Asia

Masks: Hong Kong to lift one of the world’s longest Covid mask mandates

Tue, 2023-02-28 09:27 — mike kraft

Hong Kong to lift one of the world’s longest Covid mask mandates The announcement that masks would no longer be required indoors or out ends the last major restriction the Chinese territory imposed during the pandemic. NBC News

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Lee’s announcement at a news briefing Tuesday came a day after the neighboring Chinese territory of Macao eased its mask rule and will bring the financial hub closer to the life in pre-pandemic days.

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China claims its COVID-19 epidemic has 'basically' ended, but not completely over

Thu, 2023-02-23 11:32 — mike kraft

China's COVID-19 epidemic has 'basically' ended, but not completely over Health authorities in China said on Thursday the country's COVID-19 epidemic has "basically" ended, but it is not completely over as it found seven imported cases of the highly-transmissible XBB.1.5 variant since Jan. 8. Reuters Reuters

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Food issue: Ukrainian grain shipments drop as cargo inspections slow down

Mon, 2023-02-20 10:22 — mike kraft

Ukrainian grain shipments drop as ship backups grow LONDON (AP) — The amount of grain leaving Ukraine has dropped even as a U.N.-brokered deal works to keep food flowing to developing nations, with inspections of ships falling to half what they were four months ago and a backlog of vessels growing as Russia's invasion nears the one-year mark. AP NEWS

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No new variants found in China’s Covid outbreak -- study

Mon, 2023-02-13 08:41 — mike kraft

No new variants emerged from China’s Covid outbreak, study finds A genomic analysis found that all infections in Beijing belonged to existing Covid variants, according to a Chinese-funded study published in The Lancet. NBC News

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Two-dose COVID vaccine is effective against severe Omicron but less so for those over 80 -- Hong Kong study

Mon, 2023-02-06 18:00 — mike kraft

Two-dose COVID vaccine efficacy durable against severe Omicron but drops in elderly

Overall two-dose vaccine effectiveness (VE) against Omicron variant-related hospitalization or death remained above 70% for at least 6 months among adults in Hong Kong but dropped to below 62% in those aged 80 and older, necessitating a third dose, finds a case-control study published today in JAMA Network Open.

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Vast Majority of COVID-19 Deaths Worldwide Among Older Adults --new study

Fri, 2023-02-03 10:03 — mike kraft

WHO, CDC Study: Vast Majority of COVID-19 Deaths Among Older Adults The research also found that the global rate of vaccination among older adults falls significantly short of the World Health Organization’s goal to have all at-risk populations fully vaccinated. Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder US News & World Report

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Vaccine Makers Kept $1.4 Billion in Prepayments for Canceled Covid Shots for Poor Countries --NYTimes

Thu, 2023-02-02 10:54 — mike kraft

As global demand for Covid-19 vaccines dries up, the program responsible for vaccinating the world’s poor has been urgently negotiating to try to get out of its deals with pharmaceutical companies for shots it no longer needs.

Drug companies have so far declined to refund $1.4 billion in advance payments for now-canceled doses, according to confidential documents obtained by The New York Times.

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Draft WHO pandemic agreement pushes for equity in vaccine and drug supplies to avoid COVID 'failure' repeat

Thu, 2023-02-02 10:44 — mike kraft

Draft WHO pandemic deal pushes for equity to avoid COVID 'failure' repeat Governments may have to reserve drugs and vaccines for the World Health Organization to distribute in poorer countries to avoid a repeat of the "catastrophic failure" during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an early draft of a global pandemic agreement. Jennifer Rigby,Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber Reuters

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Will the next worrisome coronavirus variant get detected?

Thu, 2023-01-26 11:27 — mike kraft

The next worrisome coronavirus variant could come from China — will it get detected? Nature - Genomic surveillance is crucial for tracking the next ‘variant of concern’, but many countries are winding back their monitoring. Lewis, Dyani nature

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It remains crucial that variants be tracked, yet scientists question how quickly the next variant of concern will be detected as many countries wind down surveillance efforts.

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