Category: COVID-19

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COVID-19 USA

NYC vows to take precautions as holidays near

Also taking to Twitter, Mayor Bill de Blasio said: “With the holidays around the corner, we can’t get complacent. We can’t risk uncontrolled Covid-19 spread. We don’t want another citywide shutdown….reports Asian Lite News

The New York City government has urged people to take precautions against the Covid-19 pandemic as Thanksgiving on November 26 will usher in the traditional holiday season.

“Go to virtual or outdoor religious services… Keep family gatherings small and outdoors, if possible… Stay local, travel safely, get a free Covid-19 test and quarantine for 14-days after a trip,” Xinhua news agency quoted a tweet by the city government as saying on Monday.

Also taking to Twitter, Mayor Bill de Blasio said: “With the holidays around the corner, we can’t get complacent. We can’t risk uncontrolled Covid-19 spread. We don’t want another citywide shutdown.

“I know how hard this will be. I know it’s a major sacrifice. But we need to keep our city safe.

“When it comes to our indicators, we are in a dangerous situation in New York City: 71 patients admitted to the hospital… 779 new cases… The infection rate 7-day average is 2.21 per cent.

“These numbers should have us all alarmed and ready to act with everything we’ve got.”

Last week, the Mayor told the public that the city was not seeing a second wave of the pandemic as its infection rate had remained under 3 per cent, but still put people on high alert as the virus could fiercely attack the city at anytime, especially during winter.

Also read:1mn New Yorkers cast ballots in early voting

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-Top News COVID-19 USA

US still facing a ‘dark winter’: Biden

“The goal of mask wearing is not to make your life less comfortable, or to take something away from you,” he said. “It is to give something back to all of us. A normal life.”…reports Asian Lite News

US President-elect Joe Biden issued a dire warning as the COVID-19 pandemic continues worsening in the United States.

“We are still facing a dark winter,” Biden said from Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has topped 10 million, with 237,000 deaths. “The challenge before us right now is still immense and growing.”

The Democrat went on urging Americans to wear masks, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The goal of mask wearing is not to make your life less comfortable, or to take something away from you,” he said. “It is to give something back to all of us. A normal life.”

The remarks came hours after American drugmaker Pfizer and German pharmaceutical company BioNTech announced that data analysis shows their COVID-19 vaccine candidate is more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19.

Biden called the news “positive” but stressed that the vaccine, even if it’s approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, “will not be widely available for many months yet to come.”

“Projections still indicate we could lose 200,000 more lives in the coming months before a vaccine can be made available to everyone,” he added.

Biden has declared victory for the 2020 presidential election, while sitting President Donald Trump hasn’t conceded and is pushing for legal challenges.

Also read:World Leaders Eager To Cooperate With Biden On Climate Change

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-Top News COVID-19 USA

Fauci hails Pfizer coronavirus vaccine

Washington, Sept. 23, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, testifies during a hearing of U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Sept. 23, 2020. Anthony Fauci attended the hearing on Wednesday and warned of the long-term effects that disease might have on those infected. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via Xinhua/IANS)

Fauci has held to his “cautious optimism” for months now, that a vaccine will be ready to go by end of the year….reports Nikhila Natarajan

  • Washington, Sept. 23, 2020 (Xinhua) — Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, testifies during a hearing of U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Sept. 23, 2020. Anthony Fauci attended the hearing on Wednesday and warned of the long-term effects that disease might have on those infected. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via Xinhua/IANS)

“Extraordinary” is how America’s top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci is reacting to the news of Pfizer’s vaccine candidate achieving 90 per cent effectiveness.

“Not very many people expected it would be as high as that,” Fauci has been quoted as saying by US news wires.

Fauci called the development “extraordinary”.

Fauci has held to his “cautious optimism” for months now, that a vaccine will be ready to go by end of the year.

After nine months of utter chaos, politics and science are both moving at phenomenal speed the weekend after election results.

US President Donald Trump seized on the news, tweeting: “STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS!”

Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr leaned into the “timing” of the news. “The timing of this is pretty amazing. Nothing nefarious about the timing of this at all right?”

US markets boomed, the Pfizer stock exploded and vaccine-related pharma stocks are up all around.

Pfizer has cautioned that the protection offered by the vaccine might change by the time the study ends.

“It’s a great day for science, great day for humanity!”, a beaming Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told reporters.

President-elect Joe Biden also referred to the news in a short briefing on Monday but implored Americans to “please wear a mask, despite the news today.”

Also read:‘Going to hire Dr. Fauci and fire Donald Trump’: Biden

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-Top News COVID-19 World News

Vaccine Success Fuels Covid Fight

While the pandemic has killed over 1.2 million people worldwide, the announcement by Pfizer and BioNTech raises hope that effective Covid-19 vaccine dose could be on its way, and if approved, before the end of this year itself…report Asian Lite Newsdesk

US-based pharmaceutical major Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech on Monday said that their vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90 per cent effective in preventing Covid-19 in first interim analysis of data from late-stage Phase 3 trial.

Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla called the development “a great day for science and humanity.”

While the pandemic has killed over 1.2 million people worldwide, the announcement by Pfizer and BioNTech raises hope that effective Covid-19 vaccine dose could be on its way, and if approved, before the end of this year itself.

The two companies said that their mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, has demonstrated evidence of efficacy against Covid-19 in participants without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for Covid-19.

The analysis was conducted on Sunday by an external, independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) from the Phase 3 clinical study.

The case split between vaccinated individuals and those who received the placebo indicates a vaccine efficacy rate above 90 per cent, at seven days after the second dose, the two companies said.

This means that protection is achieved 28 days after the initiation of the vaccination, which consists of a two-dose schedule.

As the study continues, the final vaccine efficacy percentage may vary.

The DMC has not reported any serious safety concerns and recommends that the study continue to collect additional safety and efficacy data as planned.

The data will be discussed with regulatory authorities worldwide, Pfizer and BioNTech said.

“Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent Covid-19,” Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

“We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development programme at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen.

“With today’s news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis,” Bourla added.

The Phase 3 clinical trial of BNT162b2 began on July 27 and has enrolled 43,538 participants to date, 38,955 of whom have received a second dose of the vaccine candidate as on November 8.

The trial is continuing to enroll and it also will evaluate the potential for the vaccine candidate to provide protection against Covid-19 in those who have had prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2, as well as vaccine prevention against severe Covid-19 disease.

“We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks,” Bourla said.

Pfizer and BioNTech said they are continuing to accumulate safety data and currently estimate that a median of two months of safety data following the second (and final) dose of the vaccine candidate will be available by the third week of November.

Along with the efficacy data generated from the clinical trial, the two companies are working to prepare the necessary safety and manufacturing data to submit to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to demonstrate the safety and quality of the vaccine product produced.

Based on current projections, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses this year and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.

“The first interim analysis of our global Phase 3 study provides evidence that a vaccine may effectively prevent Covid-19. This is a victory for innovation, science and a global collaborative effort,” said Ugur Sahin, BioNTech co-founder and CEO.

More than 200 vaccines to protect against the virus are being developed by scientists around the world in a process that is taking place at unprecedented speed.

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Asia News COVID-19

Israel builds Covid testing lab at airport

The lab will be officially launched on Monday, in a ceremony to be attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, transportation and health ministers, and senior IAA officials…reports Asian Lite News

Israel has completed the setup of a coronavirus testing laboratory at Ben Gurion International Airport near the coastal city of Tel Aviv, the Israeli testing company Omega said on Sunday.

The lab was established and will be operated by Omega, in collaboration with the northern Rambam Medical Center, after winning a tender issued by the Israel Airport Authority (IAA).

The lab will be officially launched on Monday, in a ceremony to be attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, transportation and health ministers, and senior IAA officials, according to the prime minister’s spokesperson.

The samples will be taken at test booths set up at Terminal 3, the airport’s main terminal, Xinhua reported.

The prices of the PCR tests will be 135 new shekels (around 40 US dollars) for a rapid test, with results given in four hours, and 44.88 shekels for a standard 14-hour test.

Passengers who register in advance will be able to take the test without leaving their cars, in a designated drive-in complex set up at the airport.

The test results will be used by passengers traveling to countries that require negative test results for entering their territory.

The lab will also be used to conduct tests for arriving passengers that have visited countries with high COVID-19 morbidity so that they would not need to undergo a 14-day quarantine in case of negative results.

Also read:Israel partially reopens schools

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-Top News COVID-19 USA

Biden restores fired Covid-19 task force

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Two such notables will lead Biden’s 10-member coronavirus task force – the first big item on the transition team’s checklist…reports Nikhila Natarajan

  • Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Bureaucrats dumped by President Donald Trump are America’s hot hires on the first Monday after President-elect Joe Biden and VP-elect Kamala Harris belted out their victory speeches.

Two such notables will lead Biden’s 10-member coronavirus task force – the first big item on the transition team’s checklist.

Topping the fired-by-Trump list is Indian American Dr. Vivek Murthy, a former US Surgeon General chucked out within four months of the Trump takeover in 2017.

Another notable is Dr. Rick Bright, a vaccine expert who filed a whistleblower complaint after being sidelined for his pushback against Trump’s unfounded claims around hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug.

The task force co-chairs are Murthy, former Food Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. David Kessler and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a Yale University professor.

  • Combo photo shows U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump attend their respective events on different occasions. (Xinhua/IANS)

Other than Murthy and Bright, Biden’s task force features many outspoken Trump critics who have been wringing their hands for months over America’s ongoing public health catastrophe: Dr. Atul Gawande, a renowned surgeon and author; Dr. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist; Luciana Borio, a biodefence specialist; Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist at the National Institutes of Health; Dr. Celine Gounder; Dr. Julie Morita, a paediatric specialist; Loyce Pace, a global health maven; Dr. Robert Rodriguez, an emergency medicine specialist and Dr. Eric Goosby, an infectious disease expert with expertise in AIDS/HIV.

“Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face, and I will be informed by science and by experts,” Biden said in a statement on Monday.

Also read:Biden to call on Governors to enact mask mandate

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Asia News COVID-19

Israeli union calls for strike over payments

On Sunday, the union announced a general labour dispute, meaning that in 14 days it can legally launch a general strike that will shut down the whole Israeli economy…reports Asian Lite News

Israel’s largest worker union Histadrut has threatened to launch a nationwide strike, demanding to pay wages to workers obliged to undergo quarantine amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Sunday, the union announced a general labour dispute, meaning that in 14 days it can legally launch a general strike that will shut down the whole Israeli economy, reports Xinhua news agency.

In late September, Histadrut, the Ministry of Finance, and the employers’ representatives reached an agreement on how to divide the burden of payments for quarantine days, but the outline has not been put to a vote in Parliament yet.

“So far, no solution has been found, leaving workers in an impossible situation, with severe damage to their day-to-day viability,” the union said in a statement.

Arnon Bar David, chairman of Histadrut, said that “the purpose of the labour dispute we have declared today is not to shut down the country but to protect the workers”.

Also read:5th Israeli Minister tests positive for Covid 19

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Asia News COVID-19

5th Israeli Minister tests positive for Covid 19

Last month, Gila Gamliel, the Environmental Protection Minister, announced that she has been infected with the virus….reports Asian Lite News

A fifth Israeli Minister has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, his office confirmed in a statement on Monday, adding he was self-quaranting at home.

Minister of Regional Cooperation Ofir Akunis “immediately entered quarantine at his home, in accordance with the Health Ministry’s instructions”, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.

“He feels well and continues to manage the Ministry’s affairs from home,” it added.

The Ministry of Regional Cooperation is responsible for promoting cooperation with the countries in the Mediterranean Basin as well as the Palestinian Authority.

Last month, Gila Gamliel, the Environmental Protection Minister, announced that she has been infected with the virus.

In August, Minister of Immigration and Integration Pnina Tamano-Shata, Walid Taha, a MP for the Arab-Israeli party Joint List, and Minister for Jerusalem and Heritage Rafi Peretz had contracted the disease.

Israel has so far registered more than 320,000 coronavirus cases and 2,674 deaths.

Also read:Israel set to commence agro exports to the UAE

Also read:Israel partially reopens schools

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-Top News COVID-19 USA

US hits record-high average daily COVID-19 cases

Daily case count in the country set a new record on Friday at 132,830, which is an all-time high in the United States and around the world, according to the CDC….reports Asian Lite News

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a record-high average daily increase of COVID-19 cases at nearly 100,000, a new milestone since the onset of the pandemic in the country.

The seven-day average daily cases and deaths have been on sharp rise recently, and stood at 99,320 and 938, respectively, as of Sunday, CDC data showed, Xinhua news agency reported.

Daily case count in the country set a new record on Friday at 132,830, which is an all-time high in the United States and around the world, according to the CDC.

Saturday was the fourth day in a row the country broke its case count record, according to The COVID Tracking Project.

A total of 715,000 cases were reported last week, which means that one in every 462 people in the United States tested positive for COVID-19 last week, according to the project.

“Hospitalizations are also spiking in all regions, and are now close to the totals we saw in the spring and summer surges,” the project tweeted.

There are around 56,000 Americans currently hospitalized with COVID-19.

The fall resurgence has brought regular new records in cases, people hospitalized and daily deaths. Experts are concerned the upcoming season may witness even more infections as many people may travel and attend indoor gatherings with friends and relatives.

“We’re going to see these case numbers really start to explode,” said former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Friday.

The virus can be dealt with by targeting mitigation state by state, but the country is not doing that currently, he said. The lack of intervention could build up for the future, spelling trouble for December and January, he added.

The United States has recorded more than 9,944,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 237,400 deaths as of Sunday afternoon, according to the real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Also read:Texas becomes 1st US state to hit 1mn Covid cases

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COVID-19 Health Lite Blogs

Study: Obesity Increases Covid Risk

Common mistakes while trying to lose weight.
Common mistakes while trying to lose weight.

New research adds to the growing body of evidence that Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately affecting people with obesity around the globe.

Obesity is an emerging independent risk factor for susceptibility to and severity of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

It is increasingly being recognised as a predisposing factor in Covid-19.

After several studies found strong link between Covid-19 and obesity, researchers wanted to the effects of Covid-19 on the immune system and outcomes in critically ill patients with obesity.

The results of the study, which is scheduled to presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of The Obesity Society (TOS) at Obesity Week Interactive, will take place from November 2-6, 2020.

“This year’s programme highlights the latest research on the impact of Covid-19 for people with obesity,” said study author Jaime Almandoz from UT Southwestern Medical Centre in the US.

“Covid-19 disproportionately affects people with obesity, who are at greater risk for complications and death,” Almandoz, co-chair of the TOS Program Planning Committee, added.

This study includes presentations covering the effects of Covid-19 on the immune system and outcomes in critically ill patients with obesity, in addition to the influence that the pandemic is having on eating, health behaviours, television watching and telemedicine.

Earlier, a study published in the journal ‘Endocrinology’, found that obesity may cause a hyperactive immune system response to the Covid-19 infection which makes it difficult to fight the virus.

Another study presented at The European and International Congress on Obesity (ECOICO 2020) online conference, revealed that patients with obesity are facing more serious Covid-19 disease and higher mortality risk than patients without obesity.

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