluntarily reporting their whereabouts, as well as on big data – mainly from the “health code” mobile app that is used across mainland China.
Some have raised privacy concerns over the system – which is now required for entry nearly everywhere in China – and questioned whether there is a sufficient legal framework for it…
Now, provinces, regions and municipalities all have their own versions that can be downloaded via popular platforms WeChat and Alipay. (Alipay is run by Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, which also owns the South China Morning Post.)
They require real-name registration and generate a colour code – green, yellow or red – that indicates the person’s Covid-19 risk level.
When your code is green, it means you have not been exposed to any potential cases or been to any risky areas, and you can travel, dine and work as usual. Yellow and red codes result in restrictions such as not being allowed into restaurants, coffee shops, public transport or hotels, and not being able to leave the city…
The elderly woman slouched in a chair in Shanghai's cool spring weather as her three companions squabbled with police and others clad in white biohazard suits, the only people visible on a street emptied by the COVID-19 lockdown. https://t.co/6oPmwOJn7q
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) April 6, 2022
… “She has had a fever for a few days now!” exclaimed one, gesturing to the woman. The people in the hazmat suits stood at least three metres away.
About an hour later, one of her male companions fed the woman the contents of a medicine sachet provided by the suited workers. A close-up photo showed it was Lianhua Qingwen, a traditional Chinese remedy that China recommends for treating COVID-19. Reuters was not able to obtain the name of the woman or her companions, or verify details, given lockdown curbs.
A man surnamed Zhang, who works at the property management office of the building that housed the local neighbourhood committee – from which the woman was trying to seek help – said she had self-tested positive but had not gotten her official test results back. As a result, it was unclear what care she could get.
The episode on Tuesday, which Reuters witnessed and which lasted more than two hours, is a snapshot of life in China’s most populous but now largely silent city, which has put draconian lockdown curbs on its residents in a bid to stamp out its monthlong COVID outbreak…
China does not allow home quarantine, but some Shanghai residents have said that authorities have taken days to transport COVID-positive people, stoking anxiety and confusion. Poor access to essential medical treatment and difficulties in ordering food have also been common gripes.
Most have turned to Chinese social media platforms to voice their complaints, as the majority are not allowed to even leave their homes.
On the street in Shanghai, the woman and her companions eventually gave up trying to seek help there. One of her male companions got a scooter and after helping her on, drove away with her riding pillion.
Shanghai will ask all 26 million residents to take another round of COVID-19 tests, a city official said on Wednesday, adding that lockdown curbs would continue until the exercise is complete. https://t.co/moxAx5l73n
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) April 6, 2022
Traditional wooden coffins are running short in Hong Kong as authorities scramble to add mortuary space in the global financial hub's battle on COVID, which is swamping funeral parlors https://t.co/f0rNiufo6Z pic.twitter.com/Ts7481mGKX
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 6, 2022
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COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday / Wednesday, April 5-6Post + Comments (43)
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs
The Senate strikes a deal to provide $10 billion for Covid funding after Democrats dropped a last-minute attempt to include global vaccination funds in the bill https://t.co/TIx1NGSmsI via @bpolitics @Alexruoff
— Erik Wasson (@elwasson) April 4, 2022
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration‘s expert advisers will discuss the timing of additional COVID-19 vaccine boosters and the people eligible for the extra shots in a meeting later this week, the health agency said on Monday.
The independent advisers will also discuss at the April 6 meeting the FDA’s role in how future versions of COVID vaccines are created to help fight new variants.
It could be similar to the current process of selecting the composition of the seasonal flu shot, where regulators pick the strain to use for the coming year’s vaccines, FDA staff said in briefing documents ahead of the meeting…
“The greatest concern many of us have is the acceptability of continuing boosters,” Schaffner said.
The FDA’s staff said on Monday that new variants are often more infectious, transmissible and distinct from earlier virus strains.
“The accumulating data suggest that the composition of vaccines may need to be updated at some point to ensure the high level of efficacy demonstrated in the early vaccine clinical trials,” FDA staff said in briefing documents ahead of the April 6 meeting.
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China's population is not fully vaccinated, has only been exposed to the now-extinct 2019 Wuhan strain of #SARSCoV2 and got a vax that is useless against #Omicron .
So this is very worrying. pic.twitter.com/pTvPwLLuSa— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) April 4, 2022
"The city, which is grappling with a record number of daily Covid cases, has become the biggest — and potentially costliest — example of China's insistence on adhering to its strict elimination strategy" | Analysis https://t.co/YZtNBLB7cG
— CNN (@CNN) April 4, 2022
Thousands of healthcare workers arrive in Shanghai to carry out mass COVID testing of the city’s 26 million residents. Some residents were awoken before dawn by hammering on their front doors to be swabbed for the virus https://t.co/9NPtB1zix5 pic.twitter.com/JTgrAwqXXw
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 4, 2022
… [M]ismanagement of lockdowns and other restrictions have led to growing discontent and confusion across the city. Social media posts expressing anger, desperation and frustration have flooded the Chinese internet. Residents have been unable to get help for life-threatening situations through official channels. Patients could not secure their regular medical assistance. Infected parents have been separated from their toddlers. And residents locked indoors scrambled to find essential supplies.
Many have wondered why infected residents must go to isolation centers instead of isolating at home. Ms. Sun’s instructions offered little hope that Covid policies in the city would relax anytime soon. Instead she called for officials to do a better job meeting residents’ basic needs even under lockdowns.
“It is an arduous task and huge challenge to combat the Omicron variant while maintaining the normal operation of core functions in a megacity,” she said.
With Shanghai being a critical economic and industrial hub, Ms. Sun stressed the strict implementation for factory bubbles for key industries, a “closed loop” system that is similar to the one used during the recent Olympic Games, to ensure their normal operations and the stability of supply and industrial chain.
Shanghai’s health commission on Sunday reported 8,226 confirmed new cases, of which 7,788 were asymptomatic. The city has seen a tenfold increase in daily new cases, from just 758 cases two weeks ago. Over 30,000 cases were identified in the last month.
On Sunday, the city stepped up its testing efforts by ordering all citizens to conduct their own rapid tests before the city carried out another round of mass P.C.R. testing the next day…
Hungry residents in Shanghai break out of their compound to go food shopping. I'm seeing more and more chaotic and disorderly videos like this every day. pic.twitter.com/EvCcyK6U2d
— Cameron Wilson ??? (@CameronWEF) April 3, 2022
Shanghai is traumatising itself. https://t.co/qhAtsJYQzY
— Drew Thompson 唐安竹 (@TangAnZhu) April 5, 2022
Smart #pandemic governance: #Bangladesh ??takes advantage of a lull in new #COVID19 cases to #vaccinate 12 million people in 3 days, using #vaccines donated by the USA?? to #COVAX . @gavi https://t.co/KfeoINDwDF
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) April 4, 2022
Hello Canada! I know that many of us have moved into the what pandemic? phase of the pandemic. Less testing. Fewer (if any) precautions.
Unfortunately for us, pandemics aren’t impacted by whether people care about them or not. https://t.co/LYAIqU4P8g
— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) April 4, 2022
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In the lab: New study is uncovering why #LongCovid causes pain. Some people w/ LongCovid have various forms of pain. Mt. Sinai study in NYC. Team found infection leaves a gene expression signature in the dorsal root ganglia even after the virus clears https://t.co/URaBPswQu7
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 4, 2022
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… Since the pandemic started, experts have warned of a mental health crisis facing American children. That is now playing out at schools in the form of increased childhood depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, fights and thoughts of suicide at alarming levels, according to interviews with teachers, administrators, education officials and mental health experts.
In low-income areas, where adverse childhood experiences were high before the pandemic, the crisis is even more acute and compounded by a shortage of school staff and mental health professionals.
Luna-Herrera, who teaches in a high poverty area of the Mojave Desert, is among a small but growing number of California teachers to take a course called Youth Mental Health First Aid. It teaches adults how to spot warning signs of mental health risks and substance abuse in children, and how to prevent a tragedy.
The California Department of Education funds the program for any school district requesting it, and the pandemic has accelerated moves to make such courses a requirement. The training program is operated by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and available in every state.
“I don’t want to read about another teenager where there were warning signs and we looked the other way,” said Sen. Anthony Portantino, author of a bill that would require all California middle and high schools to train at least 75% of employees in behavioral health. “Teachers and school staff are on the front lines of a crisis, and need to be trained to spot students who are suffering.”…
the cynicism and irresponsibility of people who rode the horse paste train for subscribers and clout only to quietly abandon it when it turned out to be total bullshit is really breathtaking https://t.co/QRYi5Z21mE pic.twitter.com/3Auf35BRmS
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper) April 4, 2022
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday / Tuesday, April 4-5Post + Comments (21)
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs
As the average number of known U.S. coronavirus cases has remained low, some states are seeing infections rise. New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts & Connecticut have seen cases jump by more than 40% over the latest 14-day period as of Saturday https://t.co/C0G9AludGM pic.twitter.com/JI9eEicd5f
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 3, 2022
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China sends more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. https://t.co/sHKmhcEOee
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 4, 2022
In a model which Shanghai could follow, Jilin City is designating some housing compounds as "infection free" if they have no cases or close contacts of cases for two weeks. Residents allowed to go outside for walks, and can leave the compound for "essential" reasons
— Tom Hancock (@hancocktom) April 3, 2022
Western diplomats have expressed concern about separating children from their parents as part of COVID curbs – a situation that has arisen in Shanghai as the government tries to stamp out the spread of the virus…
Diplomats from more than 30 countries have written to the Chinese foreign ministry urging authorities not to take such a step.
“We request that under no circumstances should parents and children be separated,” said a letter written by the French consulate in Shanghai that was addressed to the foreign affairs office of Shanghai on March 31.
In a separate letter to the Chinese foreign ministry dated the same day, the British embassy in Beijing said it was concerned by “recent instances when local authorities have sought to separate minors who tested positive for COVID-19 from their parents” and requested assurances that this would not happen to diplomatic staff…
Currently, asymptomatic cases are sent to centralised quarantine centres, some of which have been described as unsanitary and overcrowded.
The British embassy said there were concerns over the conditions and lack of privacy in recently deployed mobile hospital facilities, adding that isolating in diplomatic housing was a “preferable solution and consistent with our Vienna Convention privileges,” in the letter seen by Reuters and verified by two sources…
A U.S. embassy spokesperson declined to comment on Heller’s remarks but said that the way embassy staff were treated in the COVID pandemic was “job one” and that the embassy was engaging on COVID-related policy with the Chinese government.
Other countries, such as Norway, Switzerland and New Zealand, which were mentioned in the letters, did not respond to requests for comment…
On Monday, Shanghai official Wu Qianyu told a news conference that children could be accompanied by their parents if the parents were also infected, but separated if they were not, adding that policies were still being refined…
Shanghai Port operations hit by city’s Covid surge https://t.co/bSqZEWN6B9
— South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews) April 3, 2022
Shanghai’s coronavirus lockdown and the surge in cases has hit operations at the world’s largest container port by disrupting the logistical chain on land, according to industry insiders.
Shanghai Port, a major export gateway for goods produced in the nearby manufacturing hubs of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, has so far stayed in operation 24 hours a day inside a “closed loop” bubble, which requires workers to stay on site all the time…
“Even with the world’s largest port open, the closure of many warehouses, the drop in manufacturing and the serious disruption to trucking in, out and within the city are expected to cause a significant drop in the availability of goods and port output,” said Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, an online freight marketplace…
Shanghai’s current virus controls mean truck drivers entering or leaving the city have to present a negative nucleic acid test taken within the last 48 hours.
But the soaring number of cases in the city has restricted testing capacity, and many drivers from neighbouring provinces are reluctant to enter Shanghai because of the risk of having to quarantine on their return, according to a report from Caixin…
“Destination ports in the US and Europe could expect some lull in volumes in the coming weeks followed by an increase that would be another challenge to already congested ports,” Levine said.
Hong Kong health authorities reported 3,709 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, down from 4,475 the previous day, and 111 deaths as infections in the global financial hub continue to drop. https://t.co/56Hj9JxS21
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) April 3, 2022
Covid-19: Mass rapid testing could find thousands of cases if results are reported, Hong Kong health experts say https://t.co/sTW2G4vtFP pic.twitter.com/KbRhdzDHzu
— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) April 4, 2022
We have heavily relied on the UK for guidance throughout the pandemic. Now what?
"But Britain remained the exemplar in not only sequencing viral genomes, but combining that information with medical records and epidemiology to make sense of the variants."https://t.co/wySCjpOT5E pic.twitter.com/xyrqHijtOR— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) April 3, 2022
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Chinese vaccine developer CanSino Biologics Inc (CanSinoBIO) said on Monday its potential COVID-19 vaccine using the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology has been approved by China's medical products regulator to enter clinical trials. https://t.co/oXDmbvgNoU
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) April 4, 2022
#LongCovid is accelerating a revolution in medical research and @dianaberrent is in the vanguard of advocates partnering with researchers to find answers about the disparate conditions that fall under the rubric: long covid https://t.co/9todGbhRD7
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 4, 2022
German & Austrian deer thus far have been spared SARSCoV2 infections, unlike U.S. deer. In the U.S., deer are considered SARS2 reservoirs, meaning SARS2 may spill back to humans. Extensive tests in Germany & Austria show deer so far are coronavirus free https://t.co/Sy0odDkYYn
— delthia ricks ?? (@DelthiaRicks) April 2, 2022
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U.S. nursing home deaths appear to be at a pandemic low. ~67 residents died during the week ending March 27. While that number may change in the coming weeks, it mirrors lows reached in June 2021 before facilities were hit by the #Delta & #Omicron variants https://t.co/wqdMGq8RrT pic.twitter.com/Yoy4CqJlw5
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 4, 2022
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Sunday / Monday, April 3-4Post + Comments (17)
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs
If *this* doesn’t convince doubters of the vaccines’ safety, well…
A German man is under investigation after authorities discovered he’d received the coronavirus vaccine at least 87 times, the Freie Presse newspaper reported on Friday.
The report comes as Germany battles a wave of COVID-19 infections and struggles to raise its vaccination rates compared to other western European countries.
According to information attained by the Frei Presse paper, the 61-year-old man visited several vaccination centers in the eastern German states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
The man is believed to have gotten the jab up to three times a day at different jab sites — logging 87 coronavirus vaccinations in the state of Saxony alone.
A staff member at a center in the city of Dresden grew suspicious when he recognized the man, a spokesman for the German Red Cross, Kai Kranich, told the paper.
The next time he entered a vaccination center in the town of Eilenburg, outside of Leipzig, staff called the police and he was detained.
The German Red Cross pressed charges against the man on suspicion of his involvement in selling vaccination passports. Criminal investigations are currently ongoing in the state of Saxony, with authorities in other German states also investigating the man…
In Germany, over 75% of the eligible population are fully vaccinated, while around 58% have received a booster shot. The numbers are especially lagging in eastern German states, where the fully vaccinated rate lies at 64.5% in Saxony.
Germany’s vaccination rate is far behind its western European neighbors, with Spain logging 85% fully vaccinated and Portugal reporting a rate of over 91%.
What will the US Omicron BA.2 wave look like?
Follow the log-plot of NY and MA, the bellwether states where it is already >80% of new cases. They are starting at < 1/3rd of case burden cf their BA.1 wave
It's too early to know the magnitude, but likely much less than BA.1 peak /1 pic.twitter.com/qgUkM3zvBg— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) April 2, 2022
But you won't get any insight from a linear graph /2 pic.twitter.com/s0jN7l6NAE
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) April 2, 2022
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China’s transport ministry expects a 20% drop in road traffic and a 55% fall in flights during the three-day Qingming holiday due to a flare-up of COVID-19 cases in the country.
More than 27 Chinese provinces and regions have recently reported coronavirus cases, mostly the highly transmissible Omicron variant, forcing the authorities to impose stringent mobility restrictions or even city-wide lockdowns.
Chinese typically travel back to their home towns to worship their ancestors during the tomb-sweeping festival…
China on Sunday reported a total of 13,287 new daily cases for April 2, the highest level since February 2020.
The country’s “dynamic clearance” COVID policy has dampened consumption of transportation fuels in China. The two-stage lockdown in financial hub of Shanghai, starting from March 28, could reduce fuel demand by 200,000 barrels per day.
Authorities across China have also implemented anti-COVID measures at entertainment sites during the Qingming holiday, including limiting the number of tourists and requesting for negative nucleic testing results from inter-provincial travellers.
… Unlike other countries, which made jabbing the elderly and other vulnerable people a priority, China focused on its overall vaccination rate. It stands at nearly 88%. But only about half of over-80s have been fully vaccinated (see chart). Less than a fifth have received a booster shot. Some 52m people over the age of 60 have not received two jabs. In official statements, the government sounds alarmed. Its efforts to jab mature folk face big obstacles, though.
Start with the fact that many old people think covid vaccines might be dangerous. When they were rolled out in late 2020, the state only approved shots for healthy people under 60. It cited a lack of clinical-trial data for elderly and vulnerable populations. Many old people assumed that the vaccines could harm them. Some health workers did, too. “The first impression is really critical,” says Chen Zhengming, an epidemiologist at the University of Oxford. “Once you have formed your opinion it’s really difficult to change, it requires ten times more effort.”
Since then, the messaging surrounding covid vaccines has not helped. Jingoistic state media have criticised effective foreign-made jabs, which have not been authorised in China for seemingly political reasons. This has probably increased suspicion of Chinese vaccines, too, says Huang Yanzhong of the Council on Foreign Relations, a think-tank in America. Even though the Chinese kind have now been declared safe for old folk, some health workers still tell elderly patients with certain conditions, such as high blood pressure, not to get jabbed. That makes little sense, says Mr Huang. “Even if you’re concerned about side effects, when you weigh that against the risk of getting infected and dying, it’s a no-brainer.”
But the risk of getting infected with covid and dying is, for now, very low in China—and that makes the government’s job tougher. At least until recently, the state’s zero-covid policies have been effective. Many cities have never logged a case. Most old people have hardly been exposed to the virus, and have little fear of it as a result…
Shanghai asks entire city to self-test for COVID as frustration grows https://t.co/yjYkJ2slkP pic.twitter.com/H2tWeIIhwZ
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 3, 2022
A recent rise in Taiwan’s domestic COVID-19 cases will not affect plans to gradually re-open as hardly any of the new infections have caused serious illness, Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Sunday.
Unlike large parts of the rest of the world, Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control due to strict and early control measures, including an efficient contact and tracing system and largely closing its borders.
In the first quarter of this year Taiwan reported 1,266 domestic cases, and only one death, though the government has been on alert as infections spiked over the past week or so, while remaining at comparatively low numbers, with 183 new cases on Sunday…
Taiwan has maintained mandatory mask wearing, including while people are outside, and almost 80% of the population have had two vaccine shots while more than 50% have had three.
Taiwan is gradually relaxing quarantine rules for all arrivals on the island, In March, the government lowered the amount of time to be spent in isolation from 14 days to 10, and hopes to reduce it further in the months ahead.
However, Taiwan has not re-opened to most foreign visitors, generally limiting those who can come in to citizens and residents.
Taiwan has reported only around 24,000 COVID cases since the pandemic began and 853 deaths.
The world’s largest Muslim-majority nation of Indonesia welcomed the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan with a mass prayer at Jakarta’s grand mosque on Saturday, with plateauing coronavirus cases allowing for eased restrictions this year.
Thousands gathered after dusk at Istiqlal mosque in the Indonesian capital to join the Tarawih prayer, special prayers performed only during the month of Ramadan, donning masks and using check-in apps to take part in the event.
For the past two years Indonesia has grappled with one of the highest rates of COVID-19 in Asia, but this Ramadan, traditionally a time of community, reflection and prayer, cases have eased enough to allow for mass gatherings…
Amid the worst spikes in the coronavirus pandemic, Indonesian Muslims have been prohibited from praying at the mosque, and joining the annual mudik or exodus tradition, when millions travel to visit their families across the sprawling archipelago.
President Joko Widodo announced last week that mudik would be permitted this year after pandemic-related travel bans have prevented the practise for the past two years.
“The improving COVID situation has brought optimism as the Ramadan holy month is upon us,” he told a news conference…
The good news is that the BA.2 wave, with few exceptions, is on the wane in Western Europe@OurWorldInData pic.twitter.com/wf755M5dLe
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) April 2, 2022
Perfect. On the same day the bulk of free Covid tests in England are withdrawn, we learn infections have reached their highest *ever* level, with nearly 5 million people in the UK infected.
The sheer reckless stupidity of this government is breathtaking. https://t.co/4i8kCJwLiR
— Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) April 1, 2022
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Data scientists are rolling out new analyses on Covid vaccine shipments & vaccine waste across the United States. The goal is to spur ways to improve vaccination efforts in the future & avoid trashing batches of vaccines https://t.co/XCJguBzx2O pic.twitter.com/POY3SORmh2
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 2, 2022
Should we be recycling Covid tests? https://t.co/jeH6AR88IK pic.twitter.com/R8v6YVFV7n
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 2, 2022
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Free Covid tests are ending for uninsured Americans https://t.co/ni1Nd6bAZT via @ABC
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 3, 2022
I think it was always obvious why Florida had big COVID death rates despite what appeared to be decent vaccination rates (despite DeSantis's anti-vaxxism), but here's confirmation: https://t.co/GTE1obVQua
— Scott Lemieux (@LemieuxLGM) April 3, 2022
— Charles Gaba ?? (@charles_gaba) April 3, 2022
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Saturday / Sunday, April 2-3Post + Comments (32)
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs
For now, it's good news on the USA #COVID19 front.
But avoid complacency https://t.co/ncJyrrdwOH— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) April 1, 2022
The U.S. will end a sweeping, pandemic-related expulsion policy that has effectively closed down the asylum system at the border with Mexico. The Title 42 order will remain in effect until May 23 to allow officials time to prepare for its termination https://t.co/EcDgM4j4DQ pic.twitter.com/7tuD4qYuYP
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 2, 2022
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I've seen this trend repeatedly in Chinese public reacting to public disasters and public health events: WeChat groups and shared docs have become the go-to tech tools for people to share information and pool resources. @jx_leee and my latest: https://t.co/XKer1IsAF9
— Yaling Jiang (@yaling_jiang) April 1, 2022
Because this worked *so* well in Hong Kong…
Shanghai separates COVID-positive children from parents in virus fight https://t.co/mzpeuY9gN8 pic.twitter.com/oh7UjoM9BS
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 2, 2022
‘Data compliance lawyer in Mainland China’–
Hong Kong recorded 4,475 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday. The city also added 116 deaths, including 17 backlogged cases.
Full, trusted coverage on HKFP: https://t.co/w8LTgNxKZy pic.twitter.com/Ws5MOgDYi1
— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) April 2, 2022
Hong Kong authorities are asking the entire population of more than 7.4 million to voluntarily test themselves for COVID-19 for three days in a row starting next week. https://t.co/EidNzESajg
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 2, 2022
Wow. I hadn’t appreciated quite how high current UK Covid infection levels are among the elderly.
Not just a record-high, but *more than double* the January peak.
Thankfully vaccines still doing a great job at protecting against severe disease, but still that’s quite something. pic.twitter.com/d5MZajDZlo
— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) April 1, 2022
The good news is, the rate of increase in infections is now slowing in almost all areas of the UK ?, and considering the ONS lags a few days behind, that may now be the case everywhere. pic.twitter.com/crJCGqWzIQ
— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) April 1, 2022
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The world's first "human challenge" trial in which volunteers were deliberately exposed to the coronavirus has found that symptoms had no effect on how likely an infected person is to pass the disease on to others. https://t.co/lFsPPAH5sb
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) April 1, 2022
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Still require the two-shot basic vaxx, though:
… The social media company previously said that all workers returning to the office would have to present proof of their booster jabs, while the company monitored the Omicron variant situation. read more
“We updated our requirements in early March to align with CDC guidance, and now COVID-19 boosters are no longer required for entry, though strongly recommended. The primary vaccination requirement (1- or 2-shot series) remains in place,” said Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton.
Study: When white Americans heard about COVID hitting people of color harder, a lot of them mentally peaced out. This is ugly. https://t.co/AZnRJPQdMS pic.twitter.com/MHGDIlCWv8
— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) March 30, 2022
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday / Saturday, April 1-2Post + Comments (23)
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs
Key Senate lawmakers said they had agreed on a framework to continue funding coronavirus vaccines, antiviral treatments and other supplies for Americans, but that would drastically cut plans to help vaccinate millions of people around the world. https://t.co/k2RRQww4ae
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 31, 2022
‘Key lawmakers’ — Republicans, Manchin, Democrats. Once again, the GOP Death Cult will be responsible for death on a global scale, but ‘Congress’, aka Democrats, will bear the blame. And we’ll take the deal, because the alternative is worse!
… “We’ve reached an agreement in principle on all the spending and all of the offsets,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who has led negotiations for Republicans after they balked at the need for $15 billion in new funds, and House Democrats raised concerns about a planned compromise.
If passed in its current form, the $10 billion deal would represent a significant disappointment for the White House, which had publicly campaigned for at least $22 billion in new funds and would probably be forced to scale back elements of its planned response. But lawmakers are facing a rapidly approaching deadline, with Congress soon taking a two-week break, and administration officials warning that they are effectively out of cash for urgent coronavirus needs. The federal government has already begun to wind down a program to cover the costs of health-care providers that give coronavirus tests, treatments and vaccinations to uninsured Americans, an initiative that officials said has cost about $2 billion per month.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told The Washington Post he was “optimistic” a final deal would be reached, a stance echoed by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) in remarks on the Senate floor…
About half of the money would go for covid therapeutics, while the other half would be at the “discretion” of the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) told reporters. A Republican aide said that $750 million was being eyed for research and development of new vaccines and treatments.
Several GOP lawmakers said about $1 billion in funding would be set aside to support global vaccinations — down from the White House’s $5 billion request for global aid. But that number appeared to be in flux, with several Democrats on Thursday arguing for considerably more and lawmakers acknowledging that they were still negotiating…
For weeks, the White House has publicly sought more than $22 billion for the response, although Biden officials in early January had privately concluded that they needed as much as $80 billion in additional covid aid for vaccines, therapeutics and other supplies.
By early March, congressional leaders had settled on about $15.6 billion and sought to attach that to a broader package to fund the government, an effort to ensure passage of the coronavirus aid…
He's absolutely righthttps://t.co/Ai3ngEmpA3 @GawandeUSAID @PostOpinions
"The virus is not waiting on Congress to negotiate; it is infecting people and mutating as we speak." pic.twitter.com/ao00YwBZEr— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) March 31, 2022
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BEIJING, April 1 (Reuters) – In China’s southern Guangdong province, a teacher was told by her school that she must somehow find four unvaccinated individuals aged 60 or older and get them to take COVID shots to help boost the district’s elderly inoculation rate.
Otherwise, her performance review would be affected…
Because some other individuals in her district had been given similar tasks by their employers, Sherry said she had to offer cash incentives from her own pocket to beat the competition to win over the elderly. She said she had spent nearly 1,000 yuan ($158) in total on two people she managed to get vaccinated.
In the past month, the Omicron variant has dragged the world’s most populous nation into its biggest COVID outbreak since it contained the 2020 Wuhan epidemic, even though the numbers are modest by international standards.
There were over 38,000 local symptomatic cases in March, more than four times the number of infections in the whole of 2021. That number did not include those without symptoms, which China classifies separately.
Nevertheless, China is maintaining a policy of curbing transmissions as soon as they emerge and considers its elderly as a weak link, given their low vaccination rates.
Out of the 264 million people aged over 60, about 20%, had not completed their primary vaccination as of March 25. By comparison, the complete vaccination rate for the 1.41 billion population is around 88%…
China is worried about what happened in Hong Kong, where most deaths in its recent COVID outbreak were the elderly. Beijing has said the flare-up in the former British colony is a lesson the mainland should learn from.
Many grassroots leaders have dispatched people to knock on doors to pitch the idea of vaccination to the elderly, keep a record of those yet unvaccinated and their reasons for being so, hold conversations with them to allay concerns about vaccines, and rigorously update how many doses they are short of targets…
About 16 million residents in Shanghai are being tested for the coronavirus as a staged lockdown shifts to the western half of China’s biggest city and financial capital. https://t.co/NzbxwodhwL
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 1, 2022
The BA.2 variant situation in Shanghai is deteriorating with unreported deaths
"Orderlies, nurses and doctors, we're all infected"https://t.co/2jfWOsZENv @xinwenfan— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) April 1, 2022
‘Bloomberg News in China / President, Shanghai Foreign Correspondents Club’:
Per @SCMPNews on #Coronavirus #HongKong "#Omicron causes 7 Xs more deaths among hospitalized children than #influenza ."
• 15% of children hospitalized w/#Omicron BA.2 had neurological complications
• 0.35% fatality ratehttps://t.co/8L6SVIIMGs— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) March 31, 2022
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Analysis: Governments want COVID vaccine developers to aim higher in hunt for better shots https://t.co/smwFEp8guz
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) March 31, 2022
Diabetes risk rises after Covid, according to a massive study. Even mild SARSCoV2 infections can amplify a person’s chance of developing diabetes, especially for those already susceptible to the disease https://t.co/uTvtFVAsxd
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 31, 2022
Should I get a 2nd booster?
A much more difficult decision than the 1st booster.
Review of the data and my recommendationshttps://t.co/Ni6O3Dux8L pic.twitter.com/uXr8Zs2RRQ— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) March 31, 2022
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The high rate of coronavirus infection, hospitalization and death among Black Americans has prompted concern over what will likely be the next crisis: a prevalence of long COVID-19 in the Black community. https://t.co/QHSRRGdE3b
— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) March 30, 2022
And yet the conspiracists are *not* going away anytime soon…
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, March 31 – April 1Post + Comments (20)