WEATHER ALERT
Macron and African leaders push for vaccines for Africa after COVID-19 exposed inequalities
Read full article: Macron and African leaders push for vaccines for Africa after COVID-19 exposed inequalitiesFrench President Emmanuel Macron has joined African leaders to kick off a planned $1 billion project to accelerate the rollout of vaccines in Africa.
Internal documents show the World Health Organization paid sexual abuse victims in Congo $250 each
Read full article: Internal documents show the World Health Organization paid sexual abuse victims in Congo $250 eachInternal documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the World Health Organization has paid $250 each to at least 104 women in Congo who say they were sexually abused or exploited by Ebola outbreak responders.
African officials: Monkeypox spread is already an emergency
Read full article: African officials: Monkeypox spread is already an emergencyHealth authorities in Africa say they are treating the expanding monkeypox outbreak here as an emergency and call on rich countries to share the world's limited supply of vaccines.
Nobel body criticizes Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy over war
Read full article: Nobel body criticizes Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy over warThe Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the prestigious Peace Prize, has issued a very rare admonition to the 2019 winner, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, over the war and humanitarian crisis in his countryโs Tigray region.
Africa battles new COVID-19 wave hitting faster and harder
Read full article: Africa battles new COVID-19 wave hitting faster and harderAfrica is facing a devastating resurgence of COVID-19 infections whose peak will surpass that of earlier waves as the continentโs countries struggle to vaccinate even a small percentage of the population.
IOC VP: Tokyo Olympics go ahead even if state of emergency
Read full article: IOC VP: Tokyo Olympics go ahead even if state of emergencyThe IOC vice president in charge of the Tokyo Olympics says the games will open in just over two months even if the city and other parts of Japan are under a state of emergency because of rising COVID-19 cases.
Countries urge drug companies to share vaccine know-how
Read full article: Countries urge drug companies to share vaccine know-howBut that knowledge belongs to the large pharmaceutical companies who have produced the first three vaccines authorized by countries including Britain, the European Union and the U.S. โ Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. AdThe deal-by-deal approach also means that some poorer countries end up paying more for the same vaccine than richer countries. AstraZeneca said the price of the vaccine will differ depending on local production costs and how much countries order. Pharmaceutical companies say instead of lifting IP restrictions, rich countries should simply give more vaccines to poorer countries through COVAX, the public-private initiative WHO helped create for more equitable vaccine distribution. โPeople are literally dying because we cannot agree on intellectual property rights,โ said Mustaqeem De Gama, a South African diplomat involved in the WTO discussions.
EXPLAINER: Scientists trying to understand new virus variant
Read full article: EXPLAINER: Scientists trying to understand new virus variantScientists say there is reason for concern and more to learn but that the new variants should not cause alarm. Worry has been growing since before Christmas, when Britainโs prime minister said the coronavirus variant seemed to spread more easily than earlier ones and was moving rapidly through England. A: New variants have been seen almost since the virus was first detected in China nearly a year ago. Scientists are still working to confirm whether the variant in England spreads more easily, but they are finding some evidence that it does. A: Scientists believe current vaccines will still be effective against the variant, but they are working to confirm that.
Lesson not learned: Europe unprepared as 2nd virus wave hits
Read full article: Lesson not learned: Europe unprepared as 2nd virus wave hitsEuropes second wave of coronavirus infections has struck well before flu season even started. Spain this week declared a state of emergency for Madrid amid increasing tensions between local and national authorities over virus containment measures. โI have to say clearly that the situation is not good," the Czech interior minister, Jan Hamacek, acknowledged this week. โWe are in the fall wave without having resolved the summer wave,โ she told an online forum this week. Half of Campaniaโs 100 ICU virus beds are now in use.
World Health Organization weighs in on facts, myths about COVID-19
Read full article: World Health Organization weighs in on facts, myths about COVID-19There is a lot of information coming out each day about the novel coronavirus COVID-19, but amid the pandemic, there are also a lot of myths. The World Health Organization is setting straight some invalid things you might have seen or heard about COVID-19. There are no specific medicines to prevent or treat the COVID-19 virus. COVID-19 virus can be transmitted in hot and humid climates. This specific virus, because itโs so new and different, will need its own vaccine.
What does COVID-19 stand for, anyway? A complete coronavirus glossary
Read full article: What does COVID-19 stand for, anyway? A complete coronavirus glossaryDoes anyone else feel like weโre in the midst of some pretty unsettling times? Even if youโre trying to keep a level head about where things stand with the coronavirus pandemic, itโs easy to turn on the TV or open social media and start to feel pretty overwhelmed, pretty quickly. For some, you canโt go out to eat, youโre now working from home and your kids arenโt even going to school. And with that, we thought weโd provide the following playbook. Yes, there is some science jargon involved here, but we tried to break it down for you in a way thatโs easy to read and digestible.