Patients of coronavirus have reported prolonged loss of smell and taste, along with several other problems, and experts seem to have found a way to treat it.<o:p></o:p>

A group of UK researchers have discovered that vitamin A nasal drops might be able to cure the loss (or altered) sense of smell in people post Covid.<o:p></o:p>

Loss of smell has been a commonly reported symptom in majority of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">Covid</a> patients. While some recover from it a few days after they recover from the deadly virus, others have reported prolonged effect.

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hell-breaks-loose-as-lancet-describes-women-as-bodies-with-vaginas-416804">Hell breaks loose as Lancet describes women as 'bodies with vaginas'</a></o:p>

University of East Anglia has started a 12-week trial, titled 'Apollo trial', in which only a handful of patients (volunteers) will be given the treatment. <o:p></o:p>

The selected volunteers will be given the treatment and will also be asked to sniff powerful smells such as roses and rotten eggs. Experts will then run brain scans to check if the vitamin has been able to repair injured olfactory pathways (also known as 'smell nerves').<o:p></o:p>

As per researchers, the vitamin had showed benefits in Germany and experts "will explore how this treatment works to help repair tissues in the nose damaged by viruses". The researchers are also hoping that this study "could one day help improve the lives of millions around the world who suffer from smell loss, by returning their fifth sense".

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/covid-has-decreased-life-expectancy-for-men-but-not-for-women-study-415365">Covid has decreased life expectancy for men, but not for women: Study</a></o:p>

Scientists have recommended patients to try and smell at least four different odours twice a day for several months, to bring back their sense of smell.<o:p></o:p>

Meanwhile, experts are urging people to get vaccinated against coronavirus as soon as possible to avoid getting infected. <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus-vaccine">Vaccines</a> are not just helping cut risk of catching the virus, but are also reducing chanced of people developing long Covid.<o:p></o:p>

UK's Health Secretary Sajid Javid also motivated locals to get vaccinated as soon as possible. "It is clear vaccines are building a wall of defence against the virus and are the best way to protect people from serious illness. I encourage everyone who is eligible to come forward for both their jabs as quickly as possible."<o:p></o:p>

Patients of coronavirus have reported prolonged loss of smell and taste, along with several other problems, and experts seem to have found a way to treat it. A group of UK researchers have discovered that vitamin A nasal drops might be able to cure the loss (or altered) sense of smell in people post Covid.

Patients of coronavirus have reported prolonged loss of smell and taste, along with several other problems, and experts seem to have found a way to treat it. A group of UK researchers have discovered that vitamin A nasal drops might be able to cure the loss (or altered) sense of smell in people post Covid. Loss of smell has been a commonly reported symptom in majority of the Covid patients. While some recover from it a few days after they recover from the deadly virus, others have reported prolonged effect. Also read | Hell breaks loose as Lancet describes women as 'bodies with vaginas' University of East Anglia has started a 12-week trial, titled 'Apollo trial', in which only a handful of patients (volunteers) will be given the treatment. The selected volunteers will be given the treatment and will also be asked to sniff powerful smells such as roses and rotten eggs. Experts will then run brain scans to check if the vitamin has been able to repair injured olfactory pathways (also known as 'smell nerves'). As per researchers, the vitamin had showed benefits in Germany and experts "will explore how this treatment works to help repair tissues in the nose damaged by viruses". The researchers are also hoping that this study "could one day help improve the lives of millions around the world who suffer from smell loss, by returning their fifth sense". Also read | Covid has decreased life expectancy for men, but not for women: Study Scientists have recommended patients to try and smell at least four different odours twice a day for several months, to bring back their sense of smell. Meanwhile, experts are urging people to get vaccinated against coronavirus as soon as possible to avoid getting infected. Vaccines are not just helping cut risk of catching the virus, but are also reducing chanced of people developing long Covid. UK's Health Secretary Sajid Javid also motivated locals to get vaccinated as soon as possible. "It is clear vaccines are building a wall of defence against the virus and are the best way to protect people from serious illness. I encourage everyone who is eligible to come forward for both their jabs as quickly as possible."

Can Vitamin A help in treating Covid-caused loss of smell? Experts answer

It was a hot morning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the day that Peter Naughton woke up on the floor.

Sore, disoriented, he’d already grasped what his mother was now telling him: He’d had another seizure. But he also grasped a larger truth: He needed to pull it together and somehow go to work.

A cashier and self-checkout host at the nearby Walmart, Naughton dreaded depleting his limited paid time off in the midst of a pandemic. His mother, for her part, insisted that her epileptic son, then 44, stay home and rest. The hours after a seizure were difficult enough. Toss in the stress of COVID-19 and a customer base that largely — and often angrily — rejected mask use, and a day at work seemed anything but recuperative.

In the end, Naughton’s growing headache and general fogginess were intense enough that he conceded to his mother’s wishes. He dialled once, twice, three times. No answer. Given the penalty for missing work without giving notice — and the fear of risking his job during uncertain times — he saw what he had to do. Reeling, he made the trip to the store and clocked in.

That was the summer of 2020, and in the bewildering year since, the stakes and strain around low-wage frontline jobs like Naughton’s seem only to have multiplied.

As shuttered offices cautiously debate the merits and logistics of reopening, a parallel sphere of workers — retail employees, day labourers, emergency personnel, medical staff, and so on — seemingly inhabit another country entirely. In their case nothing ever shuttered. Often their jobs just got really, really hard.

“Every day is frightening,” Naughton said recently, now nearly two years into his employment at Walmart.

Naughton said this in the dark, his power still out days after Hurricane Ida had barreled through Louisiana. It was 93 degrees. Later he would take another cold shower, also in the dark, in hopes of cooling off before bed.

Naughton lives on a quiet, grassy street of low brick homes with his ageing parents, not far from where he attended high school some two decades prior. He had an apartment of his own for a while last year, but his $11.55 hourly wage wasn’t enough to pay the rent, even working full time. So he moved back in with his mother and father, and now lives in fear of bringing the highly contagious delta variant home to them. (Naughton is fully vaccinated. But at 78, his father has health issues that prevent him from getting the shots, Naughton said — health issues that make severe illness likelier should he contract the disease.)

Elsewhere in the country, the conversation has begun to move on, away from early Covid alarm and into something more guardedly speculative. What will post-pandemic life look like? How have our priorities shifted? But for vast swaths of the nation, largely untouched by doses from Pfizer and Moderna, it remains late 2020 in many ways.

“A lot of people here still don’t believe the virus is real — even when the hospitals are full, even when they have family dying,” Naughton said. “With the vaccines, one co-worker told me getting it would go against her faith. Another told me it contains baby fetuses and mercury. Someone else said it was created by Bill Gates to insert microchips to track you. I said, ‘Why would he want to track&nbsp;you?’”

The conversations Naughton describes may be epidemiologically out of step, but he and thousands of others seem trapped in an America-right-now vortex, a swirl of politics, belief, resentment and fear. At fast-food restaurants, grocery stores, warehouses, nursing homes and anywhere else frontline workers show up each day, a deep schism has taken hold. Workers nervous about the virus find themselves at the mercy of those who aren’t.

“If I ask people to wear a mask or socially distance at work, they get mad and tell the manager. Then I have to get coached. If you get coached too many times, you lose your job,” Naughton said, referring to the company’s system for managing worker infractions. (Charles Crowson, a Walmart spokesman, did not dispute that an accumulation of coachings could lead to termination.)

Draped over this dynamic are often the stark realities of poverty, and the stresses of navigating a low-paying job in a high-pressure situation. And so an already strained situation strains further. Bitterness over masking requests, job insecurity, a run on bottled water, vaccine politics — tensions routinely boil over in his store and beyond, Naughton said.

“It wasn’t always like this. It used to be more friendly here. It’s become hostile. People are really on edge. They fight with you in the store, or with each other,” he said. “The other day a woman wanted to fight over the price of potatoes. You can even see it in how people drive, like they have a death wish.”

These days Naughton passes a fair amount of time alone. He burns off stress at the gym, goes on hikes, reads books on politics. (By flashlight, in the days after Hurricane Ida.) The delta resurgence also dealt a blow to his social life — at one point, concerned about the alarming spread in Louisiana, he cancelled plans to see live comedy with a co-worker. She went on without him; “she wasn’t worried about it,” he said.

Over the last few months, Naughton has pinned his hopes on a transfer — there’s another nearby Walmart he believes to be less stressful. After extensive lobbying, he said the move was finally approved. Coincidentally, it’s to the same store where his father routinely shops, Covid&nbsp;risks and all.

“He’s stubborn. He goes there for pastries, for Coke. He spends hours there. We tell him not to, it’s not safe,” Naughton said.

With nearly 1.6 million workers, Walmart is the largest private employer in the country. It employs 35,954 people in Louisiana alone, working for one of the 137 Supercenters, discount stores, neighbourhood markets or Sam’s Clubs across the state. Covid appears to have been good for the bottom line: During fiscal 2020, the company generated $559 billion in revenue, up $35 billion from the previous year. But labour activists say too little of that money has gone toward workforce protections, which in turn has prolonged the pandemic.

According to United for Respect, a nonprofit labour advocacy group for Walmart and Amazon workers — Naughton is an outspoken member — safety measures remain deeply insufficient.

“Thousands of Walmart associates across the country like Peter have been forced to endure poverty wages and abysmal benefits while working through a deadly pandemic, managing panic-buying sprees and culture wars over mask mandates,” said Bianca Agustin, the accountability director for United for Respect.

In a survey the group conducted of Walmart associates — the term the company uses for all non-temporary employees — in May 2020, nearly half said they had come into work sick or would do so, fearing retaliation otherwise. This past April the group released a report with the public health nonprofit Human Impact Partners, finding that Walmart could have prevented at least 7,618 Covid&nbsp;cases and saved 133 lives with a more robust paid sick time policy. (Researchers have estimated that some 125,000 Walmart workers nationwide likely contracted Covid between February 2020 and February 2021.)

United for Respect is pushing for five measures in response: hazard pay of $5 per hour; access to adequate paid and unpaid leave; immediate notification of positive cases within a given store; the inclusion of workers in the creation of safety protocols; and protection from retaliation. In the meantime, it has created a Covid reporting tool for workers at Amazon and Walmart. So far almost 1,900 cases have been claimed at 360 stores and facilities.

“Walmart lets in people without masks all the time, and social distancing isn’t enforced,” Naughton said. “Our lives are constantly in danger. They have ‘health ambassadors,’ but all they do is sit at the door offering customers masks. I’ve had to fill in for them. A lot of people just ignore you, or else get angry.”

In response, Crowson, the Walmart spokesman, replied that the company “has worked hard to protect the health and safety of associates and customers. This includes administering no-cost vaccinations, enhanced cleaning practices, daily health screenings and temperature checks for our associates, special bonuses and an emergency leave policy.”

For his part, Naughton continues fearing work while also fearing the idea of missing any. That’s partly the work ethic he inherited from his father, who never once called in sick to the chemical plant where he spent his career. But it’s also basic survival in perilous economic times. Putting aside any medical implications for him or his loved ones, he worries that contracting Covid could cost him his job. At 45, reliant on Medicaid for health coverage and having no retirement plan to speak of, he continues to don his yellow “Proud Walmart Associate” vest each morning.

Over the years Naughton has worked at fast-food restaurants, grocery stores and an amusement park. The idea of finding a more COVID-safe work-from-home gig appeals to him, but his hours at Walmart leave little time for job hunting. Regardless, he says the positions he comes across are “the kind you can’t get without experience, but you can’t get experience without a job.”

Asked about the distant universe of office careers and mask-wars-free remote work, Naughton, he replied that it all feels “unfair.”

“They say we’re essential,” he said, “but they treat us like we’re disposable.”

It was a hot morning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the day that Peter Naughton woke up on the floor. Sore, disoriented, he’d already grasped what his mother was now telling him: He’d had another seizure.

It was a hot morning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the day that Peter Naughton woke up on the floor. Sore, disoriented, he’d already grasped what his mother was now telling him: He’d had another seizure. But he also grasped a larger truth: He needed to pull it together and somehow go to work. A cashier and self-checkout host at the nearby Walmart, Naughton dreaded depleting his limited paid time off in the midst of a pandemic. His mother, for her part, insisted that her epileptic son, then 44, stay home and rest. The hours after a seizure were difficult enough. Toss in the stress of COVID-19 and a customer base that largely — and often angrily — rejected mask use, and a day at work seemed anything but recuperative. In the end, Naughton’s growing headache and general fogginess were intense enough that he conceded to his mother’s wishes. He dialled once, twice, three times. No answer. Given the penalty for missing work without giving notice — and the fear of risking his job during uncertain times — he saw what he had to do. Reeling, he made the trip to the store and clocked in. That was the summer of 2020, and in the bewildering year since, the stakes and strain around low-wage frontline jobs like Naughton’s seem only to have multiplied. As shuttered offices cautiously debate the merits and logistics of reopening, a parallel sphere of workers — retail employees, day labourers, emergency personnel, medical staff, and so on — seemingly inhabit another country entirely. In their case nothing ever shuttered. Often their jobs just got really, really hard. “Every day is frightening,” Naughton said recently, now nearly two years into his employment at Walmart. Naughton said this in the dark, his power still out days after Hurricane Ida had barreled through Louisiana. It was 93 degrees. Later he would take another cold shower, also in the dark, in hopes of cooling off before bed. Naughton lives on a quiet, grassy street of low brick homes with his ageing parents, not far from where he attended high school some two decades prior. He had an apartment of his own for a while last year, but his $11.55 hourly wage wasn’t enough to pay the rent, even working full time. So he moved back in with his mother and father, and now lives in fear of bringing the highly contagious delta variant home to them. (Naughton is fully vaccinated. But at 78, his father has health issues that prevent him from getting the shots, Naughton said — health issues that make severe illness likelier should he contract the disease.) Elsewhere in the country, the conversation has begun to move on, away from early Covid alarm and into something more guardedly speculative. What will post-pandemic life look like? How have our priorities shifted? But for vast swaths of the nation, largely untouched by doses from Pfizer and Moderna, it remains late 2020 in many ways. “A lot of people here still don’t believe the virus is real — even when the hospitals are full, even when they have family dying,” Naughton said. “With the vaccines, one co-worker told me getting it would go against her faith. Another told me it contains baby fetuses and mercury. Someone else said it was created by Bill Gates to insert microchips to track you. I said, ‘Why would he want to track you?’” The conversations Naughton describes may be epidemiologically out of step, but he and thousands of others seem trapped in an America-right-now vortex, a swirl of politics, belief, resentment and fear. At fast-food restaurants, grocery stores, warehouses, nursing homes and anywhere else frontline workers show up each day, a deep schism has taken hold. Workers nervous about the virus find themselves at the mercy of those who aren’t. “If I ask people to wear a mask or socially distance at work, they get mad and tell the manager. Then I have to get coached. If you get coached too many times, you lose your job,” Naughton said, referring to the company’s system for managing worker infractions. (Charles Crowson, a Walmart spokesman, did not dispute that an accumulation of coachings could lead to termination.) Draped over this dynamic are often the stark realities of poverty, and the stresses of navigating a low-paying job in a high-pressure situation. And so an already strained situation strains further. Bitterness over masking requests, job insecurity, a run on bottled water, vaccine politics — tensions routinely boil over in his store and beyond, Naughton said. “It wasn’t always like this. It used to be more friendly here. It’s become hostile. People are really on edge. They fight with you in the store, or with each other,” he said. “The other day a woman wanted to fight over the price of potatoes. You can even see it in how people drive, like they have a death wish.” These days Naughton passes a fair amount of time alone. He burns off stress at the gym, goes on hikes, reads books on politics. (By flashlight, in the days after Hurricane Ida.) The delta resurgence also dealt a blow to his social life — at one point, concerned about the alarming spread in Louisiana, he cancelled plans to see live comedy with a co-worker. She went on without him; “she wasn’t worried about it,” he said. Over the last few months, Naughton has pinned his hopes on a transfer — there’s another nearby Walmart he believes to be less stressful. After extensive lobbying, he said the move was finally approved. Coincidentally, it’s to the same store where his father routinely shops, Covid risks and all. “He’s stubborn. He goes there for pastries, for Coke. He spends hours there. We tell him not to, it’s not safe,” Naughton said. With nearly 1.6 million workers, Walmart is the largest private employer in the country. It employs 35,954 people in Louisiana alone, working for one of the 137 Supercenters, discount stores, neighbourhood markets or Sam’s Clubs across the state. Covid appears to have been good for the bottom line: During fiscal 2020, the company generated $559 billion in revenue, up $35 billion from the previous year. But labour activists say too little of that money has gone toward workforce protections, which in turn has prolonged the pandemic. According to United for Respect, a nonprofit labour advocacy group for Walmart and Amazon workers — Naughton is an outspoken member — safety measures remain deeply insufficient. “Thousands of Walmart associates across the country like Peter have been forced to endure poverty wages and abysmal benefits while working through a deadly pandemic, managing panic-buying sprees and culture wars over mask mandates,” said Bianca Agustin, the accountability director for United for Respect. In a survey the group conducted of Walmart associates — the term the company uses for all non-temporary employees — in May 2020, nearly half said they had come into work sick or would do so, fearing retaliation otherwise. This past April the group released a report with the public health nonprofit Human Impact Partners, finding that Walmart could have prevented at least 7,618 Covid cases and saved 133 lives with a more robust paid sick time policy. (Researchers have estimated that some 125,000 Walmart workers nationwide likely contracted Covid between February 2020 and February 2021.) United for Respect is pushing for five measures in response: hazard pay of $5 per hour; access to adequate paid and unpaid leave; immediate notification of positive cases within a given store; the inclusion of workers in the creation of safety protocols; and protection from retaliation. In the meantime, it has created a Covid reporting tool for workers at Amazon and Walmart. So far almost 1,900 cases have been claimed at 360 stores and facilities. “Walmart lets in people without masks all the time, and social distancing isn’t enforced,” Naughton said. “Our lives are constantly in danger. They have ‘health ambassadors,’ but all they do is sit at the door offering customers masks. I’ve had to fill in for them. A lot of people just ignore you, or else get angry.” In response, Crowson, the Walmart spokesman, replied that the company “has worked hard to protect the health and safety of associates and customers. This includes administering no-cost vaccinations, enhanced cleaning practices, daily health screenings and temperature checks for our associates, special bonuses and an emergency leave policy.” For his part, Naughton continues fearing work while also fearing the idea of missing any. That’s partly the work ethic he inherited from his father, who never once called in sick to the chemical plant where he spent his career. But it’s also basic survival in perilous economic times. Putting aside any medical implications for him or his loved ones, he worries that contracting Covid could cost him his job. At 45, reliant on Medicaid for health coverage and having no retirement plan to speak of, he continues to don his yellow “Proud Walmart Associate” vest each morning. Over the years Naughton has worked at fast-food restaurants, grocery stores and an amusement park. The idea of finding a more COVID-safe work-from-home gig appeals to him, but his hours at Walmart leave little time for job hunting. Regardless, he says the positions he comes across are “the kind you can’t get without experience, but you can’t get experience without a job.” Asked about the distant universe of office careers and mask-wars-free remote work, Naughton, he replied that it all feels “unfair.” “They say we’re essential,” he said, “but they treat us like we’re disposable.”

‘Every day is frightening’: Working for the top US employer amid Covid

Stressing that the Covid virus may continue to transmit for a very long time, senior WHO official Poonam Khetrapal Singh says the level of immunity in a community, through vaccination and previous infection, will determine whether it will become endemic in the long run.

WHO's South-East Asia region regional director added that there is need to get to a situation where "we are fully in control of the virus, and not the virus in control of us".

The endemic stage is when a population learns to live with a virus, very different from the epidemic stage when the virus overwhelms a population.

Populations where more people were previously infected and where vaccination coverage is high are expected to be less impacted by the virus in the future than other populations, Singh told PTI in an interview.

"The COVID-19 virus is expected to continue to transmit for a very long time. A multitude of factors will decide whether the virus will become endemic in the long run, chief among them is the level of immunity in a community, both through vaccination and previous infection, she said.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-records-18795-fresh-covid-19-cases-lowest-in-six-months-416546">India records 18,795 fresh COVID-19 cases, lowest in six months</a>

On the granting of emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the indigenously developed Covaxin, she said Bharat Biotech's dossier seeking WHO's Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is being reviewed by technical experts and "we can expect a decision when the process is complete".

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/covid-pandemic-ceos-of-pfizer-and-moderna-say-life-will-be-back-to-normal-in-a-year-416527">Covid pandemic: CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna say life will be back to normal in a year</a>

Discussing the role of booster doses to tackle waning immunity, Singh pointed out that cases and deaths in all countries are predominantly being driven by unvaccinated people. Using vaccines for booster doses constricts supply to countries where millions are still waiting for their first dose, she said.

"Hence, WHO has called for a time-limited moratorium on COVID-19 booster doses until the end of 2021. This is to allow for at least 40 per cent of the population of each country - including those most at risk and health workers - to be vaccinated. We must remember that no one is safe till everyone is safe."

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cant-go-unvaccinated-president-biden-gets-vaccine-booster-shot-416490">'Can't go unvaccinated': President Biden gets vaccine booster shot</a>

She said there is currently no conclusive evidence that COVID-19 vaccine efficacy against severe disease and death wanes significantly over time. The vaccines, the expert emphasised, have remained effective in preventing severe disease and death.

"However, WHO has not ruled out that boosters for some population groups may be warranted in future. WHO's recommendations on boosters will be guided by the scientific evidence, which is still evolving," she said.

"To make a recommendation on the use of booster doses for the general population, more data is needed on optimal timing, safety and dosage of booster doses, which may differ between vaccine products. More extensive research is needed to study the effect of booster doses in the body." 
According to Singh, eradication is unlikely but what we can do is to prevent or minimise deaths, hospitalisations, tragedy and social, economic and health loss due to this pandemic.

Current evidence, she said, shows that protection levels around the world remain low and most people continue to be susceptible to the virus.

"WHO continues to recommend a strong public health response based on risk assessment, and for people to continue to protect themselves by getting vaccinated, maintaining physical distance, wearing a mask, avoiding poorly ventilated spaces, cleaning hands and following respiratory hygiene." 
 
Referring to the probability of a third Covid wave, Singh said another surge and how intense it will be will depend on all of us.

"If we together continue to adhere to public health and social measures and continue to vaccinate people as fast as possible, it will be hard for the virus to infect enough people to cause another wave," she said.

"From experience globally, there is enough evidence that the public health and social measures work, even against the Variants of Concern that are spreading more rapidly, and these measures are critical to limiting transmission of COVID-19 and reducing deaths. For the public health and social measures to be effective, they must be implemented well and timely and must be tailored to local settings and conditions." 
 
On India's decision to restart exporting COVID-19 vaccines, Singh said there is need for equity of vaccination administration globally to ensure that the most vulnerable such as frontline workers and the elderly are fully vaccinated.

"At the moment, several low and lower-middle-income countries are lagging behind in vaccinating their vulnerable populations. An equitable vaccine distribution will also help check the emergence of variants by halting the spread of the virus." 
 
Singh also noted that the pandemic has given "once-in-a-century opportunity" to strengthen the health system to build back better.

"We must invest in strengthening health system resilience to ensure health security and achieve universal health coverage. It means allocation of more resources for health and its efficient governance," she said.

Now is also the time for countries to take lessons from the pandemic to strengthen health systems in her view.

"Strong health systems that are primary healthcare-oriented, and which leave no one behind, create populations that are healthier, more productive and financially secure. Resilient health systems are the bedrock of emergency preparedness and response, and ensure that when acute events occur, essential health services can be maintained," Singh said.

Stressing that the Covid virus may continue to transmit for a very long time, senior WHO official Poonam Khetrapal Singh says the level of immunity in a community, through vaccination and previous infection, will determine whether it will become endemic in the long run.

Stressing that the Covid virus may continue to transmit for a very long time, senior WHO official Poonam Khetrapal Singh says the level of immunity in a community, through vaccination and previous infection, will determine whether it will become endemic in the long run. WHO's South-East Asia region regional director added that there is need to get to a situation where "we are fully in control of the virus, and not the virus in control of us". The endemic stage is when a population learns to live with a virus, very different from the epidemic stage when the virus overwhelms a population. Populations where more people were previously infected and where vaccination coverage is high are expected to be less impacted by the virus in the future than other populations, Singh told PTI in an interview. "The COVID-19 virus is expected to continue to transmit for a very long time. A multitude of factors will decide whether the virus will become endemic in the long run, chief among them is the level of immunity in a community, both through vaccination and previous infection, she said. Also read | India records 18,795 fresh COVID-19 cases, lowest in six months On the granting of emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the indigenously developed Covaxin, she said Bharat Biotech's dossier seeking WHO's Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is being reviewed by technical experts and "we can expect a decision when the process is complete". Also read | Covid pandemic: CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna say life will be back to normal in a year Discussing the role of booster doses to tackle waning immunity, Singh pointed out that cases and deaths in all countries are predominantly being driven by unvaccinated people. Using vaccines for booster doses constricts supply to countries where millions are still waiting for their first dose, she said. "Hence, WHO has called for a time-limited moratorium on COVID-19 booster doses until the end of 2021. This is to allow for at least 40 per cent of the population of each country - including those most at risk and health workers - to be vaccinated. We must remember that no one is safe till everyone is safe." Also read | 'Can't go unvaccinated': President Biden gets vaccine booster shot She said there is currently no conclusive evidence that COVID-19 vaccine efficacy against severe disease and death wanes significantly over time. The vaccines, the expert emphasised, have remained effective in preventing severe disease and death. "However, WHO has not ruled out that boosters for some population groups may be warranted in future. WHO's recommendations on boosters will be guided by the scientific evidence, which is still evolving," she said. "To make a recommendation on the use of booster doses for the general population, more data is needed on optimal timing, safety and dosage of booster doses, which may differ between vaccine products. More extensive research is needed to study the effect of booster doses in the body." According to Singh, eradication is unlikely but what we can do is to prevent or minimise deaths, hospitalisations, tragedy and social, economic and health loss due to this pandemic. Current evidence, she said, shows that protection levels around the world remain low and most people continue to be susceptible to the virus. "WHO continues to recommend a strong public health response based on risk assessment, and for people to continue to protect themselves by getting vaccinated, maintaining physical distance, wearing a mask, avoiding poorly ventilated spaces, cleaning hands and following respiratory hygiene." Referring to the probability of a third Covid wave, Singh said another surge and how intense it will be will depend on all of us. "If we together continue to adhere to public health and social measures and continue to vaccinate people as fast as possible, it will be hard for the virus to infect enough people to cause another wave," she said. "From experience globally, there is enough evidence that the public health and social measures work, even against the Variants of Concern that are spreading more rapidly, and these measures are critical to limiting transmission of COVID-19 and reducing deaths. For the public health and social measures to be effective, they must be implemented well and timely and must be tailored to local settings and conditions." On India's decision to restart exporting COVID-19 vaccines, Singh said there is need for equity of vaccination administration globally to ensure that the most vulnerable such as frontline workers and the elderly are fully vaccinated. "At the moment, several low and lower-middle-income countries are lagging behind in vaccinating their vulnerable populations. An equitable vaccine distribution will also help check the emergence of variants by halting the spread of the virus." Singh also noted that the pandemic has given "once-in-a-century opportunity" to strengthen the health system to build back better. "We must invest in strengthening health system resilience to ensure health security and achieve universal health coverage. It means allocation of more resources for health and its efficient governance," she said. Now is also the time for countries to take lessons from the pandemic to strengthen health systems in her view. "Strong health systems that are primary healthcare-oriented, and which leave no one behind, create populations that are healthier, more productive and financially secure. Resilient health systems are the bedrock of emergency preparedness and response, and ensure that when acute events occur, essential health services can be maintained," Singh said.

Covid virus expected to continue to transmit for a very long time, says WHO official

The world leaders and health experts are urging eligible population to get vaccinated against coronavirus as soon as possible, but children under the age of 12 are not being vaccinated in every country.<o:p></o:p>

However, a 12-year-old boy from the Netherlands has won a court battle as a result of which he can now get vaccinated against coronavirus immediately.<o:p></o:p>

The boy hails from the Dutch city of Groningen where eligibility for <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus-vaccine">Covid vaccines</a> is 12- to 17-year-olds. However, children under the age of 17 need to get consent from their parents to get a shot of the vaccine.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/black-market-for-fake-covid-vaccine-certificates-has-grown-10-times-in-29-countries-study-414949">Black market for fake Covid vaccine certificates has grown 10 times in 29 countries: Study</a>

<o:p></o:p>

His grandmother is suffering from metastatic lung cancer and is in the last stages of the disease which can take her life. The boy wanted to spend as much time as possible with her but the hospital officials said he would have to be vaccinated to meet her.<o:p></o:p>

This boy wanted to get vaccinated against coronavirus so that he would be able to meet his grandmother. However, his father was hesitant about getting his son vaccinated as he believes the vaccines are still "in a test phase" and pose risks to reproductive organs. <o:p></o:p>

The father also claimed that the vaccines can also lead to children developing symptoms of long Covid.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/now-children-aged-between-12-and-15-get-covid-vaccine-shots-in-uk-414537" hreflang="en">Now, children aged between 12 and 15 get Covid vaccine shots in UK</a>

<o:p></o:p>

However, the boy wanted to get vaccinated so he decided to file a legal suit against his father’s decision. His decision to file a lawsuit was supported by his mother — the couple is divorced.<o:p></o:p>

When the case reached the court, Judge Bart Tromp of Groningen District Court&nbsp;ruled in favour of the 12-year-old. He said the boy should get vaccinated if he wants as his intentions are pure and were more important than his father’s hesitancy. The Judge also said that his father’s arguments against Covid vaccines had no scientific basis or proof.<o:p></o:p>

The world leaders and health experts are urging eligible population to get vaccinated against coronavirus as soon as possible, but children under the age of 12 are not being vaccinated in every country.

The world leaders and health experts are urging eligible population to get vaccinated against coronavirus as soon as possible, but children under the age of 12 are not being vaccinated in every country. However, a 12-year-old boy from the Netherlands has won a court battle as a result of which he can now get vaccinated against coronavirus immediately. The boy hails from the Dutch city of Groningen where eligibility for Covid vaccines is 12- to 17-year-olds. However, children under the age of 17 need to get consent from their parents to get a shot of the vaccine. Also read | Black market for fake Covid vaccine certificates has grown 10 times in 29 countries: Study His grandmother is suffering from metastatic lung cancer and is in the last stages of the disease which can take her life. The boy wanted to spend as much time as possible with her but the hospital officials said he would have to be vaccinated to meet her. This boy wanted to get vaccinated against coronavirus so that he would be able to meet his grandmother. However, his father was hesitant about getting his son vaccinated as he believes the vaccines are still "in a test phase" and pose risks to reproductive organs. The father also claimed that the vaccines can also lead to children developing symptoms of long Covid. Also read | Now, children aged between 12 and 15 get Covid vaccine shots in UK However, the boy wanted to get vaccinated so he decided to file a legal suit against his father’s decision. His decision to file a lawsuit was supported by his mother — the couple is divorced. When the case reached the court, Judge Bart Tromp of Groningen District Court ruled in favour of the 12-year-old. He said the boy should get vaccinated if he wants as his intentions are pure and were more important than his father’s hesitancy. The Judge also said that his father’s arguments against Covid vaccines had no scientific basis or proof.

Right to Covid jab: 12-year-old boy wins court battle to get vaccinated

For the first time in the last 40 years, a decline has been observed in the life expectancy for the men in the UK.<o:p></o:p>

This change has emerged specifically due to the coronavirus pandemic. The deadly virus has claimed millions of lives within a year, which has also reduced the life expectancy of men.<o:p></o:p>

"Life expectancy has increased in the UK over the last 40 years, albeit at a slower pace in the last decade. However, the coronavirus pandemic led to a greater number of deaths than normal in 2020,"&nbsp;Pamela Cobb, of the ONS centre for ageing and demography, said.

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/what-caused-massive-arctic-ozone-hole-in-2020-this-study-has-some-answers-415279">What caused massive Arctic ozone hole in 2020? This study has some answers</a></o:p>

While there has been no improvement in life expectancy for women, the data has remained almost the same. However, that is not same for men. <o:p></o:p>

"Consequently, in the latest estimates, we see virtually no improvement in life expectancy for women, while for men life expectancy has fallen back to levels reported for 2012 to 2014," Cobb added.<o:p></o:p>

Before the Covid pandemic, a male baby born between 2015 to 2017 was expected to live for 79.2 years. However, that number has now reduced to 70 years for babies born between 2018 and 2020, as per Office for National Statistics (ONS).<o:p></o:p>

On the other hand, life expectancy for women has largely stayed the same, i.e. 89.2 years for babies born between 2015 and 2017 as well as 2018 and 2020.

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/health-effects-of-wildfires-where-theres-smoke-theres-less-cow-milk-414954">Health effects of wildfires: Where there’s smoke, there’s less cow milk</a></o:p>

However, experts have also cautioned that this estimate does not mandate that the baby boys born between 2018 and 2020 will definitely have a shorter life. The data may change after the coronavirus pandemic ends.<o:p></o:p>

"These estimates rely on the&nbsp;assumption that current levels of mortality, which are unusually high, will continue for the rest of someone’s life," Cobb said. "Once the coronavirus pandemic has ended and its consequences for future mortality are known, it is possible that life expectancy will return to an improving trend in the future."<o:p></o:p>

For the first time in the last 40 years, a decline has been observed in the life expectancy for the men in the UK. This change has emerged specifically due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For the first time in the last 40 years, a decline has been observed in the life expectancy for the men in the UK. This change has emerged specifically due to the coronavirus pandemic. The deadly virus has claimed millions of lives within a year, which has also reduced the life expectancy of men. "Life expectancy has increased in the UK over the last 40 years, albeit at a slower pace in the last decade. However, the coronavirus pandemic led to a greater number of deaths than normal in 2020," Pamela Cobb, of the ONS centre for ageing and demography, said. Also read | What caused massive Arctic ozone hole in 2020? This study has some answers While there has been no improvement in life expectancy for women, the data has remained almost the same. However, that is not same for men. "Consequently, in the latest estimates, we see virtually no improvement in life expectancy for women, while for men life expectancy has fallen back to levels reported for 2012 to 2014," Cobb added. Before the Covid pandemic, a male baby born between 2015 to 2017 was expected to live for 79.2 years. However, that number has now reduced to 70 years for babies born between 2018 and 2020, as per Office for National Statistics (ONS). On the other hand, life expectancy for women has largely stayed the same, i.e. 89.2 years for babies born between 2015 and 2017 as well as 2018 and 2020. Also read | Health effects of wildfires: Where there’s smoke, there’s less cow milk However, experts have also cautioned that this estimate does not mandate that the baby boys born between 2018 and 2020 will definitely have a shorter life. The data may change after the coronavirus pandemic ends. "These estimates rely on the assumption that current levels of mortality, which are unusually high, will continue for the rest of someone’s life," Cobb said. "Once the coronavirus pandemic has ended and its consequences for future mortality are known, it is possible that life expectancy will return to an improving trend in the future."

Covid has decreased life expectancy for men, but not for women: Study

New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) Covid-19 has come back to haunt the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) once again. Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler Thangarasu Natarajan became the first player of the UAE leg of the league to test positive just ahead of the team's match against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday. 
 
The development came as a shocker after strict measures were taken by the organisers to prevent any Covid-19 cases. The cricketers were in a bio-bubble, while the hosts decided to allow some crowds; leaving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) worried. 
 
"Don`t know how it happened. Players are under strict bio-bubble. We have told them to be more cautious now. We just hope no more cases come and disturb the proceeding (IPL). Yes, we are worried but there is no need to press the panic button right no`. Let`s hope for the best. We are getting all the support in the UAE (related to Covid). They, too, are keeping a close watch on everything," a senior BCCI official told IANS. 
 
Asked if allowing crowds inside the stadium was the right decision, the official said, "SRH played their first match yesterday. And Natarajan tested positive before that? so the entire team was under a strict bubble." 
 
The 30-year-old pacer along with six close contacts, including all-rounder Vijay Shankar, have been isolated in Dubai. Apart from Shankar, the other individuals are team manager Vijay Kumar, physiotherapist Shyam Sundar J, Dr. Anjana Vannan, logistics manager Tushar Khedkar and net bowler Periyasamy Ganesan. 
 
The BCCI went ahead with the match at the Dubai International Stadium as the other players have returned negative tests. 
 
Earlier in May, the BCCI had suspended IPL 2021 due to a spike in the number of coronavirus cases inside IPL`s bio-bubble. After a lot of discussions, the board decided to shift the remaining matches to UAE due to the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in India. 
 
 
&nbsp;

New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) Covid-19 has come back to haunt the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) once again. Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler Thangarasu Natarajan became the first player of the UAE leg of the league to test positive just ahead of the team's match against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday.

New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) Covid-19 has come back to haunt the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) once again. Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler Thangarasu Natarajan became the first player of the UAE leg of the league to test positive just ahead of the team's match against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday. The development came as a shocker after strict measures were taken by the organisers to prevent any Covid-19 cases. The cricketers were in a bio-bubble, while the hosts decided to allow some crowds; leaving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) worried. "Don`t know how it happened. Players are under strict bio-bubble. We have told them to be more cautious now. We just hope no more cases come and disturb the proceeding (IPL). Yes, we are worried but there is no need to press the panic button right no`. Let`s hope for the best. We are getting all the support in the UAE (related to Covid). They, too, are keeping a close watch on everything," a senior BCCI official told IANS. Asked if allowing crowds inside the stadium was the right decision, the official said, "SRH played their first match yesterday. And Natarajan tested positive before that? so the entire team was under a strict bubble." The 30-year-old pacer along with six close contacts, including all-rounder Vijay Shankar, have been isolated in Dubai. Apart from Shankar, the other individuals are team manager Vijay Kumar, physiotherapist Shyam Sundar J, Dr. Anjana Vannan, logistics manager Tushar Khedkar and net bowler Periyasamy Ganesan. The BCCI went ahead with the match at the Dubai International Stadium as the other players have returned negative tests. Earlier in May, the BCCI had suspended IPL 2021 due to a spike in the number of coronavirus cases inside IPL`s bio-bubble. After a lot of discussions, the board decided to shift the remaining matches to UAE due to the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in India.

IPL 2021: Worried, but no need to press the panic button, says BCCI official after T Natarajan tests positive for COVID-19

Before Juhi Singh, 46, who owns a high-end wellness center on the Upper East Side, jetted off to the Amalfi Coast last month, she packed her bathing suits and left her 10-year-old son with his grandmother.

Her personal driver also took her to Sollis Healthcare, a concierge medical service in Manhattan, to measure her antibodies for the coronavirus. She received the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine in February, and wanted to see if her immunity was still robust before joining friends at a five-star resort overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea.

“I wouldn’t go on a trip without my antibodies,” Singh said. “It’s nerve-wracking, but my numbers have been good.”

An email arrived 24 hours later with her results: 14.8 arbitrary units per milliliter. Although medical experts warn that an antibody count cannot tell if somebody is protected against the virus, patients have been reading into the numbers anyway. “Mine have dipped a little bit, but I know my vaccine is still working, and I am still protected,” Singh said.

Antibody testing on a monthly or regular basis has become a common practice among certain members of the nervous affluent class. “A lot of my patients and some of my friends are counting their antibodies,” Singh said. “It’s the Upper East Side, the Hamptons circles. It’s like dinner conversation at this point. It almost feels like counting calories.”

Medical concierge services, including Sollis, have started offering antibody tests as a perk to clients. “I check them for people daily,” said Dr. Scott Braunstein, the medical director of Sollis’ office in Los Angeles.

My Concierge MD, an upscale health care practice in Beverly Hills, California, has set up a drive-through where clients, including celebrities and Hollywood executives, can get tested without getting out of their G-Wagons and Teslas. “We do it with a finger prick,” said Dr. David Nazarian, who runs the practice. “Let’s just say with delta, the test sites are busy right now.”

But Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, is concerned about the overuse of antibody tests. “The doctors who are promoting them are not promoting good science,” Caplan said. “I think they are putting their patient at risk, because there are no agreed upon antibody levels.”

Some people check their antibodies because they are immunocompromised or are living with high-risk individuals. (Singh is the caretaker for her 91-year-old grandmother.) Others do it for peace of mind before taking an international flight or attending a gala.

Others just want to be armed with more information about their medical status, something that has become normalized in the era of health monitoring apps. “Our patients are very analytical,” said Dr. Alan Viglione, who runs Montecito Concierge Medicine, a private health care provider in Montecito, California. “We have a lot of patients who want to know their numbers. It’s become a new trend to know what your antibodies are.”

Patients who get a low antibody count may decide to change their behaviors or “life choices,” Braunstein said. “They might decide to skip that wedding. They might take extra precautions.”

Some may opt to get a booster shot. Although the Food and Drug Administration has only authorized booster shots for those who are immunocompromised, there is some evidence that more than 1 million Americans have already received unauthorized third doses.

One medical concierge service was even encouraging high-risk patients to check their antibody levels before getting a booster — something that no public health agency has recommended.

To Test or Not to Test

Getting an antibody test (also known as a serology test) is a relatively easy procedure. Blood, drawn through a finger prick or through a vein, is screened for antibody proteins created by the immune system to fight infection or after vaccination. Antibody tests do not check for the virus itself and cannot be used to diagnose whether someone has Covid.

“It’s a simple blood test, and we see the results the next day because there are a number of large labs across the country doing it,” Braunstein said. “It isn’t overly expensive. Most insurances will cover it, but if they don’t it’s about $100 to 200.”

But the results offer limited information. Current tests only look for antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and not for T cells, which play an important role in the body’s immune response.

It is also not clear what the antibody count means. For starters, different tests measure the strength of the antibodies differently. A person who gets tested by Sollis, for example, may get a count of 20 or higher, while a different lab may give a result of 270 or higher. (A person without antibodies would get a negative result.)

A higher number may not necessarily confer great immunity. “We don’t have exact data on what a 4 means versus a 15,” Braunstein said. “You can’t specifically say that you are a 9, and I am a 8, so you are more protected than me.”

Indeed, the FDA does not recommend that people use antibody tests to gauge immunity and, in fact, warns of its potential risk. People who receive a high antibody count may take fewer precautions, such as mask wearing, that could result in infection or spread. (Braunstein said that “all of our patients are informed of this recommendation and advised to follow all CDC recommended safety measures, regardless of the test result.”)

“It can give you a false sense of security,” said Caplan, who leads NYU’s division of medical ethics. “They might say, ‘I got my antibody test, so I am not going to wear a mask or I am going to that concert, because I know I’m immune,’ which in fact they don’t know.”

Caplan is also concerned that people might use their antibody count as an excuse to skip a booster vaccination when the time comes. “Even if you have antibodies, it doesn’t mean you have them sufficient enough to fight off new variants,” he said.

‘Why Wouldn’t I?’

Still, antibody counting has become a practice among the wealthy who regard their health as a full-time undertaking, where no medical test is too insignificant and no medical resource too expensive.

“People read articles and get on the internet and do research and want to do tests,” Caplan said. “But it is up to the doctor to filter that and calm me down so I don’t spend money on useless or harmful things.”

Medical concierge services, he argues, often do the opposite — that is, cater to their patients’ wishes. “The problem is when you are a concierge practice, you have to honor what they want because they are paying you money to do what they want,” Caplan said.

The poor, he said, often avoid medical tests because they are scared they will lose their health insurance or job if they get a bad result. “If it turns out you have low antibodies, all of a sudden you might think, ‘I can’t tell anybody about this, because my boss won’t let me come into work,’” Caplan said. “The penalties for knowing more about bad health are not problems the rich face.”

That is certainly the case with affluent people who are counting their antibodies.

“With this delta variant, I want to know where I stand,” said Terry Cohen, 62, a real estate agent in the Hamptons who works with high-end properties. “I want to understand what is happening in my body.”

Cohen, who lives in Sagaponack, New York, received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine while in Anguilla last winter. She felt protected until the delta variant surged in July. She also wondered why people her age in Israel were getting booster shots if the vaccines were still effective, and why she was hearing of so many breakthrough cases in her social circle.

News about how much protection the vaccines offer also kept changing. “Whatever one says on Monday the following Monday needs updating,” she said.

So she began checking her antibodies about once a month. “Why wouldn’t I?” Cohen said. “We have the ability to check them, and it’s good data for me to know. I had plenty last time and it makes me feel better, at least for this moment, knowing I am protected.”

As fears mount, concierge doctors are offering other ways to gauge immunity.

Sollis now offers a commercially available test for $200 that checks for T cells. “The test is much more difficult because there are only a few labs in the country doing this,” Dr. Braunstein said. “There is a seven-day turnaround with results, but we think it’s worth it.”

“I have had two or three clients ask for T cell tests,” added Viglione of Montecito. “Right now only specialty labs will do it, but in a month or so I think it will be much more common. It’s trendy to have a lot of personal data.”

Before Juhi Singh, 46, who owns a high-end wellness center on the Upper East Side, jetted off to the Amalfi Coast last month, she packed her bathing suits and left her 10-year-old son with his grandmother.

Before Juhi Singh, 46, who owns a high-end wellness center on the Upper East Side, jetted off to the Amalfi Coast last month, she packed her bathing suits and left her 10-year-old son with his grandmother. Her personal driver also took her to Sollis Healthcare, a concierge medical service in Manhattan, to measure her antibodies for the coronavirus. She received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in February, and wanted to see if her immunity was still robust before joining friends at a five-star resort overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. “I wouldn’t go on a trip without my antibodies,” Singh said. “It’s nerve-wracking, but my numbers have been good.” An email arrived 24 hours later with her results: 14.8 arbitrary units per milliliter. Although medical experts warn that an antibody count cannot tell if somebody is protected against the virus, patients have been reading into the numbers anyway. “Mine have dipped a little bit, but I know my vaccine is still working, and I am still protected,” Singh said. Antibody testing on a monthly or regular basis has become a common practice among certain members of the nervous affluent class. “A lot of my patients and some of my friends are counting their antibodies,” Singh said. “It’s the Upper East Side, the Hamptons circles. It’s like dinner conversation at this point. It almost feels like counting calories.” Medical concierge services, including Sollis, have started offering antibody tests as a perk to clients. “I check them for people daily,” said Dr. Scott Braunstein, the medical director of Sollis’ office in Los Angeles. My Concierge MD, an upscale health care practice in Beverly Hills, California, has set up a drive-through where clients, including celebrities and Hollywood executives, can get tested without getting out of their G-Wagons and Teslas. “We do it with a finger prick,” said Dr. David Nazarian, who runs the practice. “Let’s just say with delta, the test sites are busy right now.” But Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, is concerned about the overuse of antibody tests. “The doctors who are promoting them are not promoting good science,” Caplan said. “I think they are putting their patient at risk, because there are no agreed upon antibody levels.” Some people check their antibodies because they are immunocompromised or are living with high-risk individuals. (Singh is the caretaker for her 91-year-old grandmother.) Others do it for peace of mind before taking an international flight or attending a gala. Others just want to be armed with more information about their medical status, something that has become normalized in the era of health monitoring apps. “Our patients are very analytical,” said Dr. Alan Viglione, who runs Montecito Concierge Medicine, a private health care provider in Montecito, California. “We have a lot of patients who want to know their numbers. It’s become a new trend to know what your antibodies are.” Patients who get a low antibody count may decide to change their behaviors or “life choices,” Braunstein said. “They might decide to skip that wedding. They might take extra precautions.” Some may opt to get a booster shot. Although the Food and Drug Administration has only authorized booster shots for those who are immunocompromised, there is some evidence that more than 1 million Americans have already received unauthorized third doses. One medical concierge service was even encouraging high-risk patients to check their antibody levels before getting a booster — something that no public health agency has recommended. To Test or Not to Test Getting an antibody test (also known as a serology test) is a relatively easy procedure. Blood, drawn through a finger prick or through a vein, is screened for antibody proteins created by the immune system to fight infection or after vaccination. Antibody tests do not check for the virus itself and cannot be used to diagnose whether someone has Covid. “It’s a simple blood test, and we see the results the next day because there are a number of large labs across the country doing it,” Braunstein said. “It isn’t overly expensive. Most insurances will cover it, but if they don’t it’s about $100 to 200.” But the results offer limited information. Current tests only look for antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and not for T cells, which play an important role in the body’s immune response. It is also not clear what the antibody count means. For starters, different tests measure the strength of the antibodies differently. A person who gets tested by Sollis, for example, may get a count of 20 or higher, while a different lab may give a result of 270 or higher. (A person without antibodies would get a negative result.) A higher number may not necessarily confer great immunity. “We don’t have exact data on what a 4 means versus a 15,” Braunstein said. “You can’t specifically say that you are a 9, and I am a 8, so you are more protected than me.” Indeed, the FDA does not recommend that people use antibody tests to gauge immunity and, in fact, warns of its potential risk. People who receive a high antibody count may take fewer precautions, such as mask wearing, that could result in infection or spread. (Braunstein said that “all of our patients are informed of this recommendation and advised to follow all CDC recommended safety measures, regardless of the test result.”) “It can give you a false sense of security,” said Caplan, who leads NYU’s division of medical ethics. “They might say, ‘I got my antibody test, so I am not going to wear a mask or I am going to that concert, because I know I’m immune,’ which in fact they don’t know.” Caplan is also concerned that people might use their antibody count as an excuse to skip a booster vaccination when the time comes. “Even if you have antibodies, it doesn’t mean you have them sufficient enough to fight off new variants,” he said. ‘Why Wouldn’t I?’ Still, antibody counting has become a practice among the wealthy who regard their health as a full-time undertaking, where no medical test is too insignificant and no medical resource too expensive. “People read articles and get on the internet and do research and want to do tests,” Caplan said. “But it is up to the doctor to filter that and calm me down so I don’t spend money on useless or harmful things.” Medical concierge services, he argues, often do the opposite — that is, cater to their patients’ wishes. “The problem is when you are a concierge practice, you have to honor what they want because they are paying you money to do what they want,” Caplan said. The poor, he said, often avoid medical tests because they are scared they will lose their health insurance or job if they get a bad result. “If it turns out you have low antibodies, all of a sudden you might think, ‘I can’t tell anybody about this, because my boss won’t let me come into work,’” Caplan said. “The penalties for knowing more about bad health are not problems the rich face.” That is certainly the case with affluent people who are counting their antibodies. “With this delta variant, I want to know where I stand,” said Terry Cohen, 62, a real estate agent in the Hamptons who works with high-end properties. “I want to understand what is happening in my body.” Cohen, who lives in Sagaponack, New York, received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine while in Anguilla last winter. She felt protected until the delta variant surged in July. She also wondered why people her age in Israel were getting booster shots if the vaccines were still effective, and why she was hearing of so many breakthrough cases in her social circle. News about how much protection the vaccines offer also kept changing. “Whatever one says on Monday the following Monday needs updating,” she said. So she began checking her antibodies about once a month. “Why wouldn’t I?” Cohen said. “We have the ability to check them, and it’s good data for me to know. I had plenty last time and it makes me feel better, at least for this moment, knowing I am protected.” As fears mount, concierge doctors are offering other ways to gauge immunity. Sollis now offers a commercially available test for $200 that checks for T cells. “The test is much more difficult because there are only a few labs in the country doing this,” Dr. Braunstein said. “There is a seven-day turnaround with results, but we think it’s worth it.” “I have had two or three clients ask for T cell tests,” added Viglione of Montecito. “Right now only specialty labs will do it, but in a month or so I think it will be much more common. It’s trendy to have a lot of personal data.”

Some rich people are counting their antibodies ‘like calories’

&nbsp;India's National Health Authority CEO RS Sharma on Wednesday said he was not aware of any concerns being raised by the UK about India's Covid&nbsp;vaccine certification and stressed that the Co-WIN system is WHO-compliant.

Indian travellers vaccinated with two doses of Covishield will still have to undergo 10 days of quarantine in the UK even after the vaccine was approved under the revised guidelines for travel on Wednesday.

British officials suggested the main issue is Covid vaccine certification and not the Covishield vaccine and that both India and the UK are holding talks to mutually resolve the matter.

"I am not aware of any concerns being raised by the UK. The British High Commissioner met me on September 2 and wanted to know details about the Co-WIN system. 
"So we connected their technical team with our technical teams that had two rounds of discussion, with the second one being just yesterday. They have conveyed to us there is no need for any further discussion as all information has been exchanged between the two parties," Sharma told PTI.

He further said the Co-WIN system is WHO compliant and that so far they have not received any communication about any concerns from the Ministry of External Affairs or the British High Commission.

Referring to the latest guidelines issued by the UK government that will come into effect on October 4, the UK officials said on Wednesday that London does not have any problem with the Covishield vaccine but there are certain issues related to vaccine certification in India.

They said the UK is engaging with the government of India to explore how it could expand its recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India. 
Quoting new guidelines, the officials said Indian travellers to the UK must follow the "non-vaccinated rules" set out by the authorities.

India had on Tuesday warned of "reciprocal measures" if the UK does not address its concerns over the new travel rules relating to COVID-19 vaccine certification with Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla describing these norms as "discriminatory".

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also took up the issue of Covishield-vaccinated travellers being required to quarantine in the UK with newly-appointed British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss at a meeting in New York on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the UK government added Covishield, the Indian-manufactured Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, to an updated international travel advisory.

Asked whether the problem is with India's vaccine certification, British High Commissioner Alex Ellis said on Wednesday that the UK government is trying to understand how the Indian COVID vaccine app works and that it is a two-way process.

He said the UK government is letting India know how its COVID app functions, adding both sides are going through a normal technical process to resolve any issue.

"This is happening at an extraordinary speed," he said

"The UK is committed to opening up international travel again as soon as is practicable and this announcement is a further step to enable people to travel more freely again, in a safe and

sustainable way, while protecting public health," a spokesperson in the British High Commission said.

"We are engaging with the Government of India to explore how we could expand UK recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India," the official said.

India's National Health Authority CEO RS Sharma on Wednesday said he was not aware of any concerns being raised by the UK about India's Covid vaccine certification and stressed that the Co-WIN system is WHO-compliant.

India's National Health Authority CEO RS Sharma on Wednesday said he was not aware of any concerns being raised by the UK about India's Covid vaccine certification and stressed that the Co-WIN system is WHO-compliant. Indian travellers vaccinated with two doses of Covishield will still have to undergo 10 days of quarantine in the UK even after the vaccine was approved under the revised guidelines for travel on Wednesday. British officials suggested the main issue is Covid vaccine certification and not the Covishield vaccine and that both India and the UK are holding talks to mutually resolve the matter. "I am not aware of any concerns being raised by the UK. The British High Commissioner met me on September 2 and wanted to know details about the Co-WIN system. "So we connected their technical team with our technical teams that had two rounds of discussion, with the second one being just yesterday. They have conveyed to us there is no need for any further discussion as all information has been exchanged between the two parties," Sharma told PTI. He further said the Co-WIN system is WHO compliant and that so far they have not received any communication about any concerns from the Ministry of External Affairs or the British High Commission. Referring to the latest guidelines issued by the UK government that will come into effect on October 4, the UK officials said on Wednesday that London does not have any problem with the Covishield vaccine but there are certain issues related to vaccine certification in India. They said the UK is engaging with the government of India to explore how it could expand its recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India. Quoting new guidelines, the officials said Indian travellers to the UK must follow the "non-vaccinated rules" set out by the authorities. India had on Tuesday warned of "reciprocal measures" if the UK does not address its concerns over the new travel rules relating to COVID-19 vaccine certification with Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla describing these norms as "discriminatory". External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also took up the issue of Covishield-vaccinated travellers being required to quarantine in the UK with newly-appointed British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss at a meeting in New York on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the UK government added Covishield, the Indian-manufactured Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, to an updated international travel advisory. Asked whether the problem is with India's vaccine certification, British High Commissioner Alex Ellis said on Wednesday that the UK government is trying to understand how the Indian COVID vaccine app works and that it is a two-way process. He said the UK government is letting India know how its COVID app functions, adding both sides are going through a normal technical process to resolve any issue. "This is happening at an extraordinary speed," he said "The UK is committed to opening up international travel again as soon as is practicable and this announcement is a further step to enable people to travel more freely again, in a safe and sustainable way, while protecting public health," a spokesperson in the British High Commission said. "We are engaging with the Government of India to explore how we could expand UK recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India," the official said.

Not aware of any concerns being raised by the UK, says India's top health official on vaccine certification issue

On Tuesday, US&nbsp;President Joe Biden delivered his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, declaring that the world is at a "inflection point in history" and that the world must act quickly and cooperatively to address the lingering issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and human rights violations.

In the midst of rising tensions with China, Biden also stated that the US is “not seeking a new Cold War.”&nbsp;

Biden highlighted growing concerns about rising tensions between the two countries without directly addressing China.

“We are not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocks,” he clarified. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/un-general-assembly-2021-alarm-to-wake-up-world-key-points-from-strong-speech-by-secretary-general-antonio-guterres-414680">Also read | Alarm to wake up world: Key points from strong speech by Secretary General Antonio Guterres</a>

With no lack of issues facing the world, the president emphasised his decision to end America's longest war, in Afghanistan, last month, and set the stage for his administration to shift its focus to intensive diplomacy.

He is motivated by the notion that "to deliver for our own people, we must also engage deeply with the rest of the world," according to him.&nbsp;

He said&nbsp;that the pandemic has been a time of "great grief and incredible possibilities," but that the world now has a chance to make a difference.&nbsp; 
 
WION-USA Direct: Biden to host Modi at White House, counter terrorism &amp; Afghan situation on agenda

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He asserted that at the "beginning of a pivotal decade for our globe," there is a "clear and urgent choice" to "define our futures." 
 
The US president stated that powerful countries will not be able to dominate weaker countries.

Countries must work together to face important challenges such as climate change and COVID-19, he said, "even if we have great disagreement in other areas."&nbsp;

Biden said that countries must now address climate change and prepare for the next pandemic, which he predicts will occur.&nbsp; 
 
WATCH:&nbsp;

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&nbsp;

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden delivered his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, declaring that the world is at a "inflection point in history" and that the world must act quickly and cooperatively to address the lingering issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and human rights violations.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden delivered his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, declaring that the world is at a "inflection point in history" and that the world must act quickly and cooperatively to address the lingering issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and human rights violations. In the midst of rising tensions with China, Biden also stated that the US is “not seeking a new Cold War.” Biden highlighted growing concerns about rising tensions between the two countries without directly addressing China. “We are not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocks,” he clarified. Also read | Alarm to wake up world: Key points from strong speech by Secretary General Antonio Guterres With no lack of issues facing the world, the president emphasised his decision to end America's longest war, in Afghanistan, last month, and set the stage for his administration to shift its focus to intensive diplomacy. He is motivated by the notion that "to deliver for our own people, we must also engage deeply with the rest of the world," according to him. He said that the pandemic has been a time of "great grief and incredible possibilities," but that the world now has a chance to make a difference. WION-USA Direct: Biden to host Modi at White House, counter terrorism & Afghan situation on agenda He asserted that at the "beginning of a pivotal decade for our globe," there is a "clear and urgent choice" to "define our futures." The US president stated that powerful countries will not be able to dominate weaker countries. Countries must work together to face important challenges such as climate change and COVID-19, he said, "even if we have great disagreement in other areas." Biden said that countries must now address climate change and prepare for the next pandemic, which he predicts will occur. WATCH: ×

UN General Assembly 2021 | 'We are not seeking a new cold war': US President Joe Biden

Germany reacted with shock and outrage on Tuesday after a 20-year-old petrol station worker was shot dead by a customer angry about being asked to put on a mask while buying beer.

The killing on Saturday evening in the western town of Idar-Oberstein is believed to be the first in Germany linked to the government's coronavirus rules.

The row started when the cashier, a student, told the customer to put on a face mask, as required in all German shops. After a brief argument, the man left.

The suspect then returned about an hour and a half later, this time wearing a mask. But as he brought his six-pack of beer to the till, he took off the mask and another discussion ensued.&nbsp;

"The perpetrator then pulled out a revolver and shot him straight in the head," prosecutor Kai Fuhrmann told reporters on Monday.

The suspect, a 49-year-old German man, walked to a police station the following day to turn himself in. He was arrested and has confessed to the murder.

He told police he felt "cornered" by the coronavirus measures, which he perceived as an "ever-growing infringement on his rights" and he had seen "no other way out", Fuhrmann said.

Idar-Oberstein mayor Frank Fruehauf called it "an unfathomable, terrible act", and residents have laid flowers and candles outside the petrol station.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pandemic-claims-more-american-lives-than-1918-flu-data-shows-414638">Pandemic claims more American lives than 1918 flu, data shows</a>

The murder comes just days before Germans head to the polls for a general election on September 26 that will see Chancellor Angela Merkel bow out after 16 years.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz from the centre-left Social Democrats, the current frontrunner to succeed Merkel, said he was "shocked" by the murder of someone who only wanted "to protect himself and others".

"As a society, we must resolutely stand up to hatred," he tweeted.

Annalena Baerbock, the Green party's candidate for the chancellery, said she was "shaken" by the murder and "very concerned" about growing radicalisation in the anti-mask community.

Paul Ziemiak, general secretary of Merkel's CDU party, said the victim was "practically executed" in an act that showed "an inconceivable level of radicalisation".

<h2>'Growing aggressiveness'</h2>

The Tagesspiegel newspaper said far-right chat groups on Telegram were applauding the murder, with one user writing "Here we go!!!" while others posted thumbs-up emojis.

Germany has seen repeated protests from anti-mask demonstrators throughout the pandemic, some of them attracting tens of thousands of people.

The "Querdenker" (Lateral Thinkers) movement has emerged as the loudest voice against the government's coronavirus curbs and regulations. Its marches have drawn a wide mix of people, including vaccine sceptics, neo-Nazis and members of Germany's far-right AfD party.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the "hatred and incitement" of Querdenker "divides our community and kills people". "They have no place in our society," he wrote on Twitter.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cia-officer-reports-havana-syndrome-symptoms-on-india-trip-reports-414634">CIA officer reports Havana syndrome symptoms on India trip: reports</a>

Germany's domestic intelligence agency announced in April that it would start monitoring leading Querdenker figures over concerns they were trying to undermine the state and had ties to right-wing extremism.

Stephan Kramer, head of the domestic intelligence agency in the eastern state of Thuringia, told Germany's RND media group he was saddened but not surprised by the killing.

"The escalation of right-wing conspiracy fantasies among aggressive and violence-prone citizens has been obvious for months," he said.&nbsp;

"The growing aggressiveness is palpable in everyday life."

Germany reacted with shock and outrage on Tuesday after a 20-year-old petrol station worker was shot dead by a customer angry about being asked to put on a mask while buying beer.

Germany reacted with shock and outrage on Tuesday after a 20-year-old petrol station worker was shot dead by a customer angry about being asked to put on a mask while buying beer. The killing on Saturday evening in the western town of Idar-Oberstein is believed to be the first in Germany linked to the government's coronavirus rules. The row started when the cashier, a student, told the customer to put on a face mask, as required in all German shops. After a brief argument, the man left. The suspect then returned about an hour and a half later, this time wearing a mask. But as he brought his six-pack of beer to the till, he took off the mask and another discussion ensued. "The perpetrator then pulled out a revolver and shot him straight in the head," prosecutor Kai Fuhrmann told reporters on Monday. The suspect, a 49-year-old German man, walked to a police station the following day to turn himself in. He was arrested and has confessed to the murder. He told police he felt "cornered" by the coronavirus measures, which he perceived as an "ever-growing infringement on his rights" and he had seen "no other way out", Fuhrmann said. Idar-Oberstein mayor Frank Fruehauf called it "an unfathomable, terrible act", and residents have laid flowers and candles outside the petrol station. Also read | Pandemic claims more American lives than 1918 flu, data shows The murder comes just days before Germans head to the polls for a general election on September 26 that will see Chancellor Angela Merkel bow out after 16 years. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz from the centre-left Social Democrats, the current frontrunner to succeed Merkel, said he was "shocked" by the murder of someone who only wanted "to protect himself and others". "As a society, we must resolutely stand up to hatred," he tweeted. Annalena Baerbock, the Green party's candidate for the chancellery, said she was "shaken" by the murder and "very concerned" about growing radicalisation in the anti-mask community. Paul Ziemiak, general secretary of Merkel's CDU party, said the victim was "practically executed" in an act that showed "an inconceivable level of radicalisation". 'Growing aggressiveness' The Tagesspiegel newspaper said far-right chat groups on Telegram were applauding the murder, with one user writing "Here we go!!!" while others posted thumbs-up emojis. Germany has seen repeated protests from anti-mask demonstrators throughout the pandemic, some of them attracting tens of thousands of people. The "Querdenker" (Lateral Thinkers) movement has emerged as the loudest voice against the government's coronavirus curbs and regulations. Its marches have drawn a wide mix of people, including vaccine sceptics, neo-Nazis and members of Germany's far-right AfD party. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the "hatred and incitement" of Querdenker "divides our community and kills people". "They have no place in our society," he wrote on Twitter. Also read | CIA officer reports Havana syndrome symptoms on India trip: reports Germany's domestic intelligence agency announced in April that it would start monitoring leading Querdenker figures over concerns they were trying to undermine the state and had ties to right-wing extremism. Stephan Kramer, head of the domestic intelligence agency in the eastern state of Thuringia, told Germany's RND media group he was saddened but not surprised by the killing. "The escalation of right-wing conspiracy fantasies among aggressive and violence-prone citizens has been obvious for months," he said. "The growing aggressiveness is palpable in everyday life."

Covid rage: Asked to put on mask, angry customer kills petrol station worker in Germany

“I think I’ve come to believe that even if the COVID death toll was '10 times' what it currently is,” MSNBC host Chris Hayes wrote a few days ago on Twitter, “the politics of all of it wouldn’t be appreciably different.”

I like this question because I’m interested in COVID-19 counterfactuals — whether ideology and identity and in-group loyalty determined everything about the pandemic response, or whether there’s a world where Donald Trump went all-in for strict disease-fighting measures and liberals turned anti-lockdown in response, or one where Trump won reelection and hesitation over the “Trump vaccine” ended up stronger on the left.

But those are strictly political counterfactuals, whereas Hayes raises a more medical one: How much of our polarized response to COVID-19 is independent of the nature of the disease itself?

Here’s a quick case that he’s right. At the pandemic’s outset, skeptics of a sweeping response argued that public health authorities were overestimating the disease’s dangers, and many conservatives were eager to believe them. The Hoover Institution’s Richard Epstein famously predicted COVID-19 would claim only 5,000 lives in the United States. Stanford University epidemiologist John Ioannidis speculated that 10,000 deaths could be a reasonable expectation — which absent media hysteria would feel no different from a bad flu year. Over subsequent months skeptics talked about a “casedemic” in which testing would find more cases but deaths would remain relatively low, and in June 2020 Mike Pence famously downplayed predictions of a second wave.

Today it’s clear that the public health authorities got all kinds of things wrong, and many bad decisions — especially about closing schools — were made in an atmosphere of panic. Still, on the fundamental question of how bad the disease would be, the authorities were more right than their more optimistic critics. Even with rapidly developed vaccines, we’ve had 670,000 reported coronavirus deaths and counting. This is less death, yes, than some of the absolute worst-case projections. But it’s still more than '50 times' more death than the early predictions from people who thought authorities were panicking too quickly.

In that sense we’ve already run a version of Hayes' counterfactual. COVID-19 has been deadlier than many people on the right hoped or predicted, and yet the partisan divide that took shape last spring hasn’t really budged, with Republicans still taking the libertarian side in debate after debate — closures, masks, now vaccine mandates.

But I’m still not sure Hayes is right about the COVID-19 10-times-worse scenario being basically identical to this one in its divisions. As bad as the coronavirus has been, most people who get it still come out OK, children are especially unlikely to be hospitalized or die, and deaths are concentrated in a population, the elderly in nursing homes, that (to our shame) we already keep somewhat out of mind.

Yes, long-haul COVID-19 is a real problem, but America is good at ignoring its chronic illness epidemics. Yes, there does seem to be a notable tendency for right-wing talk radio hosts to die of the disease — but in the big picture of celebrities, the most famous deaths are more obscure than seemed likely when Tom Hanks or for that matter Trump himself fell ill.

And as terrible as it is that 1 in 500 Americans have died of COVID-19, it’s still much easier to have gone through the pandemic 'without' having a close friend or family member die of it — as I have not, for instance — than it would be were the toll 1 in 50.

Before the pandemic, I once built a column around psychiatrist-blogger Scott Alexander’s concept of “the scissor,” which describes a controversy or idea or event perfectly calibrated to divide people while making them think that the other side is bonkers. Arguably COVID-19's death rate makes it a perfect scissor: It’s high enough to make the alarmed feel vindicated, but still low enough that many skeptics feel vindicated as well.

Whereas if the fatality figures were 10 times lower, I suspect there would be much more internal liberal debate over the wisdom of the sweeping early response. And if they were 10 times higher, I think there might have been more red-state support for public health restrictions of all kinds.

But that doesn’t mean that the country would have been more unified in a “COVID 10-times-worse” world. Instead, there would be more regional fractures, more governors trying to close borders and restrict travel, more vicious interstate fighting over medical resources, more frenzied culture wars over which drugs to try experimentally, more total panic and meltdown around schools.

And since the one thing we don’t seem to be doing yet is preparing for the next pandemic, my fear is that within the next 20 years we’ll encounter an invisible enemy that puts the Hayes counterfactual to a test.

“I think I’ve come to believe that even if the COVID death toll was '10 times' what it currently is,” MSNBC host Chris Hayes wrote a few days ago on Twitter, “the politics of all of it wouldn’t be appreciably different.

“I think I’ve come to believe that even if the COVID death toll was '10 times' what it currently is,” MSNBC host Chris Hayes wrote a few days ago on Twitter, “the politics of all of it wouldn’t be appreciably different.” I like this question because I’m interested in COVID-19 counterfactuals — whether ideology and identity and in-group loyalty determined everything about the pandemic response, or whether there’s a world where Donald Trump went all-in for strict disease-fighting measures and liberals turned anti-lockdown in response, or one where Trump won reelection and hesitation over the “Trump vaccine” ended up stronger on the left. But those are strictly political counterfactuals, whereas Hayes raises a more medical one: How much of our polarized response to COVID-19 is independent of the nature of the disease itself? Here’s a quick case that he’s right. At the pandemic’s outset, skeptics of a sweeping response argued that public health authorities were overestimating the disease’s dangers, and many conservatives were eager to believe them. The Hoover Institution’s Richard Epstein famously predicted COVID-19 would claim only 5,000 lives in the United States. Stanford University epidemiologist John Ioannidis speculated that 10,000 deaths could be a reasonable expectation — which absent media hysteria would feel no different from a bad flu year. Over subsequent months skeptics talked about a “casedemic” in which testing would find more cases but deaths would remain relatively low, and in June 2020 Mike Pence famously downplayed predictions of a second wave. Today it’s clear that the public health authorities got all kinds of things wrong, and many bad decisions — especially about closing schools — were made in an atmosphere of panic. Still, on the fundamental question of how bad the disease would be, the authorities were more right than their more optimistic critics. Even with rapidly developed vaccines, we’ve had 670,000 reported coronavirus deaths and counting. This is less death, yes, than some of the absolute worst-case projections. But it’s still more than '50 times' more death than the early predictions from people who thought authorities were panicking too quickly. In that sense we’ve already run a version of Hayes' counterfactual. COVID-19 has been deadlier than many people on the right hoped or predicted, and yet the partisan divide that took shape last spring hasn’t really budged, with Republicans still taking the libertarian side in debate after debate — closures, masks, now vaccine mandates. But I’m still not sure Hayes is right about the COVID-19 10-times-worse scenario being basically identical to this one in its divisions. As bad as the coronavirus has been, most people who get it still come out OK, children are especially unlikely to be hospitalized or die, and deaths are concentrated in a population, the elderly in nursing homes, that (to our shame) we already keep somewhat out of mind. Yes, long-haul COVID-19 is a real problem, but America is good at ignoring its chronic illness epidemics. Yes, there does seem to be a notable tendency for right-wing talk radio hosts to die of the disease — but in the big picture of celebrities, the most famous deaths are more obscure than seemed likely when Tom Hanks or for that matter Trump himself fell ill. And as terrible as it is that 1 in 500 Americans have died of COVID-19, it’s still much easier to have gone through the pandemic 'without' having a close friend or family member die of it — as I have not, for instance — than it would be were the toll 1 in 50. Before the pandemic, I once built a column around psychiatrist-blogger Scott Alexander’s concept of “the scissor,” which describes a controversy or idea or event perfectly calibrated to divide people while making them think that the other side is bonkers. Arguably COVID-19's death rate makes it a perfect scissor: It’s high enough to make the alarmed feel vindicated, but still low enough that many skeptics feel vindicated as well. Whereas if the fatality figures were 10 times lower, I suspect there would be much more internal liberal debate over the wisdom of the sweeping early response. And if they were 10 times higher, I think there might have been more red-state support for public health restrictions of all kinds. But that doesn’t mean that the country would have been more unified in a “COVID 10-times-worse” world. Instead, there would be more regional fractures, more governors trying to close borders and restrict travel, more vicious interstate fighting over medical resources, more frenzied culture wars over which drugs to try experimentally, more total panic and meltdown around schools. And since the one thing we don’t seem to be doing yet is preparing for the next pandemic, my fear is that within the next 20 years we’ll encounter an invisible enemy that puts the Hayes counterfactual to a test.

What if COVID-19 were 10 times deadlier?

After months of Covid regulations, the UK has decided to open its borders for travellers who are fully vaccinated. This announcement will help people travelling on long haul flights between India and the UK.<o:p></o:p>

Starting from October 04, the system of red, amber and green countries will be scrapped. Instead, there will only be one list, i.e., red list countries. This list will have all the countries where coronavirus is increasing at an alarming rate.

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-panel-recommends-pfizers-covid-booster-shot-for-65-and-above-rejects-for-16-year-olds-413903">US panel recommends Pfizer's Covid booster shot for 65 and above, rejects for 16 year-olds</a></o:p>

UK will also put a stop at the pre-departure tests that the travellers have to go through before arriving in the UK. This will be applicable for fully-vaccinated people entering the UK from the countries which are not on the red list.<o:p></o:p>

This has come as a piece of good news for Indians who have had to take longer and more complicated routes to reach to the UK.

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australia-violent-clash-breaks-out-between-police-and-anti-lockdown-protestors-413937">Australia: Violent clash breaks out between police and anti-lockdown protestors</a></o:p>

From October, this decision will help Indians save money and time in travelling as they will not be required to undergo the compulsory PCR tests now.<o:p></o:p>

However, people vaccinated by Covishield in India will have go through a pre-departure test, two PCR tests (first on day two and second on day eight), and self-isolate at the given address for 10 days upon entry. This has been made compulsory as India has not been added in the list of exempted countries whose Covid vaccines have been recognised in the UK.<o:p></o:p>

After months of Covid regulations, the UK has decided to open its borders for travellers who are fully vaccinated. This announcement will help people travelling on long haul flights between India and the UK.

After months of Covid regulations, the UK has decided to open its borders for travellers who are fully vaccinated. This announcement will help people travelling on long haul flights between India and the UK. Starting from October 04, the system of red, amber and green countries will be scrapped. Instead, there will only be one list, i.e., red list countries. This list will have all the countries where coronavirus is increasing at an alarming rate. Also read | US panel recommends Pfizer's Covid booster shot for 65 and above, rejects for 16 year-olds UK will also put a stop at the pre-departure tests that the travellers have to go through before arriving in the UK. This will be applicable for fully-vaccinated people entering the UK from the countries which are not on the red list. This has come as a piece of good news for Indians who have had to take longer and more complicated routes to reach to the UK. Also read | Australia: Violent clash breaks out between police and anti-lockdown protestors From October, this decision will help Indians save money and time in travelling as they will not be required to undergo the compulsory PCR tests now. However, people vaccinated by Covishield in India will have go through a pre-departure test, two PCR tests (first on day two and second on day eight), and self-isolate at the given address for 10 days upon entry. This has been made compulsory as India has not been added in the list of exempted countries whose Covid vaccines have been recognised in the UK.

UK eases Covid travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers

In last one-and-a-half years, coronavirus has hit the world hard. Be it the downturn in the economy or loss of precious lives to the disease, several people have been adversely affected by the spread of this dreadful ailment. &nbsp;&nbsp;

In the beginning, several people lost their jobs and loved ones to the disease and when slowly the world tried to stand up on its feet, the rising prices of commodities, such as fuel, etc have taken a huge toll on people. &nbsp;&nbsp;

To keep a tab over the rising number of coronavirus cases, some people have been taking adequate precautions while some can be seen denying the existence of the pandemic. &nbsp;&nbsp;

There have been numerous protests against the lockdowns or measures imposed to fight COVID-19. At some places, people have been moving without undertaking standard safety measures as well. &nbsp;

The real question is that is it a boon or bane. Although it may seem a bane at first, it is actually a boon in many terms. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Watch:&nbsp;

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It was a boon for animals, who could live freely and safely in lockdown. Technological innovation also got a great boost in this period. &nbsp;&nbsp;

It gave birth to several new processes, such as online classes, work-from-home, etc. It actually taught us a new way of life and has been teaching the importance of taking precautions. &nbsp;

People also realised the true importance of loved ones, although in the harsh way. It also brought out the best in the mankind as several people like actor Sonu Sood and others could be seen helping the needy. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/india-news/covaxins-wait-continues-as-who-delays-emergency-use-again-413949" hreflang="en">Covaxin's wait continues as WHO delays emergency use again</a>

It also makes us realise that the world should unite if it needs to fight any such pandemic or hardship in future successfully.

The world also learnt value of cleanliness and honoured the work of all the corona warriors, such as healthcare professionals, security personnel, delivery men, etc. &nbsp;&nbsp;

As the war against Covid isn’t over yet, it is utmost important to be safe, help each other and fight together to win at the end.&nbsp;

In last one-and-a-half years, coronavirus has hit the world hard. Be it the downturn in the economy or loss of precious lives to the disease, several people have been adversely affected by the spread of this dreadful ailment.

In last one-and-a-half years, coronavirus has hit the world hard. Be it the downturn in the economy or loss of precious lives to the disease, several people have been adversely affected by the spread of this dreadful ailment. In the beginning, several people lost their jobs and loved ones to the disease and when slowly the world tried to stand up on its feet, the rising prices of commodities, such as fuel, etc have taken a huge toll on people. To keep a tab over the rising number of coronavirus cases, some people have been taking adequate precautions while some can be seen denying the existence of the pandemic. There have been numerous protests against the lockdowns or measures imposed to fight COVID-19. At some places, people have been moving without undertaking standard safety measures as well. The real question is that is it a boon or bane. Although it may seem a bane at first, it is actually a boon in many terms. Watch: × It was a boon for animals, who could live freely and safely in lockdown. Technological innovation also got a great boost in this period. It gave birth to several new processes, such as online classes, work-from-home, etc. It actually taught us a new way of life and has been teaching the importance of taking precautions. People also realised the true importance of loved ones, although in the harsh way. It also brought out the best in the mankind as several people like actor Sonu Sood and others could be seen helping the needy. Also Read: Covaxin's wait continues as WHO delays emergency use again It also makes us realise that the world should unite if it needs to fight any such pandemic or hardship in future successfully. The world also learnt value of cleanliness and honoured the work of all the corona warriors, such as healthcare professionals, security personnel, delivery men, etc. As the war against Covid isn’t over yet, it is utmost important to be safe, help each other and fight together to win at the end.

Why Covid may be a boon for world? 

Sri Lanka`s Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the nationwide quarantine curfew came into effect late August, has been extended till October 1 in an effort to curb the furtherspread of COVID-19.

Following a meeting between the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday, Rambukwella said the latter had decided to extend the quarantine curfew till 4 am&nbsp;on October 1, reports Xinhua news agency.

Rambukwella however said government essential services impacting the economy will be allowed to function during the curfew.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/sri-lanka-covid-19-pandemic-plunging-economy-leads-to-crisis-413394">WATCH |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/sri-lanka-covid-19-pandemic-plunging-economy-leads-to-crisis-413394/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"As per President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, I will be consulting with Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa to decide which government institutions will be kept open as essential services that contribute to the economy," the Health Minister said.

"While the lockdown is in progress, I urge all citizens to get the available vaccines as soon as possible," he added.

Sri Lanka was to lift the ongoing quarantine curfew on September 21 but extended it following a recommendation from the health experts.

According to health experts, Sri Lanka is facing a rapid spread of the Delta variant.

Since March last year, the island nation has reported a total of 498,694 COVID-19 cases and 11,817 deaths.

Sri Lanka`s Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the nationwide quarantine curfew came into effect late August, has been extended till October 1 in an effort to curb the furtherspread of COVID-19.

Sri Lanka`s Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the nationwide quarantine curfew came into effect late August, has been extended till October 1 in an effort to curb the furtherspread of COVID-19. Following a meeting between the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday, Rambukwella said the latter had decided to extend the quarantine curfew till 4 am on October 1, reports Xinhua news agency. Rambukwella however said government essential services impacting the economy will be allowed to function during the curfew. WATCH | "As per President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, I will be consulting with Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa to decide which government institutions will be kept open as essential services that contribute to the economy," the Health Minister said. "While the lockdown is in progress, I urge all citizens to get the available vaccines as soon as possible," he added. Sri Lanka was to lift the ongoing quarantine curfew on September 21 but extended it following a recommendation from the health experts. According to health experts, Sri Lanka is facing a rapid spread of the Delta variant. Since March last year, the island nation has reported a total of 498,694 COVID-19 cases and 11,817 deaths.

Sri Lanka extends nationwide quarantine curfew till October 1

Caleb Bell is deaf, blind and nonverbal. When classes at his Manhattan school moved online last year, Bell needed his mother’s help to answer direct questions. She would often reach over and lift a block with a raised green circle, signifying “yes,” or a raised red X signifying “no.”

But, Bell, 21, would just sit there, disengaged.

His mother, Chrystal Bell, said her son got “nothing” from his classes and also stopped receiving many of his legally mandated special education services, or received them in a format that did not work.

“I know my child was being left behind,” Bell, 57, a Harlem resident, said.

Education experts have said that it may take months or years to fully grasp the learning loss that children have suffered from remote schooling during the pandemic. But many of the parents and guardians of the roughly 200,000 students with disabilities in New York City say they have already seen drastic damages from their children’s loss of their usual therapies, services or learning accommodations.

Each school year presents myriad challenges for the thousands of parents who file for special education services. But the shift to remote learning has “exacerbated preexisting achievement gaps” for children with disabilities, according to a recent report by the state’s comptroller’s office.

As the New York City school year starts this week, with no remote option for most students, these parents are bracing to see just how far their children have fallen behind.

To address such gaps, the New York City Department of Education said it would spend $251 million for special education this fiscal year as part of its Academic Recovery Plan, funded by the Biden administration’s pandemic rescue stimulus package. Part of the money will be used to launch after-school and Saturday programs that will provide specialized instruction and services for all special education students, the city said.

The plan “makes unprecedented investments to support their unique needs during the year ahead,” the city’s Department of Education said in a statement.

But some families believe this will not be enough. Many are seeking compensatory education, the formal term for makeup services, for the programs they say their children missed out on during the pandemic.

Caleb Bell is one of eight students listed on a class-action lawsuit against the state and city education departments that seeks a new process for students to get compensatory education. Right now, parents who want more services than the school or the New York City Department of Education agree to provide have to file a complaint and go through a hearing process. Rebecca Shore, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said this process is often combative and arduous.

The city’s Department of Education has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, but declined to comment on it.

Such complaints and lawsuits have been filed across the country, largely on an individual basis rather than as part of class actions, with varying degrees of success. In Washington and Maryland, separate lawsuits resulted in compensatory education for at least some students. In New York City, some individuals who filed suit against the city received compensatory education, while others had their lawsuits dismissed.

But many families do not have the resources or do not know how to seek legal help.

Nasheema Miley’s autistic, largely nonverbal son, Marcellus, was saying a few words before the pandemic, thanks to the work of speech therapists at his school in Harlem.

When classes went remote, Marcellus, 5, stopped having in-person speech therapy sessions three times a week and occupational therapy twice a week. Instead, Miley, 27, said she got a phone call once a week from both therapists.

During this time, he stopped speaking completely, she said.

Marcellus went back to school full time last fall and has started making progress again, but his mother thinks he is still behind.

The family thought about filing a complaint or lawsuit, but Miley said she is unable to afford a lawyer.

“There’s so much that he’s entitled to that we can’t access without a long, tedious process,” Marcellus’ grandmother, Tanesha Grant, 45, said, explaining that the family would continue to try to work with the school instead.

This fall, Miley said the school is waiting to see how her son performs. For now, she said she feels that her only option is to try saving more money for a personal tutor.

Schools are generally against the idea of compensatory education as a solution, according to Phyllis Wolfram, executive director for the Council of Administrators of Special Education and a retired public school educator.

While she acknowledged that many children struggled to learn remotely, she said the pandemic is to blame, not schools, and that students are not owed what they missed. With over 7 million students in the country receiving special education services, giving every child the hours of education they missed would be a heavy, if not impossible, lift for schools that are already dealing with a shortage of special education teachers, she said. In the 2020-21 school year, 42 states and the District of Columbia reported special education teacher shortages to the U.S. Department of Education, and in 2021-22, 48 states and the District of Columbia reported such shortages, according to the department’s teacher shortage areas database. To fill staffing shortages, Wolfram said schools have been bringing back retired staff and using teachers that are not fully certified to teach special education.

“It’s hard to compensate in a public school setting for everything that COVID has done,” Wolfram said. “I’m not sure how its humanly possible.”

The federal Department of Education released guidance last year that said each school must determine what compensatory services are needed if a student does not receive services after an extended period of time. In theory, the money from President Joe Biden’s rescue plan would fund some of those services.

Wolfram said families should work with schools to determine whether their child has fallen behind and how best to support them. In back-to-school guidance for the fall, the city Department of Education explained that its recovery plan to provide more special education services was different from compensatory services, and said that schools should “allow time for students to re-acclimate” this fall before making any changes to their special education services.

But many families across the country — especially lower-income ones — may give up or may not fight schools for more services, even if students need them, according to Leslie Margolis, an attorney with Disability Rights Maryland who has worked on compensatory education cases.

“I think it’s inevitable that there are children who will be left behind and will not get the services to which they are entitled,” Margolis said.

She still recalls working with Baltimore City Schools three decades ago when about 7,000 students needed compensatory education after not receiving special education services. The backlog was too large for the school to address on a case-by-case basis, she said, so it offered a summer program to all the affected students. But only a third of eligible students participated, Margolis said.

In New York City, even before the pandemic, there was a huge backlog of special education complaints with the Department of Education, with families having to wait an average of 259 days — some over a year — to get a hearing, according to Shore.

She believes this backlog will only grow now that parents are dealing with education fallout from the pandemic.

Elizabeth Hernandez’s two daughters, Denise, 12, and Daniella, 10, both have learning disabilities. Both were doing reasonably well in their schools in Queens — until the pandemic hit.

Hernandez said her daughters started calling their mother while she was at work as a surgical assistant and surgical scheduler. She said she would run back to her office after seeing a patient and get on FaceTime with her daughters to try to help them with math problems.

“I felt like I was failing them at that point,” Hernandez said. “I couldn’t be home to help them because I had to go to work, and I had to do what I needed to do to still keep a roof over everybody’s head.”

Her daughters’ grades plummeted — and she said they continued to struggle even after transitioning back to hybrid and full-time learning last year. One day, her youngest daughter came home crying because she had received 30% on a math test, she said.

“And she’s like, ‘I’m trying my best. I’m trying my best,’” Hernandez recalled.

She is concerned about how her children will fare this fall. When she asked them about whether they were looking forward to returning to school, she said, her youngest daughter said, “I’m probably going to fail anyway.”

Caleb Bell is deaf, blind and nonverbal. When classes at his Manhattan school moved online last year, Bell needed his mother’s help to answer direct questions. She would often reach over and lift a block with a raised green circle, signifying “yes,” or a raised red X signifying “no.

Caleb Bell is deaf, blind and nonverbal. When classes at his Manhattan school moved online last year, Bell needed his mother’s help to answer direct questions. She would often reach over and lift a block with a raised green circle, signifying “yes,” or a raised red X signifying “no.” But, Bell, 21, would just sit there, disengaged. His mother, Chrystal Bell, said her son got “nothing” from his classes and also stopped receiving many of his legally mandated special education services, or received them in a format that did not work. “I know my child was being left behind,” Bell, 57, a Harlem resident, said. Education experts have said that it may take months or years to fully grasp the learning loss that children have suffered from remote schooling during the pandemic. But many of the parents and guardians of the roughly 200,000 students with disabilities in New York City say they have already seen drastic damages from their children’s loss of their usual therapies, services or learning accommodations. Each school year presents myriad challenges for the thousands of parents who file for special education services. But the shift to remote learning has “exacerbated preexisting achievement gaps” for children with disabilities, according to a recent report by the state’s comptroller’s office. As the New York City school year starts this week, with no remote option for most students, these parents are bracing to see just how far their children have fallen behind. To address such gaps, the New York City Department of Education said it would spend $251 million for special education this fiscal year as part of its Academic Recovery Plan, funded by the Biden administration’s pandemic rescue stimulus package. Part of the money will be used to launch after-school and Saturday programs that will provide specialized instruction and services for all special education students, the city said. The plan “makes unprecedented investments to support their unique needs during the year ahead,” the city’s Department of Education said in a statement. But some families believe this will not be enough. Many are seeking compensatory education, the formal term for makeup services, for the programs they say their children missed out on during the pandemic. Caleb Bell is one of eight students listed on a class-action lawsuit against the state and city education departments that seeks a new process for students to get compensatory education. Right now, parents who want more services than the school or the New York City Department of Education agree to provide have to file a complaint and go through a hearing process. Rebecca Shore, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said this process is often combative and arduous. The city’s Department of Education has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, but declined to comment on it. Such complaints and lawsuits have been filed across the country, largely on an individual basis rather than as part of class actions, with varying degrees of success. In Washington and Maryland, separate lawsuits resulted in compensatory education for at least some students. In New York City, some individuals who filed suit against the city received compensatory education, while others had their lawsuits dismissed. But many families do not have the resources or do not know how to seek legal help. Nasheema Miley’s autistic, largely nonverbal son, Marcellus, was saying a few words before the pandemic, thanks to the work of speech therapists at his school in Harlem. When classes went remote, Marcellus, 5, stopped having in-person speech therapy sessions three times a week and occupational therapy twice a week. Instead, Miley, 27, said she got a phone call once a week from both therapists. During this time, he stopped speaking completely, she said. Marcellus went back to school full time last fall and has started making progress again, but his mother thinks he is still behind. The family thought about filing a complaint or lawsuit, but Miley said she is unable to afford a lawyer. “There’s so much that he’s entitled to that we can’t access without a long, tedious process,” Marcellus’ grandmother, Tanesha Grant, 45, said, explaining that the family would continue to try to work with the school instead. This fall, Miley said the school is waiting to see how her son performs. For now, she said she feels that her only option is to try saving more money for a personal tutor. Schools are generally against the idea of compensatory education as a solution, according to Phyllis Wolfram, executive director for the Council of Administrators of Special Education and a retired public school educator. While she acknowledged that many children struggled to learn remotely, she said the pandemic is to blame, not schools, and that students are not owed what they missed. With over 7 million students in the country receiving special education services, giving every child the hours of education they missed would be a heavy, if not impossible, lift for schools that are already dealing with a shortage of special education teachers, she said. In the 2020-21 school year, 42 states and the District of Columbia reported special education teacher shortages to the U.S. Department of Education, and in 2021-22, 48 states and the District of Columbia reported such shortages, according to the department’s teacher shortage areas database. To fill staffing shortages, Wolfram said schools have been bringing back retired staff and using teachers that are not fully certified to teach special education. “It’s hard to compensate in a public school setting for everything that COVID has done,” Wolfram said. “I’m not sure how its humanly possible.” The federal Department of Education released guidance last year that said each school must determine what compensatory services are needed if a student does not receive services after an extended period of time. In theory, the money from President Joe Biden’s rescue plan would fund some of those services. Wolfram said families should work with schools to determine whether their child has fallen behind and how best to support them. In back-to-school guidance for the fall, the city Department of Education explained that its recovery plan to provide more special education services was different from compensatory services, and said that schools should “allow time for students to re-acclimate” this fall before making any changes to their special education services. But many families across the country — especially lower-income ones — may give up or may not fight schools for more services, even if students need them, according to Leslie Margolis, an attorney with Disability Rights Maryland who has worked on compensatory education cases. “I think it’s inevitable that there are children who will be left behind and will not get the services to which they are entitled,” Margolis said. She still recalls working with Baltimore City Schools three decades ago when about 7,000 students needed compensatory education after not receiving special education services. The backlog was too large for the school to address on a case-by-case basis, she said, so it offered a summer program to all the affected students. But only a third of eligible students participated, Margolis said. In New York City, even before the pandemic, there was a huge backlog of special education complaints with the Department of Education, with families having to wait an average of 259 days — some over a year — to get a hearing, according to Shore. She believes this backlog will only grow now that parents are dealing with education fallout from the pandemic. Elizabeth Hernandez’s two daughters, Denise, 12, and Daniella, 10, both have learning disabilities. Both were doing reasonably well in their schools in Queens — until the pandemic hit. Hernandez said her daughters started calling their mother while she was at work as a surgical assistant and surgical scheduler. She said she would run back to her office after seeing a patient and get on FaceTime with her daughters to try to help them with math problems. “I felt like I was failing them at that point,” Hernandez said. “I couldn’t be home to help them because I had to go to work, and I had to do what I needed to do to still keep a roof over everybody’s head.” Her daughters’ grades plummeted — and she said they continued to struggle even after transitioning back to hybrid and full-time learning last year. One day, her youngest daughter came home crying because she had received 30% on a math test, she said. “And she’s like, ‘I’m trying my best. I’m trying my best,’” Hernandez recalled. She is concerned about how her children will fare this fall. When she asked them about whether they were looking forward to returning to school, she said, her youngest daughter said, “I’m probably going to fail anyway.”

Parents of students with disabilities try to make up for lost year

Bangkok locals convert 'taxi graveyard' into vegetable gardens

California has less COVID-19 transmission than any state in the country.

That’s according to federal officials, who Wednesday ranked the state’s current coronavirus case rate the lowest in the nation.

Sure, there are mask mandates and other measures to credit, but most deserving of thanks is the Golden State’s high level of vaccinations.

More than 82 per cent of Californians age 12 and older have at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Only nine states have more of their populations immunised.

The surge of the delta variant has been a real-life experiment in the effectiveness of vaccines, one that appears to have helped Gov. Gavin Newsom survive a recall election Tuesday. For the most part, places with high vaccination rates have been protected from the virus.

And in California, the delta surge appears to have done something else as well: pushed vaccination rates even higher.

The number of people getting vaccinated in California began to stall in June, but then spiked as the delta variant took hold in late July. Ultimately, about 1.6 million Californians got a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in August, up from the 1.1 million who did so in July.

It’s difficult to tease out what exactly led to the rise in vaccinations. California has recently mandated vaccines for state employees, teachers and health care workers. There’s also been new evidence of the strong protections the vaccines offer, even against the delta variant.

Some Californians may have been persuaded to seek out a shot after witnessing firsthand harm wrought by the virus. We’ve all heard stories of people hospitalized with COVID-19, struggling to breathe, and wishing they had gotten the vaccine.

Since early August, the biggest rise in vaccinations in California has been in the San Joaquin Valley, the Sacramento region and far Northern California — parts of the state that have recently been hardest hit by coronavirus cases.

Those regions had low vaccination rates to begin with, so they admittedly had more room to increase. But it’s likely that some people were also influenced by seeing overwhelmed hospitals in their communities.

“The question is: What gets you to make a different decision today than you’ve made the last few months?” said University of California, San Francisco, public health researcher Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo. “I think fear is somewhat of a motivator, unfortunately.”

Bibbins-Domingo told me she thinks that social pressure, community outreach and availability of the shots also play a role in who gets vaccinated. The coming months will reveal which strategies work best as California health officials try to encourage holdouts to get immunized.

The delta variant is too contagious to wipe out, even in communities with high vaccination rates, Bibbins-Domingo said. But the shots will remain an essential part of minimizing future surges.

“It all starts and ends with vaccination. It doesn’t mean once you cross some magical threshold, the virus magically disappears,” she told me. “How many people are vaccinated — it’s like how many barriers can you put up to withstand the onslaught.”

California has less COVID-19 transmission than any state in the country. That’s according to federal officials, who Wednesday ranked the state’s current coronavirus case rate the lowest in the nation.

California has less COVID-19 transmission than any state in the country. That’s according to federal officials, who Wednesday ranked the state’s current coronavirus case rate the lowest in the nation. Sure, there are mask mandates and other measures to credit, but most deserving of thanks is the Golden State’s high level of vaccinations. More than 82 per cent of Californians age 12 and older have at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Only nine states have more of their populations immunised. The surge of the delta variant has been a real-life experiment in the effectiveness of vaccines, one that appears to have helped Gov. Gavin Newsom survive a recall election Tuesday. For the most part, places with high vaccination rates have been protected from the virus. And in California, the delta surge appears to have done something else as well: pushed vaccination rates even higher. The number of people getting vaccinated in California began to stall in June, but then spiked as the delta variant took hold in late July. Ultimately, about 1.6 million Californians got a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in August, up from the 1.1 million who did so in July. It’s difficult to tease out what exactly led to the rise in vaccinations. California has recently mandated vaccines for state employees, teachers and health care workers. There’s also been new evidence of the strong protections the vaccines offer, even against the delta variant. Some Californians may have been persuaded to seek out a shot after witnessing firsthand harm wrought by the virus. We’ve all heard stories of people hospitalized with COVID-19, struggling to breathe, and wishing they had gotten the vaccine. Since early August, the biggest rise in vaccinations in California has been in the San Joaquin Valley, the Sacramento region and far Northern California — parts of the state that have recently been hardest hit by coronavirus cases. Those regions had low vaccination rates to begin with, so they admittedly had more room to increase. But it’s likely that some people were also influenced by seeing overwhelmed hospitals in their communities. “The question is: What gets you to make a different decision today than you’ve made the last few months?” said University of California, San Francisco, public health researcher Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo. “I think fear is somewhat of a motivator, unfortunately.” Bibbins-Domingo told me she thinks that social pressure, community outreach and availability of the shots also play a role in who gets vaccinated. The coming months will reveal which strategies work best as California health officials try to encourage holdouts to get immunized. The delta variant is too contagious to wipe out, even in communities with high vaccination rates, Bibbins-Domingo said. But the shots will remain an essential part of minimizing future surges. “It all starts and ends with vaccination. It doesn’t mean once you cross some magical threshold, the virus magically disappears,” she told me. “How many people are vaccinated — it’s like how many barriers can you put up to withstand the onslaught.”

Why California has one of the lowest COVID-19 rates

<a>In a shocking and alarming news, a new study has revealed that the people who were administered Moderna’s Covid vaccine a year ago are more likely to contract coronavirus.<o:p></o:p></a>

Moderna’s Phase 3 COVE study collected data of people who were vaccinated more than year ago and compared it with those who have been recently vaccinated against coronavirus by Moderna shot.<o:p></o:p>

The people who were vaccinated between July 2020 and October 2020 are more vulnerable to contracting Covid in comparison to the people who got vaccinated between July 1, 2021 and August 27, 2021.

<o:p></o:p>

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/watch-china-forces-4-year-old-child-into-isolation-as-cases-surge-in-putian-413529">WATCH: China forces 4-year-old child into isolation as cases surge in Putian</a>

"88 breakthrough cases of COVID-19 occurred in the more recently vaccinated group (49.0 cases per 1000 person-years) compared to 162 cases in the group vaccinated last year (77.1 cases per 1000 person-years)," the study reads.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>

Experts have said that while <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus-vaccine">Moderna vaccine</a> is effective at the moment, its efficacy decreases over time. This means the people who got vaccinated last year are more vulnerable to Covid than the people who got vaccinated recently.

This has become more prominent due to the 'variant of concern' — Delta variant.

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/joe-biden-aims-to-vaccinate-70-of-world-population-within-a-year-reports-413304">Joe Biden aims to vaccinate 70% of world population within a year: Reports</a></o:p>

"Study shows lower risk of breakthrough infection in participants vaccinated more recently (median 8 months after first dose) than participants vaccinated last year (median 13 months after first dose),"&nbsp;Moderna said in a statement.<o:p></o:p>

People who were vaccinated earlier had a 50 per cent higher rate of catching symptomatic Covid during the months of July and August.<o:p></o:p>

To fight this problem, Moderna is suggesting usage of a Covid booster shot — which the World Health Organization (WHO) has protested. <o:p></o:p>

"It is promising to see clinical and real-world evidence adding to the growing body of data on the effectiveness of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine,"&nbsp;Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel&nbsp;said insisting on the need of a booster shot. "The increased risk of breakthrough infections in COVE study participants who were vaccinated last year compared to more recently illustrates the impact of waning immunity and supports the need for a booster to maintain high levels of protection."<o:p></o:p>

However, some people allege that this can be just a way of tempting people to get a booster shot of the vaccine, which ultimately helps the company boost its sales.

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In a shocking and alarming news, a new study has revealed that the people who were administered Moderna’s Covid vaccine a year ago are more likely to contract coronavirus.

In a shocking and alarming news, a new study has revealed that the people who were administered Moderna’s Covid vaccine a year ago are more likely to contract coronavirus. Moderna’s Phase 3 COVE study collected data of people who were vaccinated more than year ago and compared it with those who have been recently vaccinated against coronavirus by Moderna shot. The people who were vaccinated between July 2020 and October 2020 are more vulnerable to contracting Covid in comparison to the people who got vaccinated between July 1, 2021 and August 27, 2021. Also read | WATCH: China forces 4-year-old child into isolation as cases surge in Putian "88 breakthrough cases of COVID-19 occurred in the more recently vaccinated group (49.0 cases per 1000 person-years) compared to 162 cases in the group vaccinated last year (77.1 cases per 1000 person-years)," the study reads. Experts have said that while Moderna vaccine is effective at the moment, its efficacy decreases over time. This means the people who got vaccinated last year are more vulnerable to Covid than the people who got vaccinated recently. This has become more prominent due to the 'variant of concern' — Delta variant. Also read | Joe Biden aims to vaccinate 70% of world population within a year: Reports "Study shows lower risk of breakthrough infection in participants vaccinated more recently (median 8 months after first dose) than participants vaccinated last year (median 13 months after first dose)," Moderna said in a statement. People who were vaccinated earlier had a 50 per cent higher rate of catching symptomatic Covid during the months of July and August. To fight this problem, Moderna is suggesting usage of a Covid booster shot — which the World Health Organization (WHO) has protested. "It is promising to see clinical and real-world evidence adding to the growing body of data on the effectiveness of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said insisting on the need of a booster shot. "The increased risk of breakthrough infections in COVE study participants who were vaccinated last year compared to more recently illustrates the impact of waning immunity and supports the need for a booster to maintain high levels of protection." However, some people allege that this can be just a way of tempting people to get a booster shot of the vaccine, which ultimately helps the company boost its sales.

Those vaccinated last year with Moderna are twice likely to contract Covid: Study

<h5 class="MsoNormal">(Disclaimer: The videos can be triggering for some people. WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of this video)</h5>

As cases are increasing in China's Fujian province, children, as little as four-year-old, are also being forced into isolation wards without their parents.

A video being shared on Chinese social media show an unaccompanied four-year-old boy being forced into isolation ward and CT scan rooms.<o:p></o:p>

The small unaccompanied four-year-old boy was dressed in all-white hazmat suit&nbsp;walking with a suitcase as the authorities are forcing him to go into isolation during late hours of night.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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A 4-year-old kid — who tested positive (asymptomatic) for COVID-19 — in Putian (莆田), Fujian province, is being taken away for quarantine by himself. Putian is where a major outbreak is happening at the moment. <a href="https://t.co/7op6qnCQSC">pic.twitter.com/7op6qnCQSC</a>
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) <a href="https://twitter.com/Byron_Wan/status/1437896331272413184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The cases have come to light after a new cluster has been observed in Fujian province. Cases peaked to 186 within a week after 85 new infections were reported on September 15 itself.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

In this new surge of cases, which has majorly been caused due to the Delta variant, the most troubling cases are the ones in which children are getting infected. Nearly 36 children under the age of 10, and as little as four, have contracted the virus.<o:p></o:p>

Due to the increase in cases, the authorities decided to put children in isolation wards, but all of them were unaccompanied.<o:p></o:p>

These unaccompanied children are being temporarily separated from their parents and are also undergoing various medical examinations alone, such as CT scan and more.<o:p></o:p>

The videos were reportedly posted by a nurse who works at a fever clinic at the Affiliated Hospital of Putian University. She also posted a second video of a child dressed in hazmat suit with a backpack, entering a room for CT scan.<o:p></o:p>

(Disclaimer: The videos can be triggering for some people. WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of this video) As cases are increasing in China's Fujian province, children, as little as four-year-old, are also being forced into isolation wards without their parents.

(Disclaimer: The videos can be triggering for some people. WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of this video) As cases are increasing in China's Fujian province, children, as little as four-year-old, are also being forced into isolation wards without their parents. A video being shared on Chinese social media show an unaccompanied four-year-old boy being forced into isolation ward and CT scan rooms. The small unaccompanied four-year-old boy was dressed in all-white hazmat suit walking with a suitcase as the authorities are forcing him to go into isolation during late hours of night. A 4-year-old kid — who tested positive (asymptomatic) for COVID-19 — in Putian (莆田), Fujian province, is being taken away for quarantine by himself. Putian is where a major outbreak is happening at the moment. pic.twitter.com/7op6qnCQSC — Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) September 14, 2021 × The cases have come to light after a new cluster has been observed in Fujian province. Cases peaked to 186 within a week after 85 new infections were reported on September 15 itself. In this new surge of cases, which has majorly been caused due to the Delta variant, the most troubling cases are the ones in which children are getting infected. Nearly 36 children under the age of 10, and as little as four, have contracted the virus. Due to the increase in cases, the authorities decided to put children in isolation wards, but all of them were unaccompanied. These unaccompanied children are being temporarily separated from their parents and are also undergoing various medical examinations alone, such as CT scan and more. The videos were reportedly posted by a nurse who works at a fever clinic at the Affiliated Hospital of Putian University. She also posted a second video of a child dressed in hazmat suit with a backpack, entering a room for CT scan.

WATCH: China forces 4-year-old child into isolation as Covid cases surge in Putian

A 73-year-old man from Alabama, US, died due to cardiac arrest after he couldn’t secure an ICU bed in 43 hospitals across three states as they were already filled up by Covid patients.

Ray DeMonia, an antique dealer, died on September 1 in a Mississippi hospital, about 322 kilometres from his home because there were no cardiac ICU beds nearby, his daughter Raven DeMonia told The Washington Post.

DeMonia went to Cullman Regional Medical Center on August 23 because he was having heart problems, she said.

Raven said her mother got a call from the hospital staff about 12 hours after he was admitted, saying that the staff had called 43 hospitals and were unable to find a “specialized cardiac ICU bed.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that Alabama has one of the highest rates of new cases, with 541 per 100,000 testing positive&nbsp;in the last week.

In DeMonia’s obituary, the family urged everyone to get vaccinated to prevent others from being denied facilities due to a lack of resources.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/5-us-states-nearly-out-of-icu-beds-as-fresh-surge-of-covid-19-cases-stretch-hospitals-409717">5 US states nearly out of ICU beds as fresh surge of COVID-19 cases stretch hospitals</a>

“In honour of Ray, please get vaccinated if you have not, in an effort to free up resources for non-Covid related emergencies,” the obituary read.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the ICU capacity in Alabama has been at maximum in recent weeks, with COVID-19 patients occupying about half of the intensive care beds.

Dr Scott Harris, the head of the Alabama Department of Public Health, last week said the state was continuing to experience “a real crisis” with ICU bed capacity.

“The numbers aren’t great. But the numbers at least have not continued to go up,” he was quoted as saying by local media.

(With inputs from agencies)

A 73-year-old man from Alabama, US, died due to cardiac arrest after he couldn’t secure an ICU bed in 43 hospitals across three states as they were already filled up by Covid patients.

A 73-year-old man from Alabama, US, died due to cardiac arrest after he couldn’t secure an ICU bed in 43 hospitals across three states as they were already filled up by Covid patients. Ray DeMonia, an antique dealer, died on September 1 in a Mississippi hospital, about 322 kilometres from his home because there were no cardiac ICU beds nearby, his daughter Raven DeMonia told The Washington Post. DeMonia went to Cullman Regional Medical Center on August 23 because he was having heart problems, she said. Raven said her mother got a call from the hospital staff about 12 hours after he was admitted, saying that the staff had called 43 hospitals and were unable to find a “specialized cardiac ICU bed.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that Alabama has one of the highest rates of new cases, with 541 per 100,000 testing positive in the last week. In DeMonia’s obituary, the family urged everyone to get vaccinated to prevent others from being denied facilities due to a lack of resources. Also read | 5 US states nearly out of ICU beds as fresh surge of COVID-19 cases stretch hospitals “In honour of Ray, please get vaccinated if you have not, in an effort to free up resources for non-Covid related emergencies,” the obituary read. According to Johns Hopkins University, the ICU capacity in Alabama has been at maximum in recent weeks, with COVID-19 patients occupying about half of the intensive care beds. Dr Scott Harris, the head of the Alabama Department of Public Health, last week said the state was continuing to experience “a real crisis” with ICU bed capacity. “The numbers aren’t great. But the numbers at least have not continued to go up,” he was quoted as saying by local media. (With inputs from agencies)

Cardiac patient dies after failing to get ICU bed in 43 US hospitals occupied by COVID patients

New local COVID-19 infections more than doubled in China`s southeastern province of Fujian, health authorities said on Tuesday, prompting officials to quickly roll out measures including travel restrictions to halt the spread of the virus.

The National Health Commission said 59 new locally transmitted cases were reported for Sept. 13, up from 22 infections a day earlier. All of them were in Fujian, a province bordered by Zhejiang to the north and Guangdong to the south.

In just four days, a total of 102 community infections have been reported in three Fujian cities, including Xiamen, a tourist and transport hub with a population of 5 million.

The infections come ahead of the week-long National Day holiday starting on Oct. 1, a major tourist season. The last domestic outbreak in late July to August disrupted travel, hitting the tourism, hospitality and transportion sectors.

China`s air passenger traffic plunged 51.5% in August from a year earlier, data released on Tuesday showed, highlighting the vulnerability of Chinese airlines to repeated outbreaks even though

COVID-19 is largely under control in the country.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-faces-worst-covid-19-outbreak-since-wuhan-surge-of-delta-variant-in-15-cities-401972">China faces worst COVID-19 outbreak since Wuhan; surge of Delta variant in 15 cities</a>

Fujian`s outbreak began in Putian, a city of 3.2 million, with the first case reported on Sept. 10. Preliminary tests on samples from some Putian cases showed patients had contracted the highly transmissible Delta variant.

The outbreak has since spread south to Xiamen, which reported 32 new cases of community transmission for Sept. 13 compared with just one infection a day earlier.

"The Putian government is a big client of ours," said a staff at a Xiamen building survey firm, declining to be named.

"About half of our company went to Putian last week. They are now isolated at home, while the rest have gone to do their Covid tests."

<h3>Lockdown</h3>

Like Putian, Xiamen has locked down some areas of higher virus risk, cut offline classes at kindergartens, primary schools and high schools, closed public venues such as cinemas, gyms and bars, and told residents not to leave the city for non-essential reasons.

The first patient in the Xiamen cluster was a close contact of a case in Putian, Xiamen authorities said late on Monday.

Known for its mild weather and a laid-back lifestyle, Xiamen is a popular tourist destination domestically.

The Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport is also a key transportation hub linking the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta. About 60% of flights to and from Xiamen were cancelled on Tuesday, according to aviation data provider Variflight.

Both Putian and Xiamen began city-wide testing for the coronavirus on Tuesday. The cities, however, are yet to announce tough city-wide lockdowns as seen in early 2020 in China.

Three new cases of community transmission were also reported in nearby Quanzhou city, versus six infections a day earlier. Variflight data showed 70% of Quanzhou`s flights were cancelled.

"One wave after another," said a bank manager in Xiamen. "It feels like the new normal now."

New local COVID-19 infections more than doubled in China`s southeastern province of Fujian, health authorities said on Tuesday, prompting officials to quickly roll out measures including travel restrictions to halt the spread of the virus.

New local COVID-19 infections more than doubled in China`s southeastern province of Fujian, health authorities said on Tuesday, prompting officials to quickly roll out measures including travel restrictions to halt the spread of the virus. The National Health Commission said 59 new locally transmitted cases were reported for Sept. 13, up from 22 infections a day earlier. All of them were in Fujian, a province bordered by Zhejiang to the north and Guangdong to the south. In just four days, a total of 102 community infections have been reported in three Fujian cities, including Xiamen, a tourist and transport hub with a population of 5 million. The infections come ahead of the week-long National Day holiday starting on Oct. 1, a major tourist season. The last domestic outbreak in late July to August disrupted travel, hitting the tourism, hospitality and transportion sectors. China`s air passenger traffic plunged 51.5% in August from a year earlier, data released on Tuesday showed, highlighting the vulnerability of Chinese airlines to repeated outbreaks even though COVID-19 is largely under control in the country. Also read | China faces worst COVID-19 outbreak since Wuhan; surge of Delta variant in 15 cities Fujian`s outbreak began in Putian, a city of 3.2 million, with the first case reported on Sept. 10. Preliminary tests on samples from some Putian cases showed patients had contracted the highly transmissible Delta variant. The outbreak has since spread south to Xiamen, which reported 32 new cases of community transmission for Sept. 13 compared with just one infection a day earlier. "The Putian government is a big client of ours," said a staff at a Xiamen building survey firm, declining to be named. "About half of our company went to Putian last week. They are now isolated at home, while the rest have gone to do their Covid tests." Lockdown Like Putian, Xiamen has locked down some areas of higher virus risk, cut offline classes at kindergartens, primary schools and high schools, closed public venues such as cinemas, gyms and bars, and told residents not to leave the city for non-essential reasons. The first patient in the Xiamen cluster was a close contact of a case in Putian, Xiamen authorities said late on Monday. Known for its mild weather and a laid-back lifestyle, Xiamen is a popular tourist destination domestically. The Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport is also a key transportation hub linking the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta. About 60% of flights to and from Xiamen were cancelled on Tuesday, according to aviation data provider Variflight. Both Putian and Xiamen began city-wide testing for the coronavirus on Tuesday. The cities, however, are yet to announce tough city-wide lockdowns as seen in early 2020 in China. Three new cases of community transmission were also reported in nearby Quanzhou city, versus six infections a day earlier. Variflight data showed 70% of Quanzhou`s flights were cancelled. "One wave after another," said a bank manager in Xiamen. "It feels like the new normal now."

COVID-19 cases in southeast China more than double as Delta spreads

The&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;will ease coronavirus restrictions in the capital Manila to spur economic activity, officials said Tuesday, despite record infection numbers and a warning from the WHO against the move.

Restaurants, churches and beauty salons in the national capital region will open at lower capacities from Thursday to get tens of thousands more people back to work.

"We should strive for total health and this can only be realised by carefully balancing our COVID-19 response by considering both the health of our people and the economic health of the nation," President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque said.

Virus cases have surged to record levels — more than 140,000 cases in the past week — thanks to an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant.

The World Health Organization's representative in the&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;on Tuesday warned against relaxing curbs.

While six of 10 adults in the capital are fully inoculated, "this is not adequate at this point to relax quarantine positions", the WHO's official in the&nbsp;Philippines, Rabindra Abeyasinghe, told government television.

"If there is a further increase in the current transmission levels, it could lead to an overwhelming of the hospital systems, that's why we need to be very careful in calibrating how we respond to the current situation," he said.

The metropolis of 13 million will be placed on the second-highest alert under a new classification system that replaces guidelines which left many residents and business owners confused about which activities were allowed.

Localised lockdowns targeting specific buildings, streets or neighbourhoods will be enforced to check the spread of the virus, replacing the current scheme that covers entire cities and regions.

Fully vaccinated customers in the capital region can now be served indoors in restaurants and beauty salons at up to 10 per cent capacity, and at outdoor venues at up to 30 per cent capacity regardless of vaccination status.

Churches will also be allowed to seat 10 per cent of their capacity for services but other indoor group activities, including those that lead to crowding, remain banned.

<h2>Cost of lockdown&nbsp;</h2>

A succession of shutdowns since the start of the pandemic has sidelined more than two million workers in the food and leisure sectors in the capital alone, according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.&nbsp;

Millions of children started a second year of remote lessons this week in the&nbsp;Philippines, which has kept schools closed since the start of the pandemic.

Officials said Tuesday that when the alert level is reduced to the second lowest, classrooms may reopen alongside indoor entertainment and social events at up to 50 per cent capacity.

Duterte has previously said the country cannot afford more lockdowns.

But authorities have had few options to slow the spread of the virus as hospitals have filled up and the nationwide vaccination rate remains low at 22 per cent.

The president said in a pre-recorded television address aired Tuesday that vaccinations -- now limited to priority sectors -- could start for the general adult population next month "if there is a stable vaccine supply".

The coronavirus has infected more than 2.2 million people and killed more than 35,000 in the country.

The Philippines will ease coronavirus restrictions in the capital Manila to spur economic activity, officials said Tuesday, despite record infection numbers and a warning from the WHO against the move.

The Philippines will ease coronavirus restrictions in the capital Manila to spur economic activity, officials said Tuesday, despite record infection numbers and a warning from the WHO against the move. Restaurants, churches and beauty salons in the national capital region will open at lower capacities from Thursday to get tens of thousands more people back to work. "We should strive for total health and this can only be realised by carefully balancing our COVID-19 response by considering both the health of our people and the economic health of the nation," President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque said. Virus cases have surged to record levels — more than 140,000 cases in the past week — thanks to an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant. The World Health Organization's representative in the Philippines on Tuesday warned against relaxing curbs. While six of 10 adults in the capital are fully inoculated, "this is not adequate at this point to relax quarantine positions", the WHO's official in the Philippines, Rabindra Abeyasinghe, told government television. "If there is a further increase in the current transmission levels, it could lead to an overwhelming of the hospital systems, that's why we need to be very careful in calibrating how we respond to the current situation," he said. The metropolis of 13 million will be placed on the second-highest alert under a new classification system that replaces guidelines which left many residents and business owners confused about which activities were allowed. Localised lockdowns targeting specific buildings, streets or neighbourhoods will be enforced to check the spread of the virus, replacing the current scheme that covers entire cities and regions. Fully vaccinated customers in the capital region can now be served indoors in restaurants and beauty salons at up to 10 per cent capacity, and at outdoor venues at up to 30 per cent capacity regardless of vaccination status. Churches will also be allowed to seat 10 per cent of their capacity for services but other indoor group activities, including those that lead to crowding, remain banned. Cost of lockdown A succession of shutdowns since the start of the pandemic has sidelined more than two million workers in the food and leisure sectors in the capital alone, according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez. Millions of children started a second year of remote lessons this week in the Philippines, which has kept schools closed since the start of the pandemic. Officials said Tuesday that when the alert level is reduced to the second lowest, classrooms may reopen alongside indoor entertainment and social events at up to 50 per cent capacity. Duterte has previously said the country cannot afford more lockdowns. But authorities have had few options to slow the spread of the virus as hospitals have filled up and the nationwide vaccination rate remains low at 22 per cent. The president said in a pre-recorded television address aired Tuesday that vaccinations -- now limited to priority sectors -- could start for the general adult population next month "if there is a stable vaccine supply". The coronavirus has infected more than 2.2 million people and killed more than 35,000 in the country.

Philippines eases virus lockdown in capital to spur economy despite WHO warning

The UK is currently enjoying a covid curb-free time as the cases have been declining and the government has been opening up the economy.

However, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is about to warn the locals against an "uncertain" winter wave of coronavirus in the country.

As per local reports, Johnson will be warning British citizens next week when he addresses the nation to unveil a blueprint on how to avoid shutting down schools and pubs in the future.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/boys-more-likely-to-be-admitted-to-hospital-from-pfizers-side-effect-study-412491" hreflang="en">Boys more likely to be admitted to hospital from Pfizer's side effect: Study</a>

The Prime Minister is set to announce some contingency measures such as social distancing, compulsory mask wearing and more in case the cases begin to increase again.

Johnson will also announce commencement of vaccination programme for 12 to 15-year-old children, as per reports. While UK’s JCVI has not yet approved vaccination for children, it has directed country’s chief medical officers to take a decision on the same.

"We're going to approach it as we have done through the pandemic: be prepared. If cases become a problem and hospitalisations become a problem then we will act,"&nbsp;a senior government source was quoted by the Guardian.

There is also a chance that the Prime Minister will announce a rollout of the Covid passport at a larger scale, especially in nightclubs, pubs and other crowded public spaces.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/australia-china-tensions-escalate-after-former-pushes-for-covid-19-probe-412377">WATCH |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/australia-china-tensions-escalate-after-former-pushes-for-covid-19-probe-412377/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

This "will do what we in government will call pitch rolling, trying to tell the public things are kind of OK but there may come a time between now and winter where we reintroduce certain measures,"&nbsp;a senior Whitehall source said. "The PM doesn't want any measures but we can't rule it out – if we don’t want another lockdown, we may have to use other options … [which] could be reintroducing social distancing, reintroducing face masks in some circumstances."

Johnson has been seeking advice from medical experts to make sure a situation of another Covid wave or another nationwide lockdown can be avoided.

"There's a great deal of uncertainty about what's going to happen. We need to be prepared, we need to have options ready to go. But we’ve got confidence in our vaccine programme, we'll have more details on boosters and hopefully kids next week, and we'll make sure we go into the winter fully prepared,"&nbsp;the source said.

The UK is currently enjoying a covid curb-free time as the cases have been declining and the government has been opening up the economy. However, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is about to warn the locals against an "uncertain" winter wave of coronavirus in the country.

The UK is currently enjoying a covid curb-free time as the cases have been declining and the government has been opening up the economy. However, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is about to warn the locals against an "uncertain" winter wave of coronavirus in the country. As per local reports, Johnson will be warning British citizens next week when he addresses the nation to unveil a blueprint on how to avoid shutting down schools and pubs in the future. Also read | Boys more likely to be admitted to hospital from Pfizer's side effect: Study The Prime Minister is set to announce some contingency measures such as social distancing, compulsory mask wearing and more in case the cases begin to increase again. Johnson will also announce commencement of vaccination programme for 12 to 15-year-old children, as per reports. While UK’s JCVI has not yet approved vaccination for children, it has directed country’s chief medical officers to take a decision on the same. "We're going to approach it as we have done through the pandemic: be prepared. If cases become a problem and hospitalisations become a problem then we will act," a senior government source was quoted by the Guardian. There is also a chance that the Prime Minister will announce a rollout of the Covid passport at a larger scale, especially in nightclubs, pubs and other crowded public spaces. WATCH | This "will do what we in government will call pitch rolling, trying to tell the public things are kind of OK but there may come a time between now and winter where we reintroduce certain measures," a senior Whitehall source said. "The PM doesn't want any measures but we can't rule it out – if we don’t want another lockdown, we may have to use other options … [which] could be reintroducing social distancing, reintroducing face masks in some circumstances." Johnson has been seeking advice from medical experts to make sure a situation of another Covid wave or another nationwide lockdown can be avoided. "There's a great deal of uncertainty about what's going to happen. We need to be prepared, we need to have options ready to go. But we’ve got confidence in our vaccine programme, we'll have more details on boosters and hopefully kids next week, and we'll make sure we go into the winter fully prepared," the source said.

UK's Boris Johnson set to warn locals against upcoming winter Covid wave: Reports

The United Nations chief warned Friday that the world is "moving in the wrong direction" and exhorted nations to take urgent action to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.&nbsp;

"COVID-19 is a wake-up call, and we are oversleeping," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a press conference.

Speaking ahead the UN General Assembly that kicks off in New York on September&nbsp;21, Guterres lamented that vaccine-manufacturing nations have been unable to ramp up production toward the goal of vaccinating some 70 percent of the world population by the first half of 2022.&nbsp;

"The pandemic has demonstrated our collective failure to come together and make joint decisions for the common good, even in the face of an immediate, life-threatening global emergency," Guterres said.&nbsp;

Guterres dismissed calls to delay a major UN climate summit, known as COP26, due to take place in Scotland in November. Climate activists have called for postponing the event due to vaccine inequality, the raging Covid pandemic and logistical difficulties in organising the event.

"To delay the COP is not a good thing," Guterres said. "Delays have been so many and the issue is so urgent."

Guterres urged the United States and China, the world's two biggest polluters, to do more to combat climate change.

"We need a stronger engagement of the US, namely in financing for development, for climate-related development issues, mitigation, adaptation, and we need an additional effort from China in relation to emissions," Guterres said.

The United Nations chief warned Friday that the world is "moving in the wrong direction" and exhorted nations to take urgent action to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

The United Nations chief warned Friday that the world is "moving in the wrong direction" and exhorted nations to take urgent action to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. "COVID-19 is a wake-up call, and we are oversleeping," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a press conference. Speaking ahead the UN General Assembly that kicks off in New York on September 21, Guterres lamented that vaccine-manufacturing nations have been unable to ramp up production toward the goal of vaccinating some 70 percent of the world population by the first half of 2022. "The pandemic has demonstrated our collective failure to come together and make joint decisions for the common good, even in the face of an immediate, life-threatening global emergency," Guterres said. Guterres dismissed calls to delay a major UN climate summit, known as COP26, due to take place in Scotland in November. Climate activists have called for postponing the event due to vaccine inequality, the raging Covid pandemic and logistical difficulties in organising the event. "To delay the COP is not a good thing," Guterres said. "Delays have been so many and the issue is so urgent." Guterres urged the United States and China, the world's two biggest polluters, to do more to combat climate change. "We need a stronger engagement of the US, namely in financing for development, for climate-related development issues, mitigation, adaptation, and we need an additional effort from China in relation to emissions," Guterres said.

UN chief calls for action on COVID-19, climate

Team India players have tested negative in the PCR results and the fifth and final Test versus England will now go ahead as planned. On Thursday (September 9), the series decider came under the scanner after a Covid case emerged out in the Indian camp.&nbsp;

As per ESPNCricinfo, India's physio&nbsp;Yogesh Parmar had tested positive, which forced the Indian team to cancel the training session and also media commitments on Thursday. Following Parmar's positive result, there were speculations that the fifth and final Test will now not go on as planned, however, the scenario has changed after no further positive cases came out from the Indian camp in the PCR results.&nbsp;

For the unversed, Indian team is already short of its support staff, with head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar being ruled out of the final Test, in Old Trafford, Manchester, following positive results during The Oval Test, London.&nbsp;

As for Parmar, he had taken over after lead physio Nitin Patel was forced to self-isolation during the fourth and penultimate&nbsp;after being identified as a close contact of Shastri.&nbsp;

India will, thus, go into the fifth and final Test as favourites with an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series, following their 157-run win at The Oval, London. The visitors also have a chance to win their first-ever Test series on English soil after 2007.

Team India players have tested negative in the PCR results and the fifth and final Test versus England will now go ahead as planned. On Thursday (September 9), the series decider came under the scanner after a Covid case emerged out in the Indian camp.

Team India players have tested negative in the PCR results and the fifth and final Test versus England will now go ahead as planned. On Thursday (September 9), the series decider came under the scanner after a Covid case emerged out in the Indian camp. As per ESPNCricinfo, India's physio Yogesh Parmar had tested positive, which forced the Indian team to cancel the training session and also media commitments on Thursday. Following Parmar's positive result, there were speculations that the fifth and final Test will now not go on as planned, however, the scenario has changed after no further positive cases came out from the Indian camp in the PCR results. For the unversed, Indian team is already short of its support staff, with head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar being ruled out of the final Test, in Old Trafford, Manchester, following positive results during The Oval Test, London. As for Parmar, he had taken over after lead physio Nitin Patel was forced to self-isolation during the fourth and penultimate after being identified as a close contact of Shastri. India will, thus, go into the fifth and final Test as favourites with an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series, following their 157-run win at The Oval, London. The visitors also have a chance to win their first-ever Test series on English soil after 2007.

Team India players test negative in PCR results, fifth Test versus England gets green signal

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is famous for keeping her calm and a smiling face, even during the toughest situations. However, a silly question about a patient and a visitor having sex in hospital made it difficult for Ardern to not react strongly.

Ardern and the director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield were giving daily Covid briefing recently. A reporter, however, asked whether a patient and a visitor having “sexual relations” in hospital would be considered a "high-risk activity, in the current climate".

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This question left the usually cool leader confused and shocked. While Bloomfield said, "I think it is a high-risk activity, potentially, however I don't know any of the details about that interaction," Ardern quickly added that "regardless of the Covid status, that kind of thing shouldn't generally be part of visiting hours, I would have thought."

The question was raised as apparently the Auckland district health board has been accused of allowing hundreds of visitors to see the Covid patients on a daily basis, and some of them might even have gotten involved in sexual relationships.

While the allegation has not been proved right yet, this has come at a time when New Zealand is fighting a huge Covid outbreak due to the Delta variant. Several areas of the country are still under strict lockdown in a bid to control the spread of the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, Spain has helped New Zealand with more than 250,000 extra doses of Pfizer's Covid vaccine, Ardern confirmed. The shipment department from&nbsp;Madrid at 1am (NZT) and will reach New Zealand by the next morning.

Ardern has urged the eligible population to get vaccinated against Covid as soon as possible so that children who are not eligible for vaccine can be saved from community spread. "If everyone who can be vaccinated is vaccinated, you are potentially saving the life of someone who can't be," she said. This request came as she announced that nearly 120 cases are children under the age of nine.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is famous for keeping her calm and a smiling face, even during the toughest situations. However, a silly question about a patient and a visitor having sex in hospital made it difficult for Ardern to not react strongly.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is famous for keeping her calm and a smiling face, even during the toughest situations. However, a silly question about a patient and a visitor having sex in hospital made it difficult for Ardern to not react strongly. Ardern and the director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield were giving daily Covid briefing recently. A reporter, however, asked whether a patient and a visitor having “sexual relations” in hospital would be considered a "high-risk activity, in the current climate". presenting: our new kombucha girl https://t.co/Q19pzbCH8V pic.twitter.com/zZkgHOkA14 — dejan (@heyDejan) September 9, 2021 × This question left the usually cool leader confused and shocked. While Bloomfield said, "I think it is a high-risk activity, potentially, however I don't know any of the details about that interaction," Ardern quickly added that "regardless of the Covid status, that kind of thing shouldn't generally be part of visiting hours, I would have thought." The question was raised as apparently the Auckland district health board has been accused of allowing hundreds of visitors to see the Covid patients on a daily basis, and some of them might even have gotten involved in sexual relationships. While the allegation has not been proved right yet, this has come at a time when New Zealand is fighting a huge Covid outbreak due to the Delta variant. Several areas of the country are still under strict lockdown in a bid to control the spread of the deadly virus. Meanwhile, Spain has helped New Zealand with more than 250,000 extra doses of Pfizer's Covid vaccine, Ardern confirmed. The shipment department from Madrid at 1am (NZT) and will reach New Zealand by the next morning. Ardern has urged the eligible population to get vaccinated against Covid as soon as possible so that children who are not eligible for vaccine can be saved from community spread. "If everyone who can be vaccinated is vaccinated, you are potentially saving the life of someone who can't be," she said. This request came as she announced that nearly 120 cases are children under the age of nine.

New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern warns hospitals to not let Covid patients have sex with visitors

With COVID-19's third wave fears on mind, Indian authorities are restricting religious festivals, which are going to start this week. &nbsp;

As these attract huge crowds, there is a possibility of outbreak of the third wave of COVID-19. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Several governments across the country are clamping down on mass gatherings. &nbsp;

Watch:&nbsp;India, Russia to discuss situation in Afghanistan

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Mumbai’s Mayor Kishori Pednekar told reporters on Tuesday, “The third wave is not coming, it is already here”. &nbsp;

“We can celebrate festivals later. Let us first prioritise the lives and health of our citizens,” added Uddhav Thackeray, the chief minister of the western state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital. He was speaking ahead of the 11-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which starts on Friday. &nbsp;

Tamil Nadu has also banned public festival celebrations. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/indias-covid-vaccination-coverage-crosses-710-million-landmark-milestone-411725" hreflang="en">India's Covid vaccination coverage crosses 710 million landmark milestone</a>

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sunday, urged people to show patience while celebrating festivals during COVID-19 pandemic and said in this battle, victory is certain. &nbsp;

Addressing the nation through his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister urged for low key Dussehra celebrations. "Today, all of you are living with great restraint, celebrating festivals with modesty. Therefore, in the Covid-19 battle, we are fighting, victory is certain," he said. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

With COVID-19's third wave fears on mind, Indian authorities are restricting religious festivals, which are going to start this week. As these attract huge crowds, there is a possibility of outbreak of the third wave of COVID-19.

With COVID-19's third wave fears on mind, Indian authorities are restricting religious festivals, which are going to start this week. As these attract huge crowds, there is a possibility of outbreak of the third wave of COVID-19. Several governments across the country are clamping down on mass gatherings. Watch: India, Russia to discuss situation in Afghanistan × Mumbai’s Mayor Kishori Pednekar told reporters on Tuesday, “The third wave is not coming, it is already here”. “We can celebrate festivals later. Let us first prioritise the lives and health of our citizens,” added Uddhav Thackeray, the chief minister of the western state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital. He was speaking ahead of the 11-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which starts on Friday. Tamil Nadu has also banned public festival celebrations. Also Read: India's Covid vaccination coverage crosses 710 million landmark milestone Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sunday, urged people to show patience while celebrating festivals during COVID-19 pandemic and said in this battle, victory is certain. Addressing the nation through his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister urged for low key Dussehra celebrations. "Today, all of you are living with great restraint, celebrating festivals with modesty. Therefore, in the Covid-19 battle, we are fighting, victory is certain," he said. (With inputs from agencies)

Amid COVID-19's third wave fears, India restricts religious festivals

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a terrifying fact in July: Vaccinated people with the delta variant of the COVID virus carried roughly the same viral load in their noses and throats as unvaccinated people.

The news seemed to suggest that even the vaccinated were highly vulnerable to getting infected and passing the virus to others. Sure enough, stories about vaccinated people getting COVID — so-called breakthrough infections — were all around this summer: at a party in Provincetown, Massachusetts; among the Chicago Cubs; on Capitol Hill. Delta seemed as if it might be changing everything.

In recent weeks, however, more data has become available, and it suggests that the true picture is less alarming. Yes, delta has increased the chances of getting COVID for almost everyone. But if you’re vaccinated, a COVID infection is still uncommon, and those high viral loads are not as worrisome as they initially sounded.

How small are the chances of the average vaccinated American contracting COVID? Probably about 1 in 5,000 per day, and even lower for people who take precautions or live in a highly vaccinated community.

Or Maybe 1 in 10,000

The estimates here are based on statistics from three places that have reported detailed data on COVID infections by vaccination status: Utah; Virginia; and King County, which includes Seattle, in Washington state. All three are consistent with the idea that about 1 in 5,000 vaccinated Americans have tested positive for COVID each day in recent weeks.

The chances are surely higher in the places with the worst COVID outbreaks, like the Southeast. And in places with many fewer cases — like the Northeast, as well as the Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco areas — the chances are lower, probably less than 1 in 10,000. That’s what the Seattle data show, for example. (These numbers don’t include undiagnosed cases, which are often so mild that people do not notice them and do not pass the virus to anyone else.)

Here’s one way to think about a 1-in-10,000 daily chance: It would take more than three months for the combined risk to reach just 1%.

“There’s been a lot of miscommunication about what the risks really are to vaccinated people, and how vaccinated people should be thinking about their lives,” as Dr. Ashish Jha of Brown University told my colleague Tara Parker-Pope.

For the unvaccinated, of course, the chances of infection are far higher, as Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, the top public-health official in Seattle, has noted. Those chances have also risen much more since delta began spreading.

Another way to understand the situation is to compare each state’s vaccination rate with its recent daily COVID infection rate. The infection rates in the least vaccinated states are about four times as high as in the most vaccinated states.

If the entire country had received shots at the same rate as the Northeast or California, the current delta wave would be a small fraction of its current size. Delta is a problem. Vaccine hesitancy is a bigger problem.

The Science, in Brief

These numbers help show why the talking point about viral loads was problematic. It was one of those statements that managed to be both true and misleading. Even when the size of the viral loads are similar, the virus behaves differently in the noses and throats of the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.

In an unvaccinated person, a viral load is akin to an enemy army facing little resistance. In a vaccinated person, the human immune system launches a powerful response and tends to prevail quickly — often before the host body gets sick or infects others. That the viral loads were initially similar in size can end up being irrelevant.

I will confess to one bit of hesitation about walking you through the data on breakthrough infections: It’s not clear how much we should be worrying about them. For the vaccinated, COVID resembles the flu and usually a mild one. Society does not grind to a halt over the flu.

In Britain, many people have become comfortable with the current COVID risks. The vaccines make serious illness rare in adults, and the risks to young children are so low that Britain may never recommend that most receive the vaccine. Letting the virus continue to dominate life, on the other hand, has large costs.

“There’s a feeling that finally we can breathe; we can start trying to get back what we’ve lost,” Devi Sridhar, the head of the global public health program at the University of Edinburgh, told The Times.

I know that many Americans feel differently. Our level of COVID anxiety is higher, especially in communities that lean to the left politically. And there is no “correct” response to COVID. Different people respond to risk differently.

But at least one part of the American anxiety does seem to have become disconnected from the facts in recent weeks: the effectiveness of the vaccines. In a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, nearly half of adults judged their “risk of getting sick from the coronavirus” as either moderate or high — even though 75% of adults have received at least one shot.

In reality, the risks of getting any version of the virus remain small for the vaccinated, and the risks of getting badly sick remain minuscule.

In Seattle on an average recent day, about 1 out of every 1 million vaccinated residents have been admitted to a hospital with COVID symptoms. That risk is so close to zero that the human mind can’t easily process it. My best attempt is to say that the COVID risks for most vaccinated people are of the same order of magnitude as risks that people unthinkingly accept every day, like riding in a vehicle.

The Bottom Line

Delta really has changed the course of the pandemic. It is far more contagious than earlier versions of the virus and calls for precautions that were not necessary a couple of months ago, like wearing masks in some indoor situations.

But even with delta, the overall risks for the vaccinated remain extremely small. As Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, wrote on Friday, “The messaging over the last month in the U.S. has basically served to terrify the vaccinated and make unvaccinated eligible adults doubt the effectiveness of the vaccines.” Neither of those views is warranted.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a terrifying fact in July: Vaccinated people with the delta variant of the COVID virus carried roughly the same viral load in their noses and throats as unvaccinated people.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a terrifying fact in July: Vaccinated people with the delta variant of the COVID virus carried roughly the same viral load in their noses and throats as unvaccinated people. The news seemed to suggest that even the vaccinated were highly vulnerable to getting infected and passing the virus to others. Sure enough, stories about vaccinated people getting COVID — so-called breakthrough infections — were all around this summer: at a party in Provincetown, Massachusetts; among the Chicago Cubs; on Capitol Hill. Delta seemed as if it might be changing everything. In recent weeks, however, more data has become available, and it suggests that the true picture is less alarming. Yes, delta has increased the chances of getting COVID for almost everyone. But if you’re vaccinated, a COVID infection is still uncommon, and those high viral loads are not as worrisome as they initially sounded. How small are the chances of the average vaccinated American contracting COVID? Probably about 1 in 5,000 per day, and even lower for people who take precautions or live in a highly vaccinated community. Or Maybe 1 in 10,000 The estimates here are based on statistics from three places that have reported detailed data on COVID infections by vaccination status: Utah; Virginia; and King County, which includes Seattle, in Washington state. All three are consistent with the idea that about 1 in 5,000 vaccinated Americans have tested positive for COVID each day in recent weeks. The chances are surely higher in the places with the worst COVID outbreaks, like the Southeast. And in places with many fewer cases — like the Northeast, as well as the Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco areas — the chances are lower, probably less than 1 in 10,000. That’s what the Seattle data show, for example. (These numbers don’t include undiagnosed cases, which are often so mild that people do not notice them and do not pass the virus to anyone else.) Here’s one way to think about a 1-in-10,000 daily chance: It would take more than three months for the combined risk to reach just 1%. “There’s been a lot of miscommunication about what the risks really are to vaccinated people, and how vaccinated people should be thinking about their lives,” as Dr. Ashish Jha of Brown University told my colleague Tara Parker-Pope. For the unvaccinated, of course, the chances of infection are far higher, as Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, the top public-health official in Seattle, has noted. Those chances have also risen much more since delta began spreading. Another way to understand the situation is to compare each state’s vaccination rate with its recent daily COVID infection rate. The infection rates in the least vaccinated states are about four times as high as in the most vaccinated states. If the entire country had received shots at the same rate as the Northeast or California, the current delta wave would be a small fraction of its current size. Delta is a problem. Vaccine hesitancy is a bigger problem. The Science, in Brief These numbers help show why the talking point about viral loads was problematic. It was one of those statements that managed to be both true and misleading. Even when the size of the viral loads are similar, the virus behaves differently in the noses and throats of the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. In an unvaccinated person, a viral load is akin to an enemy army facing little resistance. In a vaccinated person, the human immune system launches a powerful response and tends to prevail quickly — often before the host body gets sick or infects others. That the viral loads were initially similar in size can end up being irrelevant. I will confess to one bit of hesitation about walking you through the data on breakthrough infections: It’s not clear how much we should be worrying about them. For the vaccinated, COVID resembles the flu and usually a mild one. Society does not grind to a halt over the flu. In Britain, many people have become comfortable with the current COVID risks. The vaccines make serious illness rare in adults, and the risks to young children are so low that Britain may never recommend that most receive the vaccine. Letting the virus continue to dominate life, on the other hand, has large costs. “There’s a feeling that finally we can breathe; we can start trying to get back what we’ve lost,” Devi Sridhar, the head of the global public health program at the University of Edinburgh, told The Times. I know that many Americans feel differently. Our level of COVID anxiety is higher, especially in communities that lean to the left politically. And there is no “correct” response to COVID. Different people respond to risk differently. But at least one part of the American anxiety does seem to have become disconnected from the facts in recent weeks: the effectiveness of the vaccines. In a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, nearly half of adults judged their “risk of getting sick from the coronavirus” as either moderate or high — even though 75% of adults have received at least one shot. In reality, the risks of getting any version of the virus remain small for the vaccinated, and the risks of getting badly sick remain minuscule. In Seattle on an average recent day, about 1 out of every 1 million vaccinated residents have been admitted to a hospital with COVID symptoms. That risk is so close to zero that the human mind can’t easily process it. My best attempt is to say that the COVID risks for most vaccinated people are of the same order of magnitude as risks that people unthinkingly accept every day, like riding in a vehicle. The Bottom Line Delta really has changed the course of the pandemic. It is far more contagious than earlier versions of the virus and calls for precautions that were not necessary a couple of months ago, like wearing masks in some indoor situations. But even with delta, the overall risks for the vaccinated remain extremely small. As Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, wrote on Friday, “The messaging over the last month in the U.S. has basically served to terrify the vaccinated and make unvaccinated eligible adults doubt the effectiveness of the vaccines.” Neither of those views is warranted.

One in 5,000: The real chances of a breakthrough infection

On Wednesday, COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country surpassed the 710 million level.

Up to 7 PM&nbsp;on Wednesday, 73,80,510 dosages had been provided, bringing the total to 71,52,54,153.

With the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the daily vaccination tally is projected to rise.

The Ministry of Health announced the achievement of a major milestone in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Twitter.

India needed 85 days to reach 100 million vaccinations, 45 days to reach 200 million, and 29 days to reach 300 million, according to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LargestVaccineDrive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LargestVaccineDrive</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Unite2FightCorona?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Unite2FightCorona</a> <a href="https://t.co/7xe5I6YX3J">pic.twitter.com/7xe5I6YX3J</a>
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It took 24 days for the country to reach 400 million vaccines from 300 million doses, and another 20 days for the country to reach 500 million immunizations on August 6.

According to the ministry, it took 19 more days to surpass 600 million, and only 13 days to reach 700 million on September 8 from 600 million.

The vaccine campaign, which aims to protect the country's most vulnerable populations from COVID-19, is still being assessed and monitored at the highest level, according to the statement.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

On Wednesday, COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country surpassed the 710 million level. Up to 7 PM on Wednesday, 73,80,510 dosages had been provided, bringing the total to 71,52,54,153.

On Wednesday, COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country surpassed the 710 million level. Up to 7 PM on Wednesday, 73,80,510 dosages had been provided, bringing the total to 71,52,54,153. With the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the daily vaccination tally is projected to rise. The Ministry of Health announced the achievement of a major milestone in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Twitter. India needed 85 days to reach 100 million vaccinations, 45 days to reach 200 million, and 29 days to reach 300 million, according to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. #LargestVaccineDrive #Unite2FightCorona pic.twitter.com/7xe5I6YX3J — Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) September 8, 2021 × It took 24 days for the country to reach 400 million vaccines from 300 million doses, and another 20 days for the country to reach 500 million immunizations on August 6. According to the ministry, it took 19 more days to surpass 600 million, and only 13 days to reach 700 million on September 8 from 600 million. The vaccine campaign, which aims to protect the country's most vulnerable populations from COVID-19, is still being assessed and monitored at the highest level, according to the statement. (With inputs from agencies)

India's Covid vaccination coverage crosses 710 million landmark milestone

Opening a window could reduce the amount of coronavirus in a room by half, according to a new observational study of infected college students in an isolation dormitory at the University of Oregon.

<article>
The study, which was posted online, is small and has not yet been published in a scientific journal. But it provides real-world evidence for several important principles, demonstrating that the virus spreads from infected people into the air in a room; that the more virus they are carrying, the more virus builds up indoors; and that both natural and mechanical ventilation appear to reduce this environmental viral load.

“Ventilation is one of the most important mitigation strategies that we have at our disposal,” said Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, who led the research and directs the Institute for Health in the Built Environment.

The researchers studied 35 University of Oregon students who tested positive for the coronavirus between January and May. All students subsequently moved into single rooms in a COVID isolation dormitory for a 10-day isolation period.

The scientists placed petri dishes in each room and used an active air sampler to trap aerosols floating around the air. Several times a day, they also swabbed various surfaces in the room as well as students’ noses and mouths.

Then they used PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, testing to determine whether the virus was present in each sample and, if so, at what levels.

The data confirmed that there was a clear link between the amount of virus that students were carrying and the environmental viral load. As the amount of virus in students’ noses and mouths decreased over their isolation period, so did the amount of airborne virus.

“There was a significant correlation between the nasal samples and the air samples in the room,” Van Den Wymelenberg said.

The researchers also calculated the mechanical ventilation rate for each room and asked students to report how often the windows were open. They found that viral loads were about twice as high, on average, in rooms that had the window closed more than half the time.

The study had several limitations, including the fact that it included only young adults and that symptoms and window data were self-reported.
</article>

Opening a window could reduce the amount of coronavirus in a room by half, according to a new observational study of infected college students in an isolation dormitory at the University of Oregon.

Opening a window could reduce the amount of coronavirus in a room by half, according to a new observational study of infected college students in an isolation dormitory at the University of Oregon. The study, which was posted online, is small and has not yet been published in a scientific journal. But it provides real-world evidence for several important principles, demonstrating that the virus spreads from infected people into the air in a room; that the more virus they are carrying, the more virus builds up indoors; and that both natural and mechanical ventilation appear to reduce this environmental viral load. “Ventilation is one of the most important mitigation strategies that we have at our disposal,” said Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, who led the research and directs the Institute for Health in the Built Environment. The researchers studied 35 University of Oregon students who tested positive for the coronavirus between January and May. All students subsequently moved into single rooms in a COVID isolation dormitory for a 10-day isolation period. The scientists placed petri dishes in each room and used an active air sampler to trap aerosols floating around the air. Several times a day, they also swabbed various surfaces in the room as well as students’ noses and mouths. Then they used PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, testing to determine whether the virus was present in each sample and, if so, at what levels. The data confirmed that there was a clear link between the amount of virus that students were carrying and the environmental viral load. As the amount of virus in students’ noses and mouths decreased over their isolation period, so did the amount of airborne virus. “There was a significant correlation between the nasal samples and the air samples in the room,” Van Den Wymelenberg said. The researchers also calculated the mechanical ventilation rate for each room and asked students to report how often the windows were open. They found that viral loads were about twice as high, on average, in rooms that had the window closed more than half the time. The study had several limitations, including the fact that it included only young adults and that symptoms and window data were self-reported.

Dorm rooms study shows how ventilation curbs virus levels

In air heavy with monsoonal pressure and discontent, the riot police in Bangkok unleashed rubber bullets and tear gas. Tanat Thanakitamnuay, the scion of a real estate family, stood on a truck, where he had been excoriating Thailand’s leaders for their bungled response to the pandemic.

Then a hard object, perhaps a tear gas canister, struck his right eye, tearing his retina. Tanat, who once supported the 2014 coup that brought Prayuth Chan-ocha, now the prime minister, to power, said the injury August&nbsp;13 cost him his vision in the eye.

“I might be blinded, but now I’m stronger than ever; I see things clearer than ever,” he said. “People knew a long time ago how incompetent this government is. COVID is just more evidence and proof.”

Thailand, which not long ago was seen as a virus-containing wonder, has become yet another example of how authoritarian hubris and a lack of government accountability have fueled the pandemic. This year, more than 12,000 people in Thailand have died of COVID-19, compared to fewer than 100 last year. The economy has been ravaged, with tourism all but nonexistent and manufacturing slowed.

Anger is spreading, and not only in the streets. Opposition lawmakers in parliament tried to pass a vote of no confidence in Prayuth, accusing his government of squandering the monthslong head start Thailand had to fight the coronavirus. That effort failed Saturday, even though some members of the prime minister’s coalition had briefly fanned speculation that they might support his ouster.

This summer’s vaccine rollout, already late, was further hampered by manufacturing delays. A company with no experience making vaccines, whose dominant shareholder is Thailand’s king, was given the contract to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine domestically. The government’s failure to secure adequate imported supplies has made matters worse. Only about 15% of the population is fully vaccinated, and social inequalities have let the young rich leapfrog ahead of older, poorer people.

Anti-government protests, which now occur daily, are growing more desperate, and security crackdowns more aggressive. In August, at least 10 demonstrations were broken up with force. At one, a 15-year-old boy was shot and is now in intensive care. The police have denied firing live ammunition.

“Earlier, people said they were not coming out to protest because of COVID, but now the thinking has changed to, ‘You stay at home, and you will die anyway because of the government’s inability to take care of people,’” said Tosaporn Sererak, a doctor who was once a spokesperson for the government unseated by the 2014 coup.

More than a dozen civil society groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, issued a letter Wednesday urging authorities to show restraint.

“We are troubled by the disproportionate response of riot police to provocations by protesters,” read the letter, addressed to Prayuth. “We are also concerned by the arbitrary detention of protest leaders who have recently faced new criminal charges and have been denied bail.”

Prayuth, who led the coup seven years ago as army chief, has concentrated power in his own hands, arguing that enhanced executive powers are needed to fight the pandemic.

He has tried to quash public dissent by instituting a state of emergency and criminalizing certain criticism. Hundreds have been arrested in recent months for sedition, for so-called computer crimes and for criticizing King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, which is against the law.

A prominent politician was charged with insulting the monarch after he asked why Siam Bioscience, the king’s company, was given the contract to churn out vaccines for Southeast Asia when it had not manufactured them before.

At least a dozen leaders of protests that began last year, calling for Prayuth’s resignation and for reforms to the monarchy, are now locked up, awaiting trial. Some have contracted COVID-19 in prison. On Tuesday, a United Nations official expressed concern that jailed protesters were not receiving adequate medical care.

Sureerat Chiwarak, the mother of Parit Chiwarak, a protest leader, said her son had become infected in an overcrowded Bangkok prison. Parit told his mother that there were far more COVID cases in prison than the official numbers indicated.

“Some people say, ‘Why don’t you surrender? They have your child in their hands. They put him in prison,’” Sureerat said. “No. The kids are fighting for equality. Why do I have to surrender?”

With some of Bangkok’s COVID lockdown measures having been lifted September&nbsp;1, the protest movement is gathering momentum, even if the crowds have not matched the tens of thousands who turned out for rallies last year.

“When the government is authoritarian, they think they can censor the media, they think they can stop the people from protesting,” said Rangsiman Rome, an opposition lawmaker. “But people are still coming out to protest every day, demanding change.”

During last year’s protests, which were peaceful, the riot police largely showed restraint, despite their long history of shooting demonstrators.

Their response this summer has been harsher, with protests often quashed before they can coalesce. The police now regularly deploy rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons laced with burning chemicals. Protesters respond with their own arsenals, including flamethrowers and slingshots.

Opposition figures say the urge to confront the police during a pandemic is a sign of widespread desperation.

“People who supported the government have also gotten infected, and this makes them rethink and question why they have to suffer like this,” Rangsiman said.

On Aug. 29, two anti-government protests coalesced in Bangkok. The first was a gathering of hundreds of cars and motorcycles. After a period of intense honking, they dispersed.

The second rally, smaller and angrier, formed in a business district. Motorcyclists used paper to cover their license plates and helmets to obscure their faces. Other protesters hid behind balaclavas. No one wanted to speak openly about why they were there.

The tear gas began flowing before dusk, and the police fired streams of purple water, presumably to mark the demonstrators. Low booms reverberated, and smoke filled the air as protesters flung projectiles. As night descended, small fires burned. On Saturday, the riot police set up shipping containers to impede one rally, while a smaller protest erupted into violence.

Tanat, the protester who was partially blinded last month, is a beneficiary of the privilege that has split Thailand into a tiny group of haves and tens of millions of have-nots, a divide that has fed political unrest for years. He said some of his rich friends had also begun attending rallies, hopping on their chauffeurs’ motorcycles to get there rather than being driven in their usual Rolls-Royces or Maybachs.

But most protesters are from the struggling class that has been further impoverished by the pandemic. Nipapon Somnoi said her son, Warit Somnoi, 15, had offered to quit school to help the family, but she would not allow it.

The boy ended up at a protest in mid-August. Video footage, which she cannot bear to watch, shows the moment when a bullet hit his neck and, as a CT scan confirmed, lodged at his spine. The police reiterated that the security forces did not use live ammunition. Nipapon said she did not know what to believe.

Her son has been in a coma for more than two weeks. She worries that because her family is neither rich nor famous, his fate will be forgotten.

“Sometimes I think, one tear gas canister could buy six to eight doses of a good-quality vaccine,” Nipapon said. “The state keeps saying that we are a democracy, but they only listen to their own voice.”

Late last month, she sat at the hospital, caressing her son’s face, asking if he could hear her.

“There were moments when I called his name and saw his eyelids move,” she said. “There were tears seeping out. But I don’t know.”

In air heavy with monsoonal pressure and discontent, the riot police in Bangkok unleashed rubber bullets and tear gas. Tanat Thanakitamnuay, the scion of a real estate family, stood on a truck, where he had been excoriating Thailand’s leaders for their bungled response to the pandemic.

In air heavy with monsoonal pressure and discontent, the riot police in Bangkok unleashed rubber bullets and tear gas. Tanat Thanakitamnuay, the scion of a real estate family, stood on a truck, where he had been excoriating Thailand’s leaders for their bungled response to the pandemic. Then a hard object, perhaps a tear gas canister, struck his right eye, tearing his retina. Tanat, who once supported the 2014 coup that brought Prayuth Chan-ocha, now the prime minister, to power, said the injury August 13 cost him his vision in the eye. “I might be blinded, but now I’m stronger than ever; I see things clearer than ever,” he said. “People knew a long time ago how incompetent this government is. COVID is just more evidence and proof.” Thailand, which not long ago was seen as a virus-containing wonder, has become yet another example of how authoritarian hubris and a lack of government accountability have fueled the pandemic. This year, more than 12,000 people in Thailand have died of COVID-19, compared to fewer than 100 last year. The economy has been ravaged, with tourism all but nonexistent and manufacturing slowed. Anger is spreading, and not only in the streets. Opposition lawmakers in parliament tried to pass a vote of no confidence in Prayuth, accusing his government of squandering the monthslong head start Thailand had to fight the coronavirus. That effort failed Saturday, even though some members of the prime minister’s coalition had briefly fanned speculation that they might support his ouster. This summer’s vaccine rollout, already late, was further hampered by manufacturing delays. A company with no experience making vaccines, whose dominant shareholder is Thailand’s king, was given the contract to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine domestically. The government’s failure to secure adequate imported supplies has made matters worse. Only about 15% of the population is fully vaccinated, and social inequalities have let the young rich leapfrog ahead of older, poorer people. Anti-government protests, which now occur daily, are growing more desperate, and security crackdowns more aggressive. In August, at least 10 demonstrations were broken up with force. At one, a 15-year-old boy was shot and is now in intensive care. The police have denied firing live ammunition. “Earlier, people said they were not coming out to protest because of COVID, but now the thinking has changed to, ‘You stay at home, and you will die anyway because of the government’s inability to take care of people,’” said Tosaporn Sererak, a doctor who was once a spokesperson for the government unseated by the 2014 coup. More than a dozen civil society groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, issued a letter Wednesday urging authorities to show restraint. “We are troubled by the disproportionate response of riot police to provocations by protesters,” read the letter, addressed to Prayuth. “We are also concerned by the arbitrary detention of protest leaders who have recently faced new criminal charges and have been denied bail.” Prayuth, who led the coup seven years ago as army chief, has concentrated power in his own hands, arguing that enhanced executive powers are needed to fight the pandemic. He has tried to quash public dissent by instituting a state of emergency and criminalizing certain criticism. Hundreds have been arrested in recent months for sedition, for so-called computer crimes and for criticizing King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, which is against the law. A prominent politician was charged with insulting the monarch after he asked why Siam Bioscience, the king’s company, was given the contract to churn out vaccines for Southeast Asia when it had not manufactured them before. At least a dozen leaders of protests that began last year, calling for Prayuth’s resignation and for reforms to the monarchy, are now locked up, awaiting trial. Some have contracted COVID-19 in prison. On Tuesday, a United Nations official expressed concern that jailed protesters were not receiving adequate medical care. Sureerat Chiwarak, the mother of Parit Chiwarak, a protest leader, said her son had become infected in an overcrowded Bangkok prison. Parit told his mother that there were far more COVID cases in prison than the official numbers indicated. “Some people say, ‘Why don’t you surrender? They have your child in their hands. They put him in prison,’” Sureerat said. “No. The kids are fighting for equality. Why do I have to surrender?” With some of Bangkok’s COVID lockdown measures having been lifted September 1, the protest movement is gathering momentum, even if the crowds have not matched the tens of thousands who turned out for rallies last year. “When the government is authoritarian, they think they can censor the media, they think they can stop the people from protesting,” said Rangsiman Rome, an opposition lawmaker. “But people are still coming out to protest every day, demanding change.” During last year’s protests, which were peaceful, the riot police largely showed restraint, despite their long history of shooting demonstrators. Their response this summer has been harsher, with protests often quashed before they can coalesce. The police now regularly deploy rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons laced with burning chemicals. Protesters respond with their own arsenals, including flamethrowers and slingshots. Opposition figures say the urge to confront the police during a pandemic is a sign of widespread desperation. “People who supported the government have also gotten infected, and this makes them rethink and question why they have to suffer like this,” Rangsiman said. On Aug. 29, two anti-government protests coalesced in Bangkok. The first was a gathering of hundreds of cars and motorcycles. After a period of intense honking, they dispersed. The second rally, smaller and angrier, formed in a business district. Motorcyclists used paper to cover their license plates and helmets to obscure their faces. Other protesters hid behind balaclavas. No one wanted to speak openly about why they were there. The tear gas began flowing before dusk, and the police fired streams of purple water, presumably to mark the demonstrators. Low booms reverberated, and smoke filled the air as protesters flung projectiles. As night descended, small fires burned. On Saturday, the riot police set up shipping containers to impede one rally, while a smaller protest erupted into violence. Tanat, the protester who was partially blinded last month, is a beneficiary of the privilege that has split Thailand into a tiny group of haves and tens of millions of have-nots, a divide that has fed political unrest for years. He said some of his rich friends had also begun attending rallies, hopping on their chauffeurs’ motorcycles to get there rather than being driven in their usual Rolls-Royces or Maybachs. But most protesters are from the struggling class that has been further impoverished by the pandemic. Nipapon Somnoi said her son, Warit Somnoi, 15, had offered to quit school to help the family, but she would not allow it. The boy ended up at a protest in mid-August. Video footage, which she cannot bear to watch, shows the moment when a bullet hit his neck and, as a CT scan confirmed, lodged at his spine. The police reiterated that the security forces did not use live ammunition. Nipapon said she did not know what to believe. Her son has been in a coma for more than two weeks. She worries that because her family is neither rich nor famous, his fate will be forgotten. “Sometimes I think, one tear gas canister could buy six to eight doses of a good-quality vaccine,” Nipapon said. “The state keeps saying that we are a democracy, but they only listen to their own voice.” Late last month, she sat at the hospital, caressing her son’s face, asking if he could hear her. “There were moments when I called his name and saw his eyelids move,” she said. “There were tears seeping out. But I don’t know.”

Thai protesters are back, and angrier, as government fumbles on COVID

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