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newstfionline · 4 years ago

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Friday, March 12, 2021

Rich, developing nations wrangle over COVID vaccine patents (Reuters) Richer members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) blocked a push by over 80 developing countries on Wednesday to waive patent rights in an effort to boost production of COVID-19 vaccines for poor nations. South Africa and India renewed their bid to waive rules of the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement, a move that could allow generic or other manufacturers to make more vaccines. South Africa argued the current TRIPS system does not work, pointing to the failure to secure life-saving medicines during the HIV/AIDS pandemic that had cost at least 11 million African lives. Medecins Sans Frontieres in October put together a letter signed by over 375 civil society organisations supporting the waiver. The South Africa and India proposal was backed by dozens of largely developing countries at the WTO, but opposed by Western countries, including Britain, Switzerland, EU nations and the United States, which have large domestic pharmaceutical industries.

US reports surge of kids at SW border, a challenge for Biden (AP) The number of migrant children and families seeking to cross the U.S. southwest border has surged to levels not seen since before the pandemic, a challenge for President Joe Biden. Statistics released Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed the number of children and families increased by more than 100% between January and February. Kids crossing by themselves rose 60% to more than 9,400, forcing the government to look for new places to hold them temporarily. The surge has been seized on by Republicans and former President Donald Trump as a line of attack on Biden, though his administration is turning back nearly all single adults, who make up the majority of border-crossers, under a public health order imposed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration is temporarily holding children and families, mostly from Central America, for several days. They are generally then allowed to enter the U.S. while authorities evaluate their claims to asylum or see if they have any other legal right to stay in the country. It is a challenge for an administration that has been working to restore an asylum system largely dismantled under Trump and likely to face increasing pressure. Factors driving the increase include widespread hunger in Central America due to recent hurricanes, the economic upheaval of the pandemic and more fundamental social problems dating back years.

Brazil hospitals buckle (AP) Brazil’s hospitals are faltering as a highly contagious coronavirus variant tears through the country, the president insists on unproven treatments and the only attempt to create a national plan to contain COVID-19 has just fallen short. Piaui state’s Gov. Wellington Dias told The Associated Press that, unless pressure on hospitals is eased, growing numbers of patients will have to endure the disease without a hospital bed or any hope of treatment in an intensive care unit. “We have reached the limit across Brazil; rare are the exceptions,” Dias, who leads the governors’ forum, said. “The chance of dying without assistance is real.” Those deaths have already started. In Brazil’s wealthiest state, Sao Paulo, at least 30 patients died this month while waiting for ICU beds, according to a tally published Wednesday by the news site G1. In southern Santa Catarina state, 419 people are waiting for transfer to ICU beds. In neighboring Rio Grande do Sul, ICU capacity is at 106%.

Athens tackles heat and pollution with pocket-sized parks (Reuters) Tucked between rows of apartment blocks on an Athens street, a strip of green with a few trees, some plants and a bench offers a breathing space in the surrounding crush of concrete. The Greek capital has started creating “pocket parks”, transforming small plots once ridden with garbage and weeds, in a bid to tackle its chronic pollution. “It’s about creating green spaces, lowering the temperatures, giving quality of life and creating new reference points inside the city,” Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis said. “It lets us breathe a bit, because the way we are here ... we are suffocating,” said 65-year-old Dimitra from the densely populated neighbourhood of Kypseli.

Myanmar’s searing smartphone images flood a watching world (AP) The images ricochet across the planet, as so many do in this dizzying era of film it, upload it, tell it to the world: scenes from a protest-turned-government crackdown, captured at ground level by smartphone users on the streets of Myanmar. Images shot across barricades and furtively through windows. From behind bushes and through smudged car windshields. Horizontal video. Vertical video. Video captured by people running toward chaos and away from it. People shouting. People helping. People demanding. People dying. It is a dynamic completely unlike the uprising that spread through the Southeast Asian nation in the pre-internet, pre-smartphone summer of 1988. Then, when student-led demonstrations were violently put down by the government, cementing Myanmar’s global notoriety as an isolated, repressive state, it took months, even years, for the outside world to understand the full story of what had happened. This time around, the imagery is plentiful and unsettling. Filmed by participants on the ground and uploaded, sometimes immediately, the protests and crackdowns are reaching millions of handheld devices around the planet, also almost immediately. It’s a vivid example of a technological truism in an age when capturing images has become utterly democratized: If you can glimpse it up close, you’re more likely to pay attention.

Most Americans support tough stance toward China on human rights, economic issues (Pew Research Center) Roughly nine-in-ten U.S. adults (89%) consider China a competitor or enemy, rather than a partner, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Many also support taking a firmer approach to the bilateral relationship, whether by promoting human rights in China, getting tougher on China economically or limiting Chinese students studying abroad in the United States. Americans rarely brought up the Chinese people or the country’s long history and culture in their responses. Instead, they focused primarily on the Chinese government—including its policies or how it behaves internationally—as well as its economy.

Ten years on, Japan mourns victims of earthquake, Fukushima nuclear disaster (Reuters) Japan on Thursday mourned nearly 20,000 victims of a massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan 10 years ago, destroying towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima, the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Huge waves triggered by the 9.0-magnitude quake—one of the strongest on record—crashed into the northeastern coast, crippling the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant and forcing more than 160,000 residents to flee as radiation spewed into the air. The government has spent about $300 billion (32.1 trillion yen) to rebuild the tsunami-devastated region, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation levels linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning of the crippled plant will take decades and billions of dollars. The disaster has also left survivors in Tohoku struggling to overcome the grief of losing families and whole communities to the waves in a few frightening hours on the afternoon of March 11, 2011.

Lebanon’s politicians show no sign of saving their country, France says (Reuters) France’s foreign minister said on Thursday time was running out to prevent Lebanon collapsing and that he could see no sign that the country’s politicians were doing what they could to save it. France has spearheaded international efforts to rescue the former French protectorate from its deepest crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war by trying to use Paris’ historical influence to persuade squabbling politicians to adopt a reform roadmap and form a new government to unlock international aid. “I would be tempted to qualify Lebanese politicians as guilty of not helping a country in danger,” Jean-Yves le Drian told a news conference in Paris. “They all committed to act to create an inclusive government and committed to implementing indispensable reforms. That was seven months ago and nothing is moving. I think it’s not too late, but the delays are very small before collapse.”

UN food aid chief visits Yemen, fears famine (AP) The head of the U.N. food agency warned after a visit to Yemen that his underfunded organization may be forced to seek hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations in a desperate bid to stave off widespread famine in coming months, describing conditions in the war-stricken nation as “hell.” The World Food Program needs at least $815 million in Yemen aid over the next six months, but has only $300 million, the agency’s executive director, David Beasley, told The Associated Press in an interview. He said the agency would need another $1.9 billion to meet targets for the year. Beasley visited Yemen earlier this week, including the capital of Sanaa which is under the control of Iran-backed Houthi rebels. He said that at a child malnutrition ward in a Sanaa hospital he saw children wasting away from lack of food. Many, he said, were on the brink of death from entirely preventable and treatable causes, and they were the lucky ones who were receiving medical care. He said the world needs to wake up to how bad things have gotten in Yemen, particularly for the country’s youngest.

Shock and uncertainty after death of Ivory Coast PM Bakayoko (Reuters) Ivory Coast faced shock and uncertainty on Thursday following the death of Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, the West African nation’s second premier to die in office in less than eight months. A close ally of President Alassane Ouattara, Bakayoko, who died of cancer a few days after his 56th birthday, was appointed prime minister in July 2020 after the death of his predecessor Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Ouattara’s handpicked successor. A central figure in Ivorian politics over the past two decades as the country was plunged into a prolonged conflict and a partition, Bakayoko, a jovial character with roots in media and showbiz, emerged as a conciliatory figure, able to talk to all sides of the conflict. His capacity to gain the trust of all sides including former rebel soldiers who staged a series of mutinies in 2017, threatening a fragile peace in the world’s top cocoa producing nation, saw him appointed as defence minister in 2017, and kept the portfolio when he became prime minister.

Nuclear power (Scientific American) Nuclear power is waning, but not for the typical fears. Rather, other ways of generating electricity have just become cheaper and more available. Nuclear power in 2020 accounted for about 19 percent of U.S. electricity needs, a figure that by 2050 is projected to slip to 11 percent according to the Energy Information Administration. Nuclear power is over half of low-carbon electricity generation in the U.S., and is about 30 percent of the world’s low-carbon electricity. The coming years will determine how much nuclear power will play a role in the energy future, as new demos of small modular reactors begin to roll out in the United States.

Tiny internal cameras (Times of London) Thousands of NHS patients will be given tiny cameras to swallow to check for cancer in a new national trial. The technology, in a pill-sized capsule, takes images as it passes through the bowel and beams them to a recording device worn on a belt and shoulder bag. It can then be flushed away. Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said that the “ingenious” capsule cameras would allow more people to undergo cancer investigations quickly and safely.

#headlines #news

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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U.S. Covid Vaccine Provide: Methods to Make Sense of These Complicated Numbers Demand for vaccines is skyrocketing as the US grapples with a report demise toll from Covid-19 and the specter of new, extra contagious variants. After a sluggish begin in December, many states and cities have shortly ramped up vaccine supply, widening entry to bigger teams of individuals and establishing mass testing websites. However now there’s a brand new wrinkle: Some mayors and governors say they’ve run out of accessible vaccines, and have needed to cancel appointments. The Biden administration has promised to overtake the nation’s faltering vaccine effort, however there’s solely a lot it will probably do to extend the out there provide. Right here’s what you’ll want to know. What number of doses can be found? There are merely not sufficient doses of licensed vaccines to fulfill the big demand. And that isn’t more likely to change for the subsequent few months. The 2 corporations with licensed vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, have every promised to offer the US with 100 million vaccine doses by the top of March, or sufficient for 100 million folks to get the mandatory two photographs. However that doesn’t imply these 200 million doses are sitting in a manufacturing facility warehouse someplace, ready to be shipped. Each corporations are manufacturing the doses at full capability, and are collectively releasing between 12 million and 18 million doses every week. As of Wednesday, practically 36 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been distributed to state and native governments. Nonetheless, solely about 16.5 million photographs had been administered to sufferers. However as native well being authorities grow to be more proficient at vaccine distribution, they’ll finally catch as much as the restricted provide. Some native officers, together with these in New York Metropolis, have mentioned they’re already reaching that time, and have needed to cancel appointments as a result of they mentioned they don’t have sufficient. President Biden mentioned he would use the Protection Manufacturing Act to extend provide. Will that assist? Vaccine consultants and the businesses themselves have mentioned that not less than within the brief time period, utilizing the Protection Manufacturing Act is not going to considerably enhance provide, though each little bit might assist. That’s as a result of manufacturing amenities are already at or close to capability, and there’s a worldwide race to develop vaccines that use a finite quantity of sources. Though the Trump administration was criticized for not utilizing the Protection Manufacturing Act extra aggressively to ramp up manufacturing of testing provides and protecting gear, it did use the act many occasions to give vaccine producers precedence entry to suppliers of uncooked elements and tools. In a plan launched on Thursday, the Biden administration indicated it might proceed to make use of the act to spice up provides wanted for vaccine manufacturing, in addition to different supplies which can be required to immunize tens of tens of millions of individuals. Though the plan offered few particulars, one instance cited is growing manufacturing of a particular syringe that may squeeze six doses out of Pfizer vials that have been initially supposed to include 5. What in regards to the federal stockpile of vaccines? There isn’t a vital reserve of vaccines to talk of. For probably the most half, vaccines are being shipped out every week as they’re manufactured. (The exception is a small emergency stockpile that the Biden administration has mentioned will proceed.) Final week, Alex M. Azar II, the outgoing secretary of well being and human providers, stirred confusion when he introduced that the federal authorities could be releasing a reserve of vaccine doses. Many states mentioned they have been informed that this meant an inflow of vaccines was on the best way, which could possibly be used to inoculate extra folks. In his information convention, Mr. Azar urged states to open up their immunization insurance policies, and mentioned they’d been shifting too slowly to make use of the doses they’d already been despatched. Consequently, a number of governors, together with Andrew Cuomo in New York, modified eligibility guidelines to permit folks 65 and older to get the vaccine. Nonetheless, senior administration officers clarified final Friday that every one of these reserve doses have been already earmarked as booster photographs for individuals who had gotten the vaccine, and that Mr. Azar was simply spelling out the logical extension of a distribution coverage that had been established by prime federal officers in December, when shipments started. The discharge of the reserve doses would go to individuals who wanted their second dose, not new swimming pools of people that have been getting their first shot. Going ahead, Mr. Azar mentioned, the federal government would shift to a brand new mannequin: reasonably than holding onto a reserve of booster photographs, every weekly cargo from the producers would come with doses for brand new folks in addition to second doses for these due for his or her booster photographs. President Biden echoed that coverage in saying his vaccine plan final week. Covid-19 Vaccines › Solutions to Your Vaccine Questions If I reside within the U.S., when can I get the vaccine? Whereas the precise order of vaccine recipients could fluctuate by state, most will possible put medical employees and residents of long-term care amenities first. If you wish to perceive how this resolution is getting made, this text will assist. When can I return to regular life after being vaccinated? Life will return to regular solely when society as a complete positive factors sufficient safety in opposition to the coronavirus. As soon as nations authorize a vaccine, they’ll solely be capable to vaccinate a couple of p.c of their residents at most within the first couple months. The unvaccinated majority will nonetheless stay susceptible to getting contaminated. A rising variety of coronavirus vaccines are displaying sturdy safety in opposition to turning into sick. However it’s additionally potential for folks to unfold the virus with out even figuring out they’re contaminated as a result of they expertise solely gentle signs or none in any respect. Scientists don’t but know if the vaccines additionally block the transmission of the coronavirus. So in the meanwhile, even vaccinated folks might want to put on masks, keep away from indoor crowds, and so forth. As soon as sufficient folks get vaccinated, it’s going to grow to be very tough for the coronavirus to search out susceptible folks to contaminate. Relying on how shortly we as a society obtain that objective, life would possibly begin approaching one thing like regular by the autumn 2021. If I’ve been vaccinated, do I nonetheless have to put on a masks? Sure, however not without end. The 2 vaccines that may probably get licensed this month clearly shield folks from getting sick with Covid-19. However the medical trials that delivered these outcomes weren’t designed to find out whether or not vaccinated folks might nonetheless unfold the coronavirus with out growing signs. That continues to be a risk. We all know that people who find themselves naturally contaminated by the coronavirus can unfold it whereas they’re not experiencing any cough or different signs. Researchers shall be intensely finding out this query because the vaccines roll out. Within the meantime, even vaccinated folks might want to consider themselves as potential spreaders. Will it damage? What are the negative effects? The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is delivered as a shot within the arm, like different typical vaccines. The injection gained’t be any totally different from ones you’ve gotten earlier than. Tens of 1000’s of individuals have already obtained the vaccines, and none of them have reported any critical well being issues. However a few of them have felt short-lived discomfort, together with aches and flu-like signs that usually final a day. It’s potential that folks could have to plan to take a time without work work or college after the second shot. Whereas these experiences aren’t nice, they’re signal: they’re the results of your personal immune system encountering the vaccine and mounting a potent response that may present long-lasting immunity. Will mRNA vaccines change my genes? No. The vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer use a genetic molecule to prime the immune system. That molecule, referred to as mRNA, is finally destroyed by the physique. The mRNA is packaged in an oily bubble that may fuse to a cell, permitting the molecule to slide in. The cell makes use of the mRNA to make proteins from the coronavirus, which may stimulate the immune system. At any second, every of our cells could include a whole lot of 1000’s of mRNA molecules, which they produce so as to make proteins of their very own. As soon as these proteins are made, our cells then shred the mRNA with particular enzymes. The mRNA molecules our cells make can solely survive a matter of minutes. The mRNA in vaccines is engineered to resist the cell’s enzymes a bit longer, in order that the cells could make additional virus proteins and immediate a stronger immune response. However the mRNA can solely final for a couple of days at most earlier than they’re destroyed. Will there be sufficient vaccine provide to present everybody a second dose? Federal officers have beforehand mentioned they have been working with states to trace who has gotten a vaccine, and when they’re due for his or her booster photographs, which is three weeks later for the Pfizer vaccine and 4 weeks later for the Moderna one. They’ve mentioned that every weekly cargo will give precedence to individuals who want their second dose that week, and no matter is left will go to vaccinating new folks. However the plan depends on state and federal governments working collectively and precisely reporting who has obtained a vaccine, and what’s wanted from week to week. Many state governments have complained they don’t have the sources to hold out the vaccine distribution plan, and the subsequent few weeks will show how effectively the system works. The incoming Biden administration has vowed to overtake distribution to the states, offering extra transparency to native officers about how a lot vaccine they’ll anticipate, within the hopes of permitting states to raised plan. Some Democratic governors have requested to purchase vaccines instantly from Pfizer. Is that potential? No, it’s not more likely to occur. Final week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan requested the federal authorities for permission to purchase 100,000 doses of vaccine instantly from Pfizer. And on Monday, Gov. Cuomo wrote a letter to Pfizer asking for the state to purchase vaccines instantly. Pfizer and Moderna’s provide has been totally claimed for not less than the primary quarter of this 12 months, that means it’s unlikely there shall be any spare vaccine to promote to particular person states. As well as, the emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines stipulate that the federal authorities oversees distribution. In an announcement, a Pfizer spokeswoman mentioned the corporate “is open to collaborating with the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies on a distribution mannequin that provides as many People as potential entry to our vaccine as shortly as potential.” However she famous that “earlier than we will even take into account direct gross sales to state governments, H.H.S. would wish to approve that proposal.” A state official mentioned on Tuesday that the governor felt it was vital to exhaust all his choices, regardless of how unlikely they’d be succeed, and pointed to his efforts in March to instantly purchase ventilators from producers — establishing a bidding conflict amongst states that he later criticized the federal authorities for fueling. However advisers to the Biden administration have indicated that they don’t seem to be in favor of such a transfer. On Monday, Dr. Celine Gounder, a pandemic adviser to Mr. Biden throughout his presidential transition, mentioned permitting states to achieve separate offers would trigger extra issues than it might remedy. In an interview on CNBC, Dr. Gounder famous Mr. Cuomo’s earlier criticism of bidding over ventilators. “I believe this type of an method to vaccine allocation goes to consequence, frankly, in the identical sort of scenario that he, himself, was criticizing final spring,” she mentioned. Are we going to get extra vaccines anytime quickly? Sure, more than likely. No less than three different vaccines are in late-stage medical trials, and the success of any one in all them might imply tens of millions of extra doses for U.S. residents by this spring. Johnson & Johnson is anticipated to announce the outcomes of its vaccine trial any day now, and whether it is profitable, the primary doses might grow to be out there in the US by February. Though early manufacturing of the vaccine has lagged, the corporate has signed a deal to offer 100 million doses of its one-dose vaccine by the top of June. By March and April, outcomes from trials testing two-dose vaccines by AstraZeneca and Novavax may be made public. AstraZeneca has an association with the U.S. authorities to offer 300 million doses, and Novavax to offer 110 million. What’s extra, each Pfizer and Moderna say their factories are ramping up and increasing capability every week. They’ve signed offers to provide an extra 100 million doses every of their vaccines within the second quarter of this 12 months. When will we’ve got sufficient vaccines for everyone within the nation? It’s nonetheless not clear, though conservatively, there could possibly be sufficient vaccines by the summer season. If no different vaccines are licensed, the US has signed offers with Pfizer and Moderna for a complete of 400 million doses to be delivered by summer season, or sufficient for 200 million folks. That’s fairly near the American inhabitants of 260 million adults (the vaccines usually are not authorized but for kids though research are underway). But when different vaccines do show protected and efficient — which consultants say is probably going — tens of millions extra folks could possibly be vaccinated extra shortly, presumably by late spring. Supply hyperlink #confusing #Covid #numbers #Sense #Supply #Vaccine

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multipleservicelisting · 4 years ago

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U.S. Vaccine Supply: What to Know

Demand for vaccines is skyrocketing as the United States grapples with a record death toll from Covid-19 and the threat of new, more contagious variants. After a slow start in December, many states and cities have quickly ramped up vaccine delivery, widening access to larger groups of people and setting up mass testing sites.

But now there’s a new wrinkle: Some mayors and governors say they have run out of available vaccines, and have had to cancel appointments.

The Biden administration has promised to overhaul the country’s faltering vaccine effort, but there’s only so much it can do to increase the available supply.

Here’s what you need to know.

How many doses are available?

There are simply not enough doses of authorized vaccines to meet the enormous demand. And that is not likely to change for the next few months.

The two companies with authorized vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, have each promised to provide the United States with 100 million vaccine doses by the end of March, or enough for 100 million people to get the necessary two shots.

But that doesn’t mean those 200 million doses are sitting in a factory warehouse somewhere, waiting to be shipped. Both companies are manufacturing the doses at full capacity, and are collectively releasing about 12 million doses each week, a number expected to gradually increase.

As of Wednesday, nearly 36 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been distributed to state and local governments. However, only about 16.5 million shots had been administered to patients.

But as local health authorities become more adept at vaccine distribution, they will eventually catch up to the limited supply. Some local officials, including those in New York City, have said they are already reaching that point, and have had to cancel appointments because they said they do not have enough.

President Biden said he would use the Defense Production Act to increase supply. Will that help?

Vaccine experts and the companies themselves have said that at least in the short term, using the Defense Production Act will not significantly increase supply, although every little bit could help. That’s because manufacturing facilities are already at or near capacity, and there is a worldwide race to develop vaccines that use a finite amount of resources.

Although the Trump administration was criticized for not using the Defense Production Act more aggressively to ramp up production of testing supplies and protective gear, it did use the act many times to give vaccine manufacturers priority access to suppliers of raw ingredients and equipment.

In a plan released on Thursday, the Biden administration indicated it would continue to use the act to boost supplies needed for vaccine manufacturing, as well as other materials that are required to immunize tens of millions of people. Although the plan provided few details, one example cited is increasing production of a special syringe that can squeeze six doses out of Pfizer vials that were originally intended to contain five.

What about the federal stockpile of vaccines?

There is no significant reserve of vaccines to speak of. For the most part, vaccines are being shipped out each week as they are manufactured. (The exception is a small emergency stockpile that the Biden administration has said will continue.)

Last week, Alex M. Azar II, the outgoing secretary of health and human services, stirred confusion when he announced that the federal government would be releasing a reserve of vaccine doses. Many states said they were told that this meant an influx of vaccines was on the way, which could be used to inoculate more people.

In his news conference, Mr. Azar urged states to open up their immunization policies, and said they had been moving too slowly to use the doses they had already been sent. As a result, several governors, including Andrew Cuomo in New York, changed eligibility rules to allow people 65 and older to get the vaccine.

Covid-19 Vaccines ›

Answers to Your Vaccine Questions

If I live in the U.S., when can I get the vaccine?

While the exact order of vaccine recipients may vary by state, most will likely put medical workers and residents of long-term care facilities first. If you want to understand how this decision is getting made, this article will help.

When can I return to normal life after being vaccinated?

Life will return to normal only when society as a whole gains enough protection against the coronavirus. Once countries authorize a vaccine, they’ll only be able to vaccinate a few percent of their citizens at most in the first couple months. The unvaccinated majority will still remain vulnerable to getting infected. A growing number of coronavirus vaccines are showing robust protection against becoming sick. But it’s also possible for people to spread the virus without even knowing they’re infected because they experience only mild symptoms or none at all. Scientists don’t yet know if the vaccines also block the transmission of the coronavirus. So for the time being, even vaccinated people will need to wear masks, avoid indoor crowds, and so on. Once enough people get vaccinated, it will become very difficult for the coronavirus to find vulnerable people to infect. Depending on how quickly we as a society achieve that goal, life might start approaching something like normal by the fall 2021.

If I’ve been vaccinated, do I still need to wear a mask?

Yes, but not forever. The two vaccines that will potentially get authorized this month clearly protect people from getting sick with Covid-19. But the clinical trials that delivered these results were not designed to determine whether vaccinated people could still spread the coronavirus without developing symptoms. That remains a possibility. We know that people who are naturally infected by the coronavirus can spread it while they’re not experiencing any cough or other symptoms. Researchers will be intensely studying this question as the vaccines roll out. In the meantime, even vaccinated people will need to think of themselves as possible spreaders.

Will it hurt? What are the side effects?

The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is delivered as a shot in the arm, like other typical vaccines. The injection won’t be any different from ones you’ve gotten before. Tens of thousands of people have already received the vaccines, and none of them have reported any serious health problems. But some of them have felt short-lived discomfort, including aches and flu-like symptoms that typically last a day. It’s possible that people may need to plan to take a day off work or school after the second shot. While these experiences aren’t pleasant, they are a good sign: they are the result of your own immune system encountering the vaccine and mounting a potent response that will provide long-lasting immunity.

Will mRNA vaccines change my genes?

No. The vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer use a genetic molecule to prime the immune system. That molecule, known as mRNA, is eventually destroyed by the body. The mRNA is packaged in an oily bubble that can fuse to a cell, allowing the molecule to slip in. The cell uses the mRNA to make proteins from the coronavirus, which can stimulate the immune system. At any moment, each of our cells may contain hundreds of thousands of mRNA molecules, which they produce in order to make proteins of their own. Once those proteins are made, our cells then shred the mRNA with special enzymes. The mRNA molecules our cells make can only survive a matter of minutes. The mRNA in vaccines is engineered to withstand the cell’s enzymes a bit longer, so that the cells can make extra virus proteins and prompt a stronger immune response. But the mRNA can only last for a few days at most before they are destroyed.

However, senior administration officials clarified last Friday that all of those reserve doses were already earmarked as booster shots for people who had gotten the vaccine, and that Mr. Azar was just spelling out the logical extension of a distribution policy that had been established by top federal officials in December, when shipments began. The release of the reserve doses would go to people who needed their second dose, not new pools of people who were getting their first shot.

Going forward, Mr. Azar said, the government would shift to a new model: rather than holding onto a reserve of booster shots, each weekly shipment from the manufacturers would include doses for new people as well as second doses for those due for their booster shots. President Biden echoed that policy in announcing his vaccine plan last week.

Will there be enough vaccine supply to give everyone a second dose?

Federal officials have previously said they were working with states to track who has gotten a vaccine, and when they are due for their booster shots, which is three weeks later for the Pfizer vaccine and four weeks later for the Moderna one.

They have said that each weekly shipment will give priority to people who need their second dose that week, and whatever is left will go to vaccinating new people.

But the plan relies on state and federal governments working together and accurately reporting who has received a vaccine, and what is needed from week to week. Many state governments have complained they do not have the resources to carry out the vaccine distribution plan, and the next few weeks will demonstrate how well the system works.

The incoming Biden administration has vowed to overhaul distribution to the states, providing more transparency to local officials about how much vaccine they can expect, in the hopes of allowing states to better plan.

Some Democratic governors have asked to buy vaccines directly from Pfizer. Is that possible?

No, it’s not likely to happen.

Last week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan asked the federal government for permission to buy 100,000 doses of vaccine directly from Pfizer. And on Monday, Gov. Cuomo wrote a letter to Pfizer asking for the state to buy vaccines directly.

Pfizer and Moderna’s supply has been fully claimed for at least the first quarter of this year, meaning it’s unlikely there will be any spare vaccine to sell to individual states.

In addition, the emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines stipulate that the federal government oversees distribution.

In a statement, a Pfizer spokeswoman said the company “is open to collaborating with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on a distribution model that gives as many Americans as possible access to our vaccine as quickly as possible.” But she noted that “before we can even consider direct sales to state governments, H.H.S. would need to approve that proposal.”

A state official said on Tuesday that the governor felt it was important to exhaust all his options, no matter how unlikely they would be succeed, and pointed to his efforts in March to directly buy ventilators from manufacturers — setting up a bidding war among states that he later criticized the federal government for fueling.

But advisers to the Biden administration have indicated that they are not in favor of such a move. On Monday, Dr. Celine Gounder, a pandemic adviser to Mr. Biden during his presidential transition, said allowing states to reach separate deals would cause more problems than it would solve.

In an interview on CNBC, Dr. Gounder noted Mr. Cuomo’s previous criticism of bidding over ventilators. “I think this kind of an approach to vaccine allocation is going to result, frankly, in the same kind of situation that he, himself, was criticizing last spring,” she said.

Are we going to get more vaccines anytime soon?

Yes, most likely.

At least three other vaccines are in late-stage clinical trials, and the success of any one of them could mean millions of more doses for U.S. residents by this spring.

Johnson & Johnson is expected to announce the results of its vaccine trial any day now, and if it is successful, the first doses could become available in the United States by February. Although early production of the vaccine has lagged, the company has signed a deal to provide 100 million doses of its one-dose vaccine by the end of June.

By March and April, results from trials testing two-dose vaccines by AstraZeneca and Novavax could also be made public. AstraZeneca has an arrangement with the U.S. government to provide 300 million doses, and Novavax to provide 110 million.

What’s more, both Pfizer and Moderna say their factories are ramping up and expanding capacity each week. They have signed deals to supply an additional 100 million doses each of their vaccines in the second quarter of this year.

When will we have enough vaccines for everybody in the country?

It’s still not clear, although conservatively, there could be enough vaccines by the summer.

If no other vaccines are authorized, the United States has signed deals with Pfizer and Moderna for a total of 400 million doses to be delivered by summer, or enough for 200 million people.

That’s pretty close to the American population of 260 million adults (the vaccines are not approved yet for children although studies are underway).

But if other vaccines do prove safe and effective — which experts say is likely — millions more people could be vaccinated more quickly, possibly by late spring.

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vejerusal · 6 years ago

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[LatestNews] Consumer Credit Counseling Service | (800) 254-4100: George H.W. Bush’s cardiologist followed by mystery biker, now a suspect, before killing

Consumer Credit Counseling Service | (800) 254-4100

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George H.W. Bush's cardiologist followed by mystery biker, now a suspect, before killing

Wednesday 24 April 2019 04:18 AM UTC-05 | Tags: credit-counseling

George H.W. Bush's cardiologist followed by mystery biker, now a suspect, before killing: It was already nearly 90 degrees the morning of July 20 as Mark Hausknecht, dressed in blue scrubs, pedaled his bright yellow bike down Main Street toward work at Houston Methodist Hospital, as he did every day. The renowned cardiologist, who previously treated President George H.W. Bush, crossed a busy intersection just blocks from the heart of the Texas Medical Center, one of the largest medical complexes in the world.

And it was just then that another cyclist started catching up to him, according to surveillance footage Houston police released Monday.

The rider was clean-shaven, wearing a tan-colored ball cap, a blue polo and khaki shorts, the chosen ensemble of any number of men in Houston on a hot day. But what stood out about him was the olive-green backpack weighing him down. Police would soon describe it as "fully loaded."

He followed the doctor for a couple more blocks. Just a half-mile from his hospital, at about 8:45 a.m., he sped up on his tail. Then, in front of a hotel, the cyclist passed him, turned around and fired at 65-year-old Hausknecht. He was hit twice in the torso, according to the Houston Police Department.

The fatal seconds – the shooting itself – were not captured on the surveillance images released Monday. The doctor fell to the ground immediately, police said. A private ambulance driver on Main Street saw him lying there, local news station KTRK reported, and paramedics got out and started rendering first aid and CPR. A witness held Hausknecht's head in his hands until a vacant ambulance arrived.

But Hausknecht was pronounced dead at Ben Taub Hospital, a public trauma hospital.

The shooting death of one of Houston's most respected heart doctors in broad daylight, in a heavily trafficked area, has left police perplexed. The assailant remains on the loose, the object of a manhunt with no promising leads so far.

On Monday, police released more detailed photos and the surveillance footage that captured Hausknecht's last ride as the suspect followed behind him on the bike – footage police obtained from a city bus that happened to pass them both. From the footage and witness accounts, police have described the suspect as a white or Hispanic male, about 30, with glasses and a slender build.

But a motive remains completely unknown.

"Mark never had an enemy," Kevin Lisman, a physician who worked with Hausknecht for 15 years, told KTRK. "He was very quiet, and very humble. Just the kind of guy who would take care of anybody at the drop of a hat."

At the time of his death, Hausknecht worked as a cardiologist within Houston Methodist's internationally respected DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and helped lead the Houston Cardiovascular Associates. In a statement published in full by KTRK, Houston Methodist described him as a "compassionate physician with a phenomenal bed side manner," whose patients were "so proud to call him their doctor. He had become well known in 2000 when he treated President George H.W. Bush for an irregular heartbeat, saying at a news conference watched by thousands that he did not suspect the former president had suffered a heart attack, and "I do not think his life is in peril in any way."

"Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," Bush said in a statement Friday. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our prayers."

Hausknecht's wife, emergency medicine physician Georgia R. Hsieh, called her husband's killing "senseless" in a statement, but said what she found truly senseless was public officials' lack of action addressing gun violence in America. So many had asked what they could do to help, she said. She asked those listening to "use your vote and your voice to stem the tide of this growing public health epidemic."

* Woman injured in Littleton double shooting has died, suspect faces murder charge * Colorado Springs woman fatally shot — allegedly by her estranged husband — had protection order against him * Juvenile charged with first-degree murder in fatal Denver alley shooting * Court delays Loveland man's roadside shooting case * Three men plead guilty to murder in deadly Denver home invasion robbery

"After spending his adult life saving and prolonging the lives of others, my talented husband, Dr. Mark Hausknecht, had his life prematurely ended," she wrote.

"'Senseless' has become a trite adjective to describe these tragedies," she continued, "but what IS senseless is the misguided notion that any society with more guns is a safer society. When students cannot go to school without fear, and teachers need to arm themselves, what has this country come to? As a trained emergency medicine physician, I am no stranger to the devastating consequences of both intentional and accidental firearm use. Now my family and I have joined the ranks of the tens of thousands of grieving Americans who lose innocent loved ones every year."

By Monday a small memorial was set up near the site of Hausknecht's death, bearing flowers, a Bible and a sign that said, "Gun Violence. Reform Gun Laws. Vote Now! Road For Change," the Associated Press reported. #CrimeCourts

It was already nearly 90 degrees the morning of July 20 as Mark Hausknecht, dressed in blue scrubs, pedaled his bright yellow bike down Main Street toward work at Houston Methodist Hospital, as he …

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idahocreditrepair · 6 years ago

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[LatestNews] Consumer Credit Counseling Service | (800) 254-4100: George H.W. Bush’s cardiologist followed by mystery biker, now a suspect, before killing

Consumer Credit Counseling Service | (800) 254-4100

Free Consumer Credit Counseling Service call (800) 254-4100 Credit Repair, Bankruptcy Counseling, Foreclosure Prevention, Student Loan Bankruptcy, Car Repossessions and Wage Garnishment solutions.

George H.W. Bush's cardiologist followed by mystery biker, now a suspect, before killing

Wednesday 24 April 2019 04:18 AM UTC-05 | Tags: credit-counseling

And it was just then that another cyclist started catching up to him, according to surveillance footage Houston police released Monday.

But Hausknecht was pronounced dead at Ben Taub Hospital, a public trauma hospital.

But a motive remains completely unknown.

"Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," Bush said in a statement Friday. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our prayers."

"After spending his adult life saving and prolonging the lives of others, my talented husband, Dr. Mark Hausknecht, had his life prematurely ended," she wrote.

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srecompen · 6 years ago

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[LatestNews] Consumer Credit Counseling Service | (800) 254-4100: George H.W. Bush’s cardiologist followed by mystery biker, now a suspect, before killing

Consumer Credit Counseling Service | (800) 254-4100

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George H.W. Bush's cardiologist followed by mystery biker, now a suspect, before killing

Wednesday 24 April 2019 04:18 AM UTC-05 | Tags: credit-counseling

And it was just then that another cyclist started catching up to him, according to surveillance footage Houston police released Monday.

But Hausknecht was pronounced dead at Ben Taub Hospital, a public trauma hospital.

But a motive remains completely unknown.

"Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," Bush said in a statement Friday. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our prayers."

"After spending his adult life saving and prolonging the lives of others, my talented husband, Dr. Mark Hausknecht, had his life prematurely ended," she wrote.

https://consumercreditcounselingserviceusa.blogspot.com/p/dustin-oklahoma-consumer-credit.html

https://consumercreditcounselingserviceusa.blogspot.com/p/anderson-island-washington-consumer.html

https://iowa50002.blogspot.com/p/clio-alabama-consumer-credit-counseling.html

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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U.S. Covid Vaccine Provide: The right way to Make Sense of These Complicated Numbers Demand for vaccines is skyrocketing as the US grapples with a file loss of life toll from Covid-19 and the specter of new, extra contagious variants. After a gradual begin in December, many states and cities have rapidly ramped up vaccine supply, widening entry to bigger teams of individuals and organising mass testing websites. However now there’s a brand new wrinkle: Some mayors and governors say they’ve run out of accessible vaccines, and have needed to cancel appointments. The Biden administration has promised to overtake the nation’s faltering vaccine effort, however there’s solely a lot it might probably do to extend the out there provide. Right here’s what it is advisable to know. What number of doses can be found? There are merely not sufficient doses of licensed vaccines to satisfy the big demand. And that isn’t prone to change for the subsequent few months. The 2 firms with licensed vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, have every promised to offer the US with 100 million vaccine doses by the top of March, or sufficient for 100 million individuals to get the required two pictures. However that doesn’t imply these 200 million doses are sitting in a manufacturing unit warehouse someplace, ready to be shipped. Each firms are manufacturing the doses at full capability, and are collectively releasing about 12 million doses every week, a quantity anticipated to regularly enhance. As of Wednesday, almost 36 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been distributed to state and native governments. Nevertheless, solely about 16.5 million pictures had been administered to sufferers. However as native well being authorities develop into more proficient at vaccine distribution, they may ultimately catch as much as the restricted provide. Some native officers, together with these in New York Metropolis, have mentioned they’re already reaching that time, and have needed to cancel appointments as a result of they mentioned they don’t have sufficient. President Biden mentioned he would use the Protection Manufacturing Act to extend provide. Will that assist? Vaccine consultants and the businesses themselves have mentioned that a minimum of within the quick time period, utilizing the Protection Manufacturing Act is not going to considerably enhance provide, though each little bit might assist. That’s as a result of manufacturing amenities are already at or close to capability, and there’s a worldwide race to develop vaccines that use a finite quantity of assets. Though the Trump administration was criticized for not utilizing the Protection Manufacturing Act extra aggressively to ramp up manufacturing of testing provides and protecting gear, it did use the act many occasions to give vaccine producers precedence entry to suppliers of uncooked elements and tools. In a plan launched on Thursday, the Biden administration indicated it will proceed to make use of the act to spice up provides wanted for vaccine manufacturing, in addition to different supplies which can be required to immunize tens of thousands and thousands of individuals. Though the plan supplied few particulars, one instance cited is rising manufacturing of a particular syringe that may squeeze six doses out of Pfizer vials that have been initially supposed to include 5. What concerning the federal stockpile of vaccines? There isn’t a important reserve of vaccines to talk of. For essentially the most half, vaccines are being shipped out every week as they’re manufactured. (The exception is a small emergency stockpile that the Biden administration has mentioned will proceed.) Final week, Alex M. Azar II, the outgoing secretary of well being and human providers, stirred confusion when he introduced that the federal authorities could be releasing a reserve of vaccine doses. Many states mentioned they have been instructed that this meant an inflow of vaccines was on the best way, which might be used to inoculate extra individuals. In his information convention, Mr. Azar urged states to open up their immunization insurance policies, and mentioned they’d been shifting too slowly to make use of the doses they’d already been despatched. Consequently, a number of governors, together with Andrew Cuomo in New York, modified eligibility guidelines to permit individuals 65 and older to get the vaccine. Covid-19 Vaccines › Solutions to Your Vaccine Questions If I stay within the U.S., when can I get the vaccine? Whereas the precise order of vaccine recipients could fluctuate by state, most will probably put medical employees and residents of long-term care amenities first. If you wish to perceive how this determination is getting made, this text will assist. When can I return to regular life after being vaccinated? Life will return to regular solely when society as a complete good points sufficient safety towards the coronavirus. As soon as international locations authorize a vaccine, they’ll solely be capable to vaccinate a couple of p.c of their residents at most within the first couple months. The unvaccinated majority will nonetheless stay weak to getting contaminated. A rising variety of coronavirus vaccines are displaying sturdy safety towards turning into sick. Nevertheless it’s additionally doable for individuals to unfold the virus with out even realizing they’re contaminated as a result of they expertise solely delicate signs or none in any respect. Scientists don’t but know if the vaccines additionally block the transmission of the coronavirus. So in the meanwhile, even vaccinated individuals might want to put on masks, keep away from indoor crowds, and so forth. As soon as sufficient individuals get vaccinated, it is going to develop into very tough for the coronavirus to seek out weak individuals to contaminate. Relying on how rapidly we as a society obtain that aim, life may begin approaching one thing like regular by the autumn 2021. If I’ve been vaccinated, do I nonetheless must put on a masks? Sure, however not eternally. The 2 vaccines that can probably get licensed this month clearly defend individuals from getting sick with Covid-19. However the scientific trials that delivered these outcomes weren’t designed to find out whether or not vaccinated individuals might nonetheless unfold the coronavirus with out creating signs. That continues to be a chance. We all know that people who find themselves naturally contaminated by the coronavirus can unfold it whereas they’re not experiencing any cough or different signs. Researchers will probably be intensely learning this query because the vaccines roll out. Within the meantime, even vaccinated individuals might want to consider themselves as doable spreaders. Will it harm? What are the unwanted effects? The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is delivered as a shot within the arm, like different typical vaccines. The injection gained’t be any completely different from ones you’ve gotten earlier than. Tens of hundreds of individuals have already acquired the vaccines, and none of them have reported any severe well being issues. However a few of them have felt short-lived discomfort, together with aches and flu-like signs that usually final a day. It’s doable that individuals could must plan to take a time off work or college after the second shot. Whereas these experiences aren’t nice, they’re a very good signal: they’re the results of your individual immune system encountering the vaccine and mounting a potent response that can present long-lasting immunity. Will mRNA vaccines change my genes? No. The vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer use a genetic molecule to prime the immune system. That molecule, referred to as mRNA, is ultimately destroyed by the physique. The mRNA is packaged in an oily bubble that may fuse to a cell, permitting the molecule to slide in. The cell makes use of the mRNA to make proteins from the coronavirus, which might stimulate the immune system. At any second, every of our cells could include tons of of hundreds of mRNA molecules, which they produce with the intention to make proteins of their very own. As soon as these proteins are made, our cells then shred the mRNA with particular enzymes. The mRNA molecules our cells make can solely survive a matter of minutes. The mRNA in vaccines is engineered to face up to the cell’s enzymes a bit longer, in order that the cells could make further virus proteins and immediate a stronger immune response. However the mRNA can solely final for a couple of days at most earlier than they’re destroyed. Nevertheless, senior administration officers clarified final Friday that every one of these reserve doses have been already earmarked as booster pictures for individuals who had gotten the vaccine, and that Mr. Azar was simply spelling out the logical extension of a distribution coverage that had been established by prime federal officers in December, when shipments started. The discharge of the reserve doses would go to individuals who wanted their second dose, not new swimming pools of people that have been getting their first shot. Going ahead, Mr. Azar mentioned, the federal government would shift to a brand new mannequin: quite than holding onto a reserve of booster pictures, every weekly cargo from the producers would come with doses for brand spanking new individuals in addition to second doses for these due for his or her booster pictures. President Biden echoed that coverage in asserting his vaccine plan final week. Will there be sufficient vaccine provide to present everybody a second dose? Federal officers have beforehand mentioned they have been working with states to trace who has gotten a vaccine, and when they’re due for his or her booster pictures, which is three weeks later for the Pfizer vaccine and 4 weeks later for the Moderna one. They’ve mentioned that every weekly cargo will give precedence to individuals who want their second dose that week, and no matter is left will go to vaccinating new individuals. However the plan depends on state and federal governments working collectively and precisely reporting who has acquired a vaccine, and what’s wanted from week to week. Many state governments have complained they don’t have the assets to hold out the vaccine distribution plan, and the subsequent few weeks will show how effectively the system works. The incoming Biden administration has vowed to overtake distribution to the states, offering extra transparency to native officers about how a lot vaccine they’ll count on, within the hopes of permitting states to raised plan. Some Democratic governors have requested to purchase vaccines straight from Pfizer. Is that doable? No, it’s not prone to occur. Final week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan requested the federal authorities for permission to purchase 100,000 doses of vaccine straight from Pfizer. And on Monday, Gov. Cuomo wrote a letter to Pfizer asking for the state to purchase vaccines straight. Pfizer and Moderna’s provide has been absolutely claimed for a minimum of the primary quarter of this yr, that means it’s unlikely there will probably be any spare vaccine to promote to particular person states. As well as, the emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines stipulate that the federal authorities oversees distribution. In a press release, a Pfizer spokeswoman mentioned the corporate “is open to collaborating with the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers on a distribution mannequin that provides as many Individuals as doable entry to our vaccine as rapidly as doable.” However she famous that “earlier than we are able to even contemplate direct gross sales to state governments, H.H.S. would wish to approve that proposal.” A state official mentioned on Tuesday that the governor felt it was essential to exhaust all his choices, regardless of how unlikely they’d be succeed, and pointed to his efforts in March to straight purchase ventilators from producers — organising a bidding conflict amongst states that he later criticized the federal authorities for fueling. However advisers to the Biden administration have indicated that they don’t seem to be in favor of such a transfer. On Monday, Dr. Celine Gounder, a pandemic adviser to Mr. Biden throughout his presidential transition, mentioned permitting states to achieve separate offers would trigger extra issues than it will clear up. In an interview on CNBC, Dr. Gounder famous Mr. Cuomo’s earlier criticism of bidding over ventilators. “I feel this sort of an strategy to vaccine allocation goes to outcome, frankly, in the identical sort of scenario that he, himself, was criticizing final spring,” she mentioned. Are we going to get extra vaccines anytime quickly? Sure, most probably. At the very least three different vaccines are in late-stage scientific trials, and the success of any certainly one of them might imply thousands and thousands of extra doses for U.S. residents by this spring. Johnson & Johnson is predicted to announce the outcomes of its vaccine trial any day now, and whether it is profitable, the primary doses might develop into out there in the US by February. Though early manufacturing of the vaccine has lagged, the corporate has signed a deal to offer 100 million doses of its one-dose vaccine by the top of June. By March and April, outcomes from trials testing two-dose vaccines by AstraZeneca and Novavax may be made public. AstraZeneca has an association with the U.S. authorities to offer 300 million doses, and Novavax to offer 110 million. What’s extra, each Pfizer and Moderna say their factories are ramping up and increasing capability every week. They’ve signed offers to produce an extra 100 million doses every of their vaccines within the second quarter of this yr. When will we now have sufficient vaccines for everyone within the nation? It’s nonetheless not clear, though conservatively, there might be sufficient vaccines by the summer time. If no different vaccines are licensed, the US has signed offers with Pfizer and Moderna for a complete of 400 million doses to be delivered by summer time, or sufficient for 200 million individuals. That’s fairly near the American inhabitants of 260 million adults (the vaccines should not permitted but for youngsters though research are underway). But when different vaccines do show protected and efficient — which consultants say is probably going — thousands and thousands extra individuals might be vaccinated extra rapidly, probably by late spring. Supply hyperlink #confusing #Covid #numbers #Sense #Supply #Vaccine

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ievenranthisfar · 8 years ago

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My Aconcagua Adventure: Day Six, Recovering

Note: I’m publishing my entire Aconcagua journal serially. If you want to read from the beginning, start here.

2/3/17 – Day Six

Wow. Sorry about yesterday. I was in the grips of a semi-gnarly altitude headache until early evening following our long hike. I curled up in the tent with my Nano Puff over my head to block out the harsh sun shining through the bright yellow walls of our tent, and I just lay there reading most the rest of Into Thin Air. I wanted to avoid taking any ibuprofen, just to see how the whole thing would play out. After some rest and some tasty rehydrated beef stroganoff, I felt much better. But I still swallowed two ibuprofens before bed just to help me sleep.

As for yesterday’s excursion itself, we had quite a great day of it. Our plan was a bit of an audible. Instead of a cache and carry just up to Camp Canadá [Camp 2, 16,076 ft], we decided to cache and carry to there and then continue up to Nido de Cóndores [Camp 3, 17,715 ft] as a further acclimatization hike before returning all the way down to Plaza de Mulas and Base Camp.

We set off before 8:30 am with our packed loaded down with food and fuel for the high camps. The climb to Canadá is mostly switchbacks, cutting up and across a massive scree field. Our books said to choose the flattest tracks up, but there were hundreds to choose from. With Michael leading, we took a line to the north (left) that ended up taking us around a large face and away from the other tracks. Over there, we soon found ourselves staring straight up a very steep scree field that we had no other choice but to climb. It was a fairly tiring effort, but after a few false top-outs, we plateaued out. We were still unsure of our course—I foolishly left my guidebook in the tent—but we followed the lead of several other faster climbers (guides?) and soon pulled ourselves up above the rocky outcropping to the spectacular views of Camp Canadá. Time up: just over 2:15. (The day prior, we made a new, rather brash Ukrainian friend named Daria while standing in line for the medical check. She challenged us to beat her time of 2:30 up to Canadá. Well, we did. So, suck it, Daria.)

After leaving our food and fuel protected beneath a pile of rocks, we set off for Nido at 5,400 m [17,715 ft]. Since my highest previous climb was Mt. Whitney, every new step was an altitude PR for me.

Our packs freshly lightened, we caught up to a group of nine or ten moving at an achingly slow snail’s pace. It was both weird and impressive and a lovely validation of not going in a guided group. They looked like a very cold chain-gang.

We moved up the wide expanse of the mountain in a fairly straight shot, passing through a few fields of penitents and yellow, mushy, odorous sulphur. After gaining the saddle around the halfway point, a guide (or ranger?) in a red suit split off and went right through a field of high penitents. We chose the line of least resistance to the left but soon found ourselves staring up the gullet of a small valley with snowfields in our way to reach—what seemed like—Nido at the top of another saddle. All other hikers were traveling along a line to the far right, hugging the mountain, where our man in red was too.

Shrugging off our second mistake of the day, we decided to press on, straight up, crossing several penitente and snowfields. It ended up not being all that difficult, apart from the fact we were now nearing 17,000 ft above sea level.

The bright sun shining off the snow and the altitude conspired against us, and by the time we finally lugged our bodies over the top we were pretty knackered. We threw our packs (and our bodies) on the ground and soon to the business of melting snow for water, which we needed badly. Time up from Canadá: 2:00 flat.

We stayed up at Nido for a little over a half hour and chatted with a Swedish dude named Simon who had just done the summit yesterday solo. Seeing the clouds collecting above us, we said our farewells and began the quick descent, this time via the proper routes. About halfway back down, we passed the frozen chain gang, still slowly picking their way up the mountain. They had only gained 300 meters [984 ft] in 3 hours. Holy shit.

We kept flying down and made it to Camp Canadá in a mere 35 minutes. From there, we rock-surfed at high speeds off the top. It was probably the most fun I’ve had on the mountain, simply because we were moving fast for a change. By the time we reached the bottom, the storm had fully blown in, we were sweaty and my shitty rental boots were starting to give me blisters on my big toes. I had a bit of pounding in my head at Nido and during the descent. But now that we were down, it had turned into a full-blown headache back in the tent.

Last night the winds really picked up and blew the tent around a lot. (Also, there apparently was a minor earthquake that Michael felt but I just chocked up to him dreaming.)

We spent this afternoon seeking refuge from the deteriorating weather in one of the Juan Herrera [guide company] tents thanks to Avo and Joyce. There was an Italian/German couple there too who are going to start up in two days. Their plan is one camp a day, which seems aggressive to me. But everyone was exceedingly kind, and the conversation meandered into and out of Spanish, Italian, English and Lebanese all afternoon.

Our own plan is a little up in the air now. The weather tomorrow promises to be as bad as today, or even worse. But then it should improve after that. In fact, a guardaparque came into the Juan Herrera tent to give us a rundown of the forecast. He said Monday would be ideal for a summit. Tuesday, Wednesday, OK. And then Thursday and Friday the wind should really die down. So that bodes well for us. Our current summit day—assuming everything goes well—would be Friday [February 10th]. Michael is just nervous about moving up to Canadá tomorrow in bad weather. But realistically, we just need a 2 ½ to 3 hour window of okay weather to make it up, set up camp and hunker down. Then we’ll be set up for success. But I suppose we’ll see what tomorrow brings…

One addendum: Yesterday and the day before, we kept seeing helicopters circling over and heading higher. Apparently an Indonesian/Malaysian team summited two days ago but was so slow that as they were coming down, they had to spend a night sheltered in something called Las Cuevas [The Caves]. Supposedly the leader made it down to Camp Colera [Camp 3] while everyone else hunkered down up high. It sounds like everyone was okay—no frostbite—but just another reminder to take this seriously.

Meanwhile, every day up here I feel stronger. Sitting at 14,000 feet, I’m no longer winded doing anything, and my oxidation level was 91% this morning. I feel good, and I feel like it’s time to really get on the mountain.

Can I you tell I’m sitting in Base Camp and bored? So many journal entries.

I’ve never slept more in my entire life than I have this past week. The sun sets around 8:30, and we lose light around 9:15 – 9:25. (It’s summer here after all.) But even with the late curfew, there’s nothing to do so we simply eat, clean up, bathe our armpits and junk with camping wipes and then go to bed. Unless we need to start particularly, we lazily get up anywhere between 7:00 and 8:300 am. Last night I think I passed out around 9:15 pm and awoke around 8:20 am.

It’s funny, this co-mingling of extreme athleticism and accomplishment along with utter boredom—or at least utter listlessness. Today Michael said that even when we’re awake, it’s like we’re asleep. I tend to agree.

But I suppose that’s all part of the romanticism of all this��holed up in a thin tent, wrapped in 700-fill down parka and barely morning a finger, except to tap on our Kindles. I can only imagine how much more swashbuckling this will feel once we’re high above Base Camp, holding our own against 50 mph winds. (They’re projected to be around 65 mph on the summit tomorrow.)

Another part of the mundanity is our daily intake: three packets of oatmeal with decaf coffee or decaf black tea, a lunch that stretches several hours across the afternoon consisting of an entire bag of Have’a Chip tortilla chips, a handful of trail mix and a few pieces of dried fruit. Dinner is the one bright spot, as it could be an any number of dehydrated meals I pull out of my bag. (I’ve been thinking about tonight’s Chana Masala since I woke up this morning.) If I’m lucky, we’re feeling saucy enough for a thermos of post-dinner Moroccan mint tea too.

The only part of all this that has revealed itself to be the worst is the water consumption. In the account of Aconcagua that we read beforehand, the author constantly complained about having to constantly drink water—at least 4 liters a day to ward off the effects of AMS or worst. For us, it’s not so much the water going in as it is the water coming out. Four liters of water comes out of the body at probably 8 to 16 oz at a time. So that means we’re peeing 8 to 16 times a day. The worst part is just that it means we have to leave our (relatively) warm tent, trudge 15 feet to the rickety metal outhouse and scurry back to our tent afterwards.

Ah, just like clockwork, there goes Michael to the baño.

Also, I’ve touch on the night peeing. Last night there was a minor crisis when I realized I couldn’t find my pee bottle anywhere. We tore apart the tent, my pack and even my duffel multiple times to no avail. I was trying to imagine what I would do—pee in my normal Nalgene at night and then just wash it out really well for my water the next day??—when I tried one last hope. I burst into to the Inka kitchen and announced, “Mi Nalgene e perdió.” [“My Nalgene lost itself.”] “Huh?” “Mi botella.” “Ah.” One of the girls pointed to a wall with several Nalgenes hanging from it. None of them were mine. Then, I turned my head just a little bit more and saw it, hanging there in all its glory. “Muchísimas gracias,” I muttered as I scurried off with my prized possession. Ironically, I did use it at all last night.

So here I lay, in the tent, waiting to pee, then eat dinner, then go to sleep. I hope that, even if it’s nasty weather tomorrow, I can convince Michael to move to Canadá. As jovial and easy as Base Camp is, I’d like to feel like our little adventure is progressing. (Also, I think I have another dehydrated Chana Masala cached up there.)

Just got bored again and checked my pulse ox: 92% / 80 bpm. Awesome.

#Aconcagua #SevenSummits #hiking

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newstfionline · 8 years ago

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‘Dreams Die’ for Refugees on Verge of Coming to U.S. as Trump Closes Door

By Rod Nordland, Joe Cochrane and Patrick Kingsley, NY Times, Jan. 28, 2017

BEIRUT, Lebanon--Sardar Hussain refused to believe it. He had been orphaned in Afghanistan by a Taliban bomb at age 13. After waiting in limbo for two years, he said he was only days away from getting on a plane to the United States when he heard that President Trump would be barring entry to refugees.

Mustafa did believe it. He teared up, saying his life was over at age 28. An Iraqi refugee in Lebanon, he thought he was so close to getting to the United States that he had gone out and bought a new shirt for his trip.

When she read on Facebook about the temporary ban, Alwia Abdullah, 43, who fled from Darfur in Sudan to Jordan with her husband and six children, got a sudden, stabbing pain in her gut, and couldn’t sleep.

“We left because we were discriminated against in Darfur,” she said. “So to be discriminated against by a U.S. president, by a nation we see our future in, is so disheartening. How do you live with that?”

They were among an estimated 110,000 people in line to be processed for resettlement in the United States during this fiscal year. In fact, they thought they had already made it through the rigorous vetting procedure and, after years of waiting, were on the verge of having their hopes realized.

Now, all are suddenly, indefinitely waiting again, barred from entry to the United States for at least four months, according to an executive order signed by Mr. Trump on Friday, with no assurances of what could happen to them next.

The order, Mr. Trump said, is a way to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America.”

“We don’t want them here,” he said at the Pentagon. “We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas.”

The executive order calls for the United States’ annual refugee quota to be cut to a maximum of 50,000, compared with 85,000 allowed in during the fiscal year ending in September 2016.

Even last year’s figure was dwarfed by the historically high number of displaced people in the world, 65 million, or by the more than 1.5 million migrants and refugees arriving in European countries since 2014.

Mr. Trump’s order also suspends the entry of all Syrian refugees indefinitely, calling their arrival “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” Beyond that, it suspends visas to people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for 90 days.

Asked about Mr. Trump’s refugee ban, Stéphane Dujarric, the United Nations spokesman, said he hoped “it’s a temporary one.” He noted that more people were displaced around the world than ever before.

“The U.S. resettlement program is one of the most important resettlement programs the U.N. works with,” he said.

Mr. Trump’s action was the latest closed door in a world that has become increasingly unwelcome to refugees, amid rising concerns and hostility in many resettlement countries in Europe, and in countries of first refuge like Turkey and Lebanon.

For those refugees, in particular, who thought that their asylum process was over and that they would be accepted in the United States, the dismay was overwhelming this past week.

Faten Diab, 34, a former charity worker from Syria, said she had been told that she and her family would be among a relatively small number of Syrians allowed into the United States. Last year, only 10,000 had been granted that privilege, compared with 40,000 in Canada.

Ms. Diab and her husband said she fled to Turkey and applied for asylum in the United States in summer 2015, along with close friends who applied at the same time. They said the friends had received a final decision just over a week ago and had flown to America. The Diabs had reason to hope that their own number would come up any day.

Now, that may never happen. Reached by telephone in their tiny apartment in Turkey, Ms. Diab sounded distraught, as the couple’s 2-year-old daughter could be heard playing in the background.

“We are so, so, so sad,” Ms. Diab said, complaining that Mr. Trump’s claim that terrorists were slipping in as refugees was overblown. “The process of resettlement is long and difficult. You can say he is wrong. Because he didn’t live the application steps in all its difficulties.”

Strictly speaking, America does not actually owe anything to the Diabs from Syria or the Abdullahs from Darfur; they are just reacting to its historical promise to take the world’s “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

But in other countries, like Iraq, citizens who worked for the American military, government and companies were promised preferential treatment for resettlement. Many thought that the risks they took on behalf of the United States would be repaid one day with a safe haven when they needed it. Now Iraqis are also on Mr. Trump’s proscribed list.

Laith al-Samari, 37, was one of many who could not believe it. A former interpreter for the United States military, he was wounded twice in battle, in the leg and stomach, and now lives in fear of retaliation from anti-American militants in his Baghdad community. He was not ashamed to beg.

“Please Mr. President, you are the president of one of the biggest states in the world,” he said. “Don’t be hasty in taking this decision. Be fair with us.”

Mustafa, the 28-year-old Iraqi, is a Shiite Muslim who worked on construction crews on American bases, mostly on fortifications. As he put it: “I made homes for them that kept them safe. I felt I was doing something good for humanity.”

But anti-Shiite militias in his neighborhood discovered what his job had been and accused him of treason. “I was beaten and shot and knifed and eventually came to Lebanon two years ago,” he said, during an interview arranged in Beirut by the International Refugee Assistance Project, a New York-based legal aid group.

After years of interviews and investigation, Mustafa said he was finally told to take his medical examination and now only needed to be given the date for his flight, to California. To get ready, Mustafa splurged at a high-end Beirut store to buy the clothes he would wear into his new life: dark green pants, a vest, a checked shirt in four colors. “I would wear the best clothes I have, and I wouldn’t take anything else with me, not even my memories,” he said.

Mustafa still has some hope that somehow exceptions will be made, which is why--like most of the refugees interviewed for this article--he did not want his full name published.

The order cuts the number of refugees to the U.S. in half and bars those from Syria.

“If I do get rejected,” he said, “I’d regret ever having shaken hands with an American.” He struggled not to weep.

Sardar Hussain, 16, an ethnic Hazara boy from central Afghanistan, was rocked by disbelief.

He said that when he was 13, his father, mother and younger sister were killed when a bomb blew up a taxi that was taking his mother to a hospital. After paying a smuggling network $7,000 to get him to Australia, he was marooned en route, on the Indonesian island of Java, when Australia cracked down on boats bringing refugees there. For seven weeks, he slept on the sidewalk behind the United Nations offices in Jakarta, Indonesia. Now, after more than two years, he said, his flight to America was scheduled for Monday.

“We were given a commitment to go there,” he said, speaking softly in English at a coffee house in Jakarta, just after completing his final medical exam.

Firas al-Swiha, 23, a Syrian refugee in Turkey, went out with friends on Wednesday night to drink away his disappointment. He was a university student and opposition activist in Syria before fleeing his hometown, Raqqa, now the Islamic State’s de facto capital.

He was still looking for answers.

“Is Trump trying to fight the terrorists by giving up on the victims of the very same terrorists?” he asked. “ISIS wants to destroy our lives, and now Trump declined to give us one.”

Sara, 31, a former television presenter who fled to Indonesia from Afghanistan after death threats--the Taliban and other cultural conservatives despise seeing Afghan women in public at all, let alone on television--was trying to arrive at answers of her own.

“You just wait,” she said. “You see how the years pass. You get older, you cannot make any plans. You watch your dreams die with every second you spend waiting.”

After three years and four months, she thought that the waiting was finally over, and that she would soon have a date when she was allowed to fly.

Now her life has been suspended for at least four more months, with no guarantee that she will still be included in the Trump administration’s much-reduced refugee quota once the visa moratorium is lifted.

“The bitter truth,” she said, “is that your whole life is dependent on a single decision of someone who doesn’t have even the slightest idea what it’s like to live as a refugee.”

#US immigration policy #US refugee policy

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