Month: April 2021

(Xinhua)08:47, August 12, 2020

NEW YORK, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) — Respect science and hard work are two core values conveyed by Chinese education. These values, together with the effective guidance of the government, enabled the Chinese people to win the war against the epidemic, according to an article published Monday on The New Yorker.

The article titled How China Controlled the Coronavirus is written by Peter Hessler, who was teaching and learning in Chengdu, the capital of Chinas Sichuan Province, during the pandemic.

It was true that the strict Chinese shutdown, in combination with border closings and contact tracing, had eliminated the spread of the virus in most communities in China, according to the article.

Hessler noted that some public health experts affirmed the participation of the neighborhood committees in epidemic prevention and contact tracing. The Chinese lockdown was more intense than almost anywhere else in the world. Neighborhood committees, the most grassroots level of Communist Party organization, enforced the rules.

There is not such neighborhood committee structure in the United States, and public health services might have served this purpose if the American system had been properly funded, according to the article.

Hessler also wrote about various epidemic prevention measures after the school reopening. The university introduced the fever tents, the delivery robots, and the facial-recognition scanners. The school scheduled regular hand-washing breaks, and every afternoon an announcement sounded over the intercom: Temperature-taking time has arrived!

According to the article, the current American failure doesnt narrowly reflect national character or values but, rather, a collapse of system: a crisis of leadership and institutional structures.

(Xinhua)08:37, August 14, 2020

The European Commission announced on Thursday it concluded exploratory talks with Johnson Johnson to purchase a potential vaccine against COVID-19.

Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said in a news release that the talks are indented to result in an Advance Purchase Agreement, which could enable all European Union (EU) member states to purchase the vaccine, as well as to donate to lower and middle-income countries or re-direct to countries in the European Economic Area (EEA).

The press release said that the contractual framework would facilitate an initial purchase of 200 million doses on behalf of all EU member states, and could further purchase an additional 200 million vaccine doses.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said our citizens lives and our economy need a safe and effective vaccine. She said the talks with the American pharmaceutical corporation have brought the union closer to this target.

In late July, the EU announced it had concluded exploratory talks with French pharmaceutical company Sanofi aiming for a deal that could secure 300 million doses of the companys COVID-19 vaccine for Europeans once it is developed and proven to be safe and effective against the coronavirus.

(Xinhua)08:39, August 14, 2020

Palestine on Thursday slammed the peace agreement reached between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel under U.S. sponsorship.

The Palestinian presidency described the agreement as disgraceful, considering it a blow to the Arab Peace Initiative and the decisions of the Arab and Islamic summits, and an aggression against the Palestinian people.

The presidency recalled its ambassador to Abu Dhabi over the move.

In a televised statement following an urgent leadership meeting chaired by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the presidency said it rejected linking the suspension of the Israeli annexation plan to any normalization of relations between Israel with the UAE or any other nation.

The presidency statement warned the rest of the Arab countries against bowing to U.S. pressure and following in the footsteps of the UAE, saying it provides free normalization with the Israeli occupation at the expense of Palestinian rights.

The Palestinian leadership rejects what the United Arab Emirates has done and considers it a betrayal of Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian cause. This deal is a de facto recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, said Abbass spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Hanan Ashrawi said the UAE has come forward with its secret dealings/normalization with Israel.

Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what it has been doing to Palestine illegally and persistently since the beginning of the occupation, Hanan Ashrawi wrote on Twitter.

Please dont do us a favor. We are nobodys fig leaf! she wrote.

Meanwhile, Hazem Qassem, spokesperson for the Islamic Hamas movement in Gaza Strip said that his movement condemns the agreement because it encourages the occupation to continue its denial of the rights of our Palestinian people.

What happened today between the Emirates and Israel is precisely the weakening of the ability of resistance and confrontation, he said.

Islamic Jihad Movement in Gaza said in a press statement that the deal is considered surrender and submission, but it would not change the facts of the conflict, but rather allow the occupation to persist.

Palestinian presidents Fatah party urged Arab states to take punitive measures against the Emirati step.

Normalization with Israel encourages and rewards the occupation, said Fatah party Central Committee Member Jamal Muhaisen in a press statement.

Other Palestinian factions, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, The Palestinian Peoples Party, the Palestinian Struggle Front issued condemnation statements.

Relations between Palestine and the UAE have been strained in recent years, but tensions between the two sides peaked after a UAE plane landed at Israeli Ben Gurion airport carrying medical supplies for Palestinians, which the Palestinian government rejected.

Israel and the UAE have reached an agreement, brokered by the U.S., to work towards a full normalization of relations.

Under the agreement, Israel said it has agreed to suspend the annexation of Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank, while it focuses on expanding ties with other Arab countries.

(Xinhua)08:49, August 14, 2020

In an open letter on Thursday to the government, Canadas doctors and pharmacists called for addressing shortages for critical drugs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadas Critical Drugs Coalition said in the letter that the countrys drug shortage has been greatly exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We simply cannot afford to jeopardize the lives and wellbeing of our patients due to an inadequate supply of critical drugs, the letter read.

Now there are shortages of essential and critical care medications such as propofol, ketamine, succinylcholine, fentanyl, midazolam and more. These drugs are essential in the treatment of COVID-19 patients under critical conditions.

The letter said that health-care professionals have also seen shortages in antibiotic drugs, including Penicillin G.

It also pointed out that 24 out of 32 drugs on Health Canadas Tier 3 shortage list are essential for treating COVID-19.

As frontline pharmacists and physicians, we have seen and heard of serious shortages of essential, critical medications. These drugs are often used simultaneously in ORs, ERs and palliative care wards, as well as ICUs, the letter read.

The coalition called for immediate action by governments at all levels, saying Canada will perpetually face drug shortages unless concrete action is taken.

Many of the critical care drugs should be part of the National Strategic Emergency Stockpile. However, it is clear that Canada simply did not have enough stockpiles to meet the demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and that there has been under allocation and underspending for the emergency stockpile, said the letter.

The coalition also called for greater transparency and communication from governments to the health sector and the public on the supply of critical medicines to ensure drug supply issues are addressed before they pose any serious risks to sick patients.

We encourage our government to give this urgent issue attention and efforts now, so that Canadians can have the confidence that their healthcare system will be there when they most need it, it added in the letter.

(Xinhua)08:51, August 14, 2020

A senior expert of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that it is currently in conversation with Russia to get additional information about the COVID-19 vaccine that Russia will start production soon.

Dr. Bruce Aylward, senior adviser to WHOs director-general, told a press conference that WHO does not have sufficient information at this point to make a judgment on the Russian vaccine.

He told reporters that with the coordination of WHO, there are altogether nine vaccine candidates that are going through Phase 2 or 3 trials, but the Russian vaccine is not one of them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that the country has registered the worlds first registered vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

Later on Wednesday, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that the country will start the production of the vaccine within two weeks. Murashko also said that doubts about the effectiveness of the vaccine are unfounded.