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Showing posts with label WHO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WHO. Show all posts

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Surge in Covid-19 cases recorded, Asia registers Covid-19 spike



  Virus making a comeback in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and US, Indonesia, Malaysia


PETALING JAYA: As society becomes more relaxed about the perceived threat of Covid-19, the coronavirus has started to resurge in many countries, leading to an increase in reported cases.

Between May 25 and 30, Thailand reported 65,880 new Covid-19 cases with three fatalities.

Indonesia’s Health Ministry issued a public health advisory following a resurgence of cases in several Asian countries. It urged citizens to remain vigilant and adopt precautionary measures.

Both Hong Kong and the United States have reported an uptick in Covid-19 cases linked to the NB.1.8.1 variant.

ALSO READ: Covid-19: Health Ministry monitoring situation closely

Singapore reported over 14,000 cases between Apr 27 and May 3.

In Malaysia, the Health Ministry said an average of 600 cases were reported each week between Apr 14 and May 10. Malaysia reported over 11,000 cases between Jan 1 and May 10. These are the last available numbers released by the ministry.

Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s professor of Public Health Medicine, said people have become lax as Covid-19 is no longer seen as a major threat now. People should be aware of the mutation of the virus and the new variants that would appear, she added.

“The most recent designated variant under monitoring (VUM) is NB.1.8.1, and it is considered highly transmissible but does not indicate higher virulence, or risk of hospitalisation or deaths. It has been stated that the current vaccine’s coverage also covers the current strain and those at high risk such as the elderly, young children, pregnant women and those with high comorbidity need to be vigilant,” she added.

ALSO READ: Remembering war-like Covid-19 pandemic

She said high-risk groups should wear a mask when they are outdoors or if they develop symptoms. Those with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) should not miss their medication schedule.

“If you have Covid-19-like symptoms, it could also be adenovirus (usually mild), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and/or influenza,” she said.

This can be determined by testing for Covid-19, or by visiting your healthcare provider for treatment and admission if necessary. “The symptoms may mimic each other, or you can catch two diseases at the same time which is rare, but can occur,” she added.

She said this new variant seems to cause symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, fatigue, headache and gastrointestinal distress.

“Besides antigen testing, you may need to get a chest X-ray and blood test for confirmation to rule out pneumonia. Covid generally presents as non threatening symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection and no need to follow up with MySejahtera app (like before),” she said.

Former Health Ministry official and public health expert Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said the rise in cases could be due to decreasing immunity either from natural infection or immunisation and people no longer observing precautionary measures like before.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on May 28 that since February, global SARS-CoV-2 activity has been on the rise, with the test positivity rate reaching 11% - levels that have not been observed since July 2024.

“This rise is primarily observed in countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions. Since early 2025, global SARS-CoV-2 variant trends have slightly shifted. Circulation of LP.8.1 has been declining, and reporting of NB.1.8.1, a VUM, is increasing, reaching 10.7% of global sequences reported as of mid-May.”

Recent increases in SARS-CoV-2 activity are broadly consistent with levels observed during the same period last year.

However, there still lacks a clear seasonality in SARS-CoV-2 circulation, and surveillance is limited, it said.

WHO also advised all member states to continue monitoring and applying a risk-based and integrated approach to managing Covid-19.

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Asia registers Covid-19 spike


Healthcare facilities in Indonesia instructed to prepare for rising cases

The country’s health ministry has urged healthcare facilities to stay alert and increase surveillance of Covid-19 amid a surge in cases caused by a more transmissible but less deadly Omicron sub-variant in several countries across Asia.

health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin met with President Prabowo Subianto to discuss the rising number of Covid-19 cases across Asia on June 3.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said that “cases are indeed increasing, but the rise is caused by variants that are relatively less deadly”.

his statement came after his ministry issued a circular last week to warn healthcare facilities to stay alert after a rising Covid-19 trend in Thailand, hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, largely driven by the more transmissible but less severe Omicron subvariant JN.1.

The circular instructed regional health agencies, hospitals, community health centres (Puskesmas) and other health service facilities across the country to monitor case trends through routine surveillance, report any unusual occurrences and raise public awareness about the need for vigilance.

According to the latest data from the health Ministry on June 3, Indonesia reported seven confirmed cases last week with the positive rate declining to 2.05% from a peak of 3.62% the previous week.

Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist at Griffith University in Australia, said the warning should be taken seriously by the broader public.

“This is a good measure as an early warning to create awareness,” he told The Jakarta Post on June 3.

he said while it would no longer become a pandemic since mass vaccination has built herd immunity among the Indonesian population, he urged people to maintain caution.

“We must maintain the clean and healthy habits that were developed during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as regularly wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining physical distance, adopting a healthy lifestyle and ensuring proper air circulation.”

Dr Dicky also suggested that the government heighten its alert systems, especially in vulnerable areas with large elderly populations.

Dr Masdalina Pane of the Indonesian epidemiologists Association (PAEI) predicted that the newest sub-variant JN.1 has likely already entered Indonesia, but the surveillance system has been unable to detect it in real time.

“Unfortunately, it is not easy to identify suspects at ports and airports,” she said, suggesting that the government should focus on travellers from affected countries instead.

“Governments can also implement random rapid diagnostic checks based on certain criteria while considering ethical aspects,” she added.

Among the hardest-hit nations in the current wave is Thailand, which reported over 65,000 cases and three deaths in the last week of May, according to The Nation.

But Thai Public health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said on June 2 that the outbreak in the country has already passed its peak and was expected to ease.

hong Kong saw a downward trend in its positive rate from 13.6% in the week of May 11 to 17 to 11.22% in the following week, although its health department still warned that case levels might remain high in upcoming months. — The Jakarta POST/ANN

Daily and weekly updated statistics tracking the number of COVID-19 cases, recovered, and deaths. Historical data with cumulative charts, graphs, ...

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Friday, October 22, 2021

Malaysia's Govt to rollout heterologous Pfizer booster shots dose to be given to Sinovac vaccine recipients beginning October 22, 2021; WHO warns against mixing and matching Covid vaccines (Revised)

https://youtu.be/4mUox4WUgKo


 https://youtu.be/hHhnBCh3JVY

 

WHO warns against mixing and matching Covid vaccines

 https://youtu.be/uOSg56T73Zs


 

Individuals fully vaccinated using the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine at least three months ago will soon be eligible for a Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot.

This exercise of administering heterologous booster shots - meaning the booster vaccine used is different from the first vaccine - will be done in an off-label and voluntary manner. It will also be part of a government study.

Off-label is when a drug is used in a way other than officially approved for.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced this in a press conference this evening.

“The Health Ministry has decided to extend the booster dose to individuals who have received complete Sinovac doses at least three months ago, whereby they will be given a Comirnaty booster dose in a heterologous manner,” he said.

Comirnaty is the name of the Covid-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech.

Elderly first

Khairy noted that these heterologous booster shots will be rolled out in phases nationwide.

The first phase will begin tomorrow (Oct 22) and prioritise those 60 years old and above who were fully vaccinated using Sinovac at least three months ago.

He said eligible participants will be informed via MySejahtera or text message.

He also said the ministry will soon launch an appointment-booking system for booster shots. These shots will be administered by private healthcare providers and managed by ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn Bhd.

“Administering heterologous booster doses is an off-label use and will be used as a subgroup study in The Real World Evaluation of Covid-19 Vaccination (RECoVaM) and a study of the adverse serious effects after vaccination (SafeCovac) for all booster dose recipients.

“Booster doses will be administered in a voluntary and free manner under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

“The objective of administering booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine is to ensure optimum protection period is obtained by all Covid-19 vaccine recipients,” he explained.

RECoVaM is a study by the ministry’s Institute for Clinical Research at the National Institute of Health (NIH).

SafeCovac is also a study by the NIH

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Pfizer booster dose to be given to Sinovac vaccine recipients

 

Pfizer booster dose to be given to Sinovac vaccine recipients
Khairy said the Ministry of Health (MOH) will be extending Comirnaty (Pfizer-BionTech) COVID-19 vaccine booster dose to individuals who have completed vaccination with Sinovac vaccine after at least three months. - KKM photo
 
KKUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will be extending Comirnaty (Pfizer-BionTech) COVID-19 vaccine booster dose to individuals who have completed vaccination with Sinovac vaccine after at least three months.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the dispensing of the heterologous booster dose is through off-label manner and would be given to eligible recipients of Sinovac vaccine from tomorrow in phases nationwide.

"For the start, the booster shot would be administered on individuals aged 60 and above based on the advice of Strategic Advisory Group Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) from the World Health Organisation (WHO) which met on Oct 4 to 7.

"The dispensing would become a subgroup study in the study of The Real World Evaluation of COVID-19 Vaccination (RECoVaM) and the study on Serious Adverse Effects After Vaccination (SAFECOVAC) which is for all booster dose recipients," he said in a media conference today.

Khairy said the administering of the booster dose is voluntary and free under National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) with the objective to ensure optimum protection for COVID-19 recipients in Malaysia.

He said the initiative would be led by private medical practitioners under the coordination of Protect Health Corporation Sdn Bhd.

"Eligible Individuals would be informed via MySejahtera application and through Short Message Service (SMS) to the telephone number of the individuals who do not have MySejahtera.

"The method of booster dose appointment would be improved from time to time and soon vaccine recipients would be able to make appointment through a system being developed by MOH," he said.

Earlier, the Health Minister said the implementation of the booster dose had begun nationwide on Oct 13 using Comirnaty vaccine involving 47,728 recipients as at Oct 19.

He said at the moment, the booster dose is given to recipients of Comirnaty vaccine at least after six months with priority given to frontliners (health and security), residents aged 60 and above and individual with comorbidity

On the pandemic situation for the 41st epid week (Oct 10 to 16), Khairy said the total admission of COVID-19 patients to public hospitals and COVID-19 Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centres (PKRC) for the Central Zone ( Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya) has started to show a rising trend after interstate travel was allowed on Oct 11.

He said the situation is also the same in Sarawak especially for Category 3,4 and 5 patients after cross state travel was allowed.

"Similarly, the trend of COVID-19 patients in categories 3,4 and 5 in the Southern Zone in which Negeri Sembilan had started to show an increasing trend in the 40th epidemic week," he said.

Meanwhile, Khairy also announced the launch of COVID-19 National Testing Strategy would study the test strategy for COVID-19 which is clearer such as the context needed for COVID-19 test.

He said the document would be uploaded into MOH website tomorrow morning.

"... at the work place, school, university, concert, conference, stadium and so on by clearly stating when you need to be tested, how often you need to be tested. The launch (strategy) would give a clearer picture to the people on when one should carry out COVID-19 test and in what context one should take the COVID-19 test," he said.

-- BERNAMA

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 How effective is Sinovac vaccine? Here are some lessons from other countries

 
 How effective is Sinovac vaccine? Here are some lessons from other countries
Read 
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/how-effective-sinovac-vaccine-here-are-some-lessons-other-countries-2124896?cid=outbrain_my_paid_12042021_cnamkt-news&dicbo=v1-ace8100e751d78f1c764f9c7c3e7a36d-006115b0804827bdcd3f372610a0102e8b-mezdonlbmrstiljrmy3weljumvrgkljzmzrgcllcga2dinjsmm4dmy3cmm
 

 Which Covid vaccine is the best? | Vaccine Effectiveness and Variants Explained

 

 

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Interstate rush: Penang expecting an influx of 50,000 tourists this weekend and MBPP freezes staff leave ...

 

Penang Mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang says the island welcomes both visitors and locals returning home to meet their families after a long travel hiatus. – The Vibes file pic, October 13, 2021

Thursday, July 22, 2021

China says ‘no’ to US smears over COVID-19 as 20 million Chinese petition for Fort Detrick probe

 Update Online petition for Fort Detrick probe draws 20m signatures; China urges US to open UNC lab, disclose military games patients...

Online petition for Fort Detrick probe draws 20m signatures; China urges US ... The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday urged the US to take four steps on COVID-19 origins tracing if it wants .

 

 

 China says 'no' to US smears over COVID-19 as nearly 10 million from 5 million Chinese...

An open letter demanding that the World Health Organization (WHO) investigate Fort Detrick has garnered nearly 9.5 million signatures  ... 

China says 'no' to US smears over COVID-19; 'WHO's phase-II plan caters to US' lab leak theory'

China says 'no' to those in the US who have used the COVID-19 issue to smear China, as their practice revealed their disregard for common sense and arrogance towards science, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday, after the White House said the US was disappointed by China rejecting the World Health Organization's (WHO) latest COVID-19 origins study plan.

5 million Chinese sign open letter asking WHO to investigate Fort Detrick, a ‘collective will’ that can’t be ignored

Over 5 million Chinese netizens had signed an open letter as of Wednesday demanding the World Health Organization (WHO) investigate the US' Fort Detrick lab over COVID-19 origins. With the number still increasing, Chinese experts and officials consider it a vivid reflection of the collective will of the Chinese public, signaling the outrage toward some US officials who politicized the epidemic to shift the blame and who owe the world an explanation on US own flaws.

` A group of Chinese netizens drafted the open letter to ask the WHO to investigate the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Maryland, and entrusted the Global Times with posting the letter on its WeChat and Weibo platforms on Saturday to solicit public response. It has gathered more than 5 million signatures as of the press time on Wednesday.

` Investigating Fort Detrick is the call of people all over the world, including the Chinese people and it is a question that the US must answer when it comes to COVID-19 origins and a problem it can never circumvent, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

` In less than five days, about 5 million Chinese have signed the open letter, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at Wednesday's media briefing. The rising numbers are a representation of the anger of the Chinese people at the political manipulation by some in the US on COVID-19 origins, he noted.

` To prevent the next outbreak, laboratories studying dangerous viruses and even biological weapons should be put into the focus of the WHO, the letter said.

` The Fort Detrick lab, particularly, stores the most deadly and infectious viruses in the world, including Ebola, smallpox, SARS, MERS and the novel coronavirus. The leak of any of them would cause severe danger to the world, which also aroused the concerns and doubts about whether the SARS?CoV?2 virus that triggered the global pandemic is related to the lab, it said.

` The letter was issued as the WHO on Friday proposed a second phase of studies into the origins of the coronavirus in China, including "audits of laboratories and markets in Wuhan," calling for "transparency" from authorities, shortly after WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appeared to succumb to the US-led West's multiple layers of political pressure, calling on China to be transparent and open in further COVID-19 origins studies, according to observers.

` Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that so many Chinese people signed the open letter, reflecting the true opinion of ordinary Chinese. "Over the past year, some US politicians have been slandering China on the question of COVID-19 origins, which triggered dissatisfaction among Chinese people. Such public opinion should not be ignored by the international community," Li said.

GT Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

` US owes the world answers

` In July 2019, the US CDC issued a "cease and desist order" to halt most research at Fort Detrick. Although this mysterious lab reported the reason for the closure as "ongoing infrastructure issues with wastewater decontamination," the explanation was not persuasive enough for many.

` During the same period, the US media reported that a respiratory illness outbreak at a Virginia assisted living facility caused some deaths, and the e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) cases also occurred in Wisconsin, Zhao said, laying out a number of cases that the US should further investigate and give out a clear explanation to the world.

` "How are these incidents related to one and another? When does the US intend to clarify those questions publicly?" Zhao asked. Thirty-two communist and workers' parties around the world signed a petition against the proliferation of biological weapons, asking closure of US military biological laboratories, a Ukraine-based media politnavigator.net reported on Monday.

` The biological weapons can be used by the US military against their opponents, which will lead to catastrophic consequences, according to the article.

` The laboratories created by the US were deployed in various countries including Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the article said.

` Yang Zhanqiu, a deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University, told the Global Times in a recent interview that the US needs to publish more data and documents related to large-scale of epidemiological investigations including their travel history, relationship with other cases from overseas, and virological analysis is needed to compare the similarity of the viral genome to determine the source of the epidemic in the US.

` "Some current studies show that the prevalent coronavirus in the US has the most inclusive genetic types, and almost all strain types are transmitted in the US so it would be very meaningful for conducting origins studies in the US," Yang said.

` Political maneuver

` The WHO-China joint study report issued on March 30, 2021, reached a clear conclusion and offered suggestions for the next phase of global study into the origins, which concluded that the Wuhan "lab leak" hypothesis is extremely unlikely, and that we should look for possible early cases of the outbreak more widely around the world and further understand the role of cold chains and frozen food.

` A Western scientist who is close to the WHO-China joint team told the Global Times that the reason the WHO chief looks set to change the approach to phase two is because of political pressure regarding the lab leak from a small number of member states, led by the US.

` Under such a highly politicized environment, the White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci got into a heated exchange on Tuesday with Senator Rand Paul, after the US official accused Fauci of lying to Congress.

` Paul believed that the National Institutes of Health funded a lab in Wuhan, USA Today reported on Tuesday. The lab has been at center of the conspiracy theory of the G.O.P.

` Fauci also told Paul last year that he was spreading misinformation about the virus, according to the media report.

` The public and the media are trying to get answers to questions the international community has been asking for a while. However, some people in the US have been keeping the public in the dark, according to Chinese officials and experts.

` "I hope the US can answer the following questions," Zhao said at the press conference on Wednesday, as some issues remain unclear.

` As the US National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program found evidence of COVID-19 infections in the US as early as December 2019, how does the US respond to that? There were 171 patients who had symptoms of COVID-19 in Florida earlier than reported cases without travel history to China, how does the US respond to that? The mayor of Belleville claimed that he had COVID-19 symptoms back in November 2019, two months earlier than the first-reported cases, how does the US respond to that? the Chinese official asked.

` "Also, according to some reports, the symptoms caused by the vaping lung disease in July 2019 were similar to COVID-19 infections, would the US clarify that? Why does the US keep silent when talking about investigations into Fort Detrick and other overseas biolabs? What is it trying to hide from us?" Zhao added.

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 Investigating Fort Detrick a question the US must answer: Chinese FM on 5m urging WHO to investigate lab

The US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick 

Photo: AP

The US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick Photo: AP

 

Investigating Fort Detrick is the call of people all over the world, including the Chinese people, and it is a question that the US must answer when it comes to COVID-19 origins, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday after nearly 5 million Chinese signed an open letter demanding the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate US' Fort Detrick lab.

` In less than five days, nearly 5 million Chinese have signed the open letter, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at Wednesday's media briefing. Zhao added that the rising numbers are a representation of anger of the Chinese people at the political manipulation by the US on COVID-19 origins.

` Zhao said the US should be transparent, take measures to thoroughly investigate the source of its own pandemic and the failure of its response to it. Those who failed should be held accountable, Fort Detrick and more than 200 American overseas biological labs must be investigated.

` A group of Chinese netizens drafted an open letter to ask the WHO to investigate the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Maryland. They entrusted the Global Times with posting the letter on its WeChat and Weibo platforms on Saturday to solicit public response.

` They said in the letter that to prevent the next epidemic, the WHO should pay special attention to labs that are conducting studies on dangerous viruses or even biochemical weapons. The open letter particularly noted the Fort Detrick lab, which stores the most deadly and infectious viruses in the world, including Ebola, smallpox, SARS, MERS and the novel coronavirus. The leak of any of them would cause severe danger to the world.

` The US has been hyping up the "sick researchers of Wuhan Institute of Virology" conspiracy since May, which was reported by the Wall Street Journal. The story cited US intelligence report claiming three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick enough in November 2019 that they sought hospital care.

` In response, Zhao urged the US to present evidence.

` "Who are these 'three sick researchers,' what are their names, what diseases were they infected with? If their coronavirus tests were positive, please present the report," Zhao said.

` "I want to tell everyone that the US cannot present any evidence, because it's lying. It is stigmatizing and demonizing China using the COVID-19 origins issue," Zhao said.

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Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Vaccine distribution shouldn’t lead to catastrophic moral failure

 

Inactivated COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac produced by Chinese vaccine developer Sinovac Photo: Courtesy of Sinovac

 

Chinese vaccines gaining momentum overseas




https://youtu.be/WV2v8osGAa4

WHO chief blasts rich countries for hoarding vaccines



https://youtu.be/2SFm_lc_r0k


WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday lashed out at inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. He said most of the vaccines "have now been administered" in rich countries. "The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure - and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world's poorest countries," he warned.

For now, seven COVID-19 vaccine candidates have been administered worldwide, the key of which are the US-developed and China-developed ones. The US-made vaccines have basically flowed to developed countries, while the China ones have mainly gone to developing countries.

Among rich countries that use US vaccines, the US has vaccinated 12 million people, ranking the first. 4.31 million doses (including the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine) have been administered in the UK, topping European countries. Canada reportedly has ordered enough vaccine doses to protect each Canadian five times. Three members of the Five Eyes alliance have left others way behind them in vaccine distribution. They have prioritized their own demands amid short vaccine supply, though Britain claimed it raised donations to help vulnerable countries access COVID-19 vaccines.

The US, the UK and Canada all shout loudly for developing countries' human rights. But they are the ones contributing to "a catastrophic moral failure" that Ghebreyesus said. When the interests of their own countries are not involved, they express concerns about human rights of other countries. But when they need to take real actions to help other countries realize human rights, they retract their heads as turtles.

Vaccines developed by Chinese companies have become a key resource to break rich countries' privilege and safeguard developing countries' rights. Chinese vaccines are cheap, easy to be transported and used all over the world. Besides, China has an explosive vaccine production capability and it has a greater surplus to provide the outside world, since the domestic epidemic in China has been relatively alleviated.

At the initial stage of distribution when supply is short, US vaccines will inevitably go to developed countries. The Five Eyes countries know this well. According to the WHO, it took over 10 years for life-saving HIV/AIDS drugs to reach poor countries after its invention. When the poor countries could put the HINI vaccines into use, the epidemic had already been over. Based on the vaccine distribution order in the past, developing countries will undergo many delays and setbacks to get US COVID-19 vaccines.

The Chinese vaccines are an important humanitarian supplement, but the US and its major allies have taken a cold attitude and even disparaged Chinese vaccines. They didn't offer much help in Chinese vaccines' Phase III trials. Particularly, Western public opinion in general is not friendly. It is keen on hyping and exaggerating any information unfavorable to Chinese vaccines and accuses China of engaging in "vaccine diplomacy."

This has formed a sharp contrast with the fact that Western public opinion influencers are flattering Pfizer vaccines and downplaying news the vaccines caused deaths.

This represents vaccine nationalism and egoism that disregards the urgent humanitarian demands, giving rise to an atmosphere in which political prejudice dominates the pandemic fight. Unity is lacking in the fight against the virus, mainly because of the negative attitudes of the US and its major allies.

On the other hand, the top leaders in several countries such as Indonesia, Turkey, Seychelles, Serbia and the Philippines have strongly backed Chinese vaccines. Some even publicly got vaccinated with Chinese vaccines. This has had a positive impact on the confidence of developing countries with Chinese vaccines. They are safeguarding the rights of developing countries to get vaccinated simultaneously with developed countries and they are bravely pursuing fairness.

US and Chinese vaccines have their own advantages. They are supposed to cooperate with each other closely to fight the novel coronavirus. Besides prices and logistical factors, their usage in developed and developing countries should not be affected by politics. Don't let the "catastrophic moral failure" become reality and consolidated. It must be stressed that the coronavirus is the common foe of humanity, and the battlefield and tools that fight against it cannot be separated.

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Monday, December 7, 2020

GT investigates: Seeking for virus origin


https://youtu.be/X0dzqLuQPrU 

 Frequent outbreaks triggered by imported frozen products; reports suggesting traces of coronavirus found elsewhere earlier than Wuhan… so is COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan also result of imported cold-chain products? Check GT special investigative report… 

 


International cooperation urged


Although those virologists have pictured a clear route map to trace the origin of the virus, the real path to finding the origin is laden with difficulties.

The anonymous expert said that in terms of tracing the virus origin, the momentum for international scientists to cooperate has retrogressed compared with the pre-COVID-19 period.

“Scientists are reluctant to become involved in politics, they are eyeing international cooperation. Yet researchers from all over the world are acting with caution, avoiding troubles, and refusing casual communication. I don’t think it’s an ideal atmosphere for cooperation.”

This has drawn attention from international bodies. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries on November 30 not to politicize the hunt for the origins of the new coronavirus, saying that would only create barriers to learning the truth.

When talking to Tedros in September, director of China's National Health Commission Ma Xiaowei vowed to enhance cooperation with the WHO on virus prevention, origin tracing and vaccine development. China is pushing forward the work on the virus origin tracing, and is willing to strengthen cooperation and communication with the WHO, Ma said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on November 24 that while tracing the origin domestically, China has been earnestly implementing WHA resolutions.

"We are the first to invite WHO experts in for origin-tracing cooperation." Zhao said, adding that "We hope all relevant countries will adopt a positive attitude and cooperate with WHO like China does, making contributions to global origin-tracing and anti-epidemic cooperation."

“International communication on the virus origin should be frequent and open for all. But some countries weighed in and complicated the issue,” said Yang, who noted that the world has achieved great progress in fighting COVID-19 in the past year, including treatment of the disease and vaccine R&D.

Tracing the virus origin should not be a battle against each other; instead, an information, data sharing mechanism is helpful to bring the virus under control, Yang said.

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