Egyik 19

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Európa    Europe

Magyarország
2024. év 8. hét.  Tájékoztató a légúti figyelőszolgálat adatairól (2024. február 19 - 25. közötti adatok).    A légúti figyelőszolgálat keretében kijelölt 24 kórház adatai alapján e héten 357 beteget vettek fel kórházba súlyos, akut légúti fertőzés (SARI) miatt, közülük 42 fő részesült intenzív/szubintenzív ellátásban. A kórházi ápolást igénylők közül 154 beteg 2 éves vagy annál fiatalabb, 102 beteg 60 éves vagy annál idősebb. 82 betegnél influenza A, 100-nál RSV, 27-nél SARS-CoV-2 vírus okozott megbetegedést. Az RSV-pozitív betegek közül 86-an 2 évesek vagy annál fiatalabbak, a COVID-19 fertőzöttek közül 20-an 60 évesek vagy annál idősebbek. Influenza okozta SARI megbetegedést valamennyi korosztályban diagnosztizáltak.     A figyelőszolgálatban résztvevő orvosok jelentései alapján végzett becslés szerint az országban 55 100-an fordultak orvoshoz influenzaszerű és 286 000-an akut légúti fertőzés tüneteivel.    Influenzaszerű megbetegedés esetén a betegek több mint 40%-a 0-14 éves gyermek, közel 29% 15-34 éves fiatal felnőtt, kevesebb mint 23 % a 35-59 évesek, alig több mint 8 % a 60 éven felüliek korcsoportjába tartozik. Azonos korcsoportba tartozó 100 000 lakosra a 3‑5 évesek között között és a 6-14 évesek között volt a legnagyobb - 1 864, illetve 1 465 esettel -  a megbetegedések száma. Az influenzás tünetekkel orvoshoz fordulás gyakorisága hét közigazgatási területen nőtt, tizenkét területen csökkent, egy területen - Budapesten -nem változott, az előző hét adataihoz viszonyítva. Az orvoshoz fordult, 100 000 lakosra jutó betegek száma Győr-Moson-Sopron, Somogy és Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg vármegyében volt a legmagasabb, 1 087, 1 003, illetve 813 esetben, míg Heves, Békés és Vas vármegyében a legalacsonyabb, a 239, 356, illetve 370 esetben. Laboratóriumi vizsgálattal igazolt, influenzavírus által okozott megbetegedéseket Jász-Nagykun–Szolnok vármegye kivételével az ország valamennyi vármegyéjében diagnosztizáltak.    Akut légúti fertőzés esetén a betegek korcsoport szerinti megoszlása: közel 51% 0-14 éves gyermek, 23% körüli a 15-34 éves fiatal felnőtt. Közel 18%-uk 35-59 éves, több mint 8,% 60 éven felüliek korcsoportjába tartozó. Akut légúti megbetegedés halmozódásáról hét jelentés érkezett - Baranya, Bács-Kiskun, Fejér, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Hajdú-Bihar, Pest, valamint Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg vármegyéből. Megbetegedések három óvodában, egy általános iskolában és három szociális intézményben voltak. Egy szociális otthonban az influenza A vírus kóroki szerepe igazolódott a jelentés írásáig (a további légúti minták virológia vizsgálata folyamatban van - három esetben történt légúti mintavételezés ).    Légúti minta 398 betegtől érkezett a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ (NNGYK) Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumába.  A sentinel kórházak által beküldött 39 minta közül öt betegnél influenza A(H1pdm09)-t, egy betegnél influenza A(H3) vírust, tizennyolc betegnél RSV-t, öt betegnél human metapneumovírust azonosítottak.  A sentinel orvosok által beküldött 285 minta közül 89 betegnél az influenza A(H1pdm09), 12 betegnél az influenza A(H3), egy betegnél az influenza A(NT), tizenöt betegnél az influenza B, tizennyolc betegnél az RSV, öt betegnél a human metapneumovírus, hét betegnél a SARS-CoV-2 vírus kóroki szerepét igazolták. Az influenza pozitivitási arány 41,1%, az RSV pozitivitási arány 6,3%, a SARS-CoV-2 pozitivitási arány 2,5%.   A hagyományos diagnosztikus célú vizsgálat keretében érkezett 74 légúti minta közül huszonhárom influenza A(H1pdm09), egy influenza A(H3), tíz RSV, hat human metapneumovírus, kettő SARS-CoV-2 vírus pozitív volt.    A 2023. év 40. és 2024. év 8. hete között összesen 5 191 vizsgálati anyagot dolgoztak fel az NNGYK Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumban. 788 esetben 'influenza A[6181 influenza A(H1pdm09), 168 influenza A(H3), 2 influenza A(NT)]', harminchét főnél influenza B, százkilencvenhárom főnél RSV, 1 056 főnél COVID-19 fertőzést igazoltak. Negyvenkét megbetegedést rhinovírus, hatot parainfluenza, ötöt adenovírus, ötvenet human metapneumovírus okozott. (Forrás: nnk *)
* 'Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ'

2024. február 25.  Egyre több a lepkehimlős óvodás. Gyakori vírusfertőzés ez az óvodások körében. Általában nem jár súlyos tünetekkel. Legjellegzetesebb tünete a kiütés, ami elsősorban a két orcán, néha pedig az orrnyergen jelentkezik, a pirosodás egy pillangót formál. Miután a szél is kifújhatja a gyermek arcát, de mástól is kipirulhat, ezért ha a bőrből nem kiemelkedő, apró elemű kiütéseket talpasztalunk testszerte, akár a végtagokon – amelyek általában alig viszketnek –, jó eséllyel lepkehimlős a gyermek. Sokszor megesik, hogy csalánkiütésnek nézik a lepkehimlőt, de az előbbi sokkal erőteljesebben viszket, allergiás reakciónál hirtelen erőteljesebb tünetek jelentkeznek – magyarázta Havasi, a Házi Gyermekorvosok Egyesületének elnöke. A lepkehimlőnek általában kevés tünete van, a kiütések megjelenése előtt néhány nappal hőemelkedés jelentkezhet, esetleg egy kis láz, enyhe vírusos panaszokkal, de ezek nagyon gyakran elkerülik a figyelmet. A kiütések általában néhány nap alatt elmúlnak, mondta a gyermekorvos. A betegség súlyosabb lefolyása nagyon ritka, de várandós kismamák lehetőség szerint kerüljék a lepkehimlős gyermekeket, tanácsolta. A betegség általában már a tünetek jelentkezése előtt fertőz, ezért van az, hogy sorban jelentkezhet egy-egy óvodás csoport tagjain, ha egyikük már elkapta. A lepkehimlőt döntően csak egyszer szokták elkapni a gyerekek. A lakosságnak több mint a fele átesik élete során ezen a fertőzésen, általában kisgyerekkorban. A lepkehimlő alapesetben gyógyszerelés nélkül elmúlik, de ha egyéb tünetek is jelentkeznek, akkor mindenképpen forduljanak orvoshoz – ajánlotta a Házi Gyermekorvosok Egyesületének elnöke.
(Forrás: infostart *)
* Infostart, az InfoRádióval együttműködve tájékoztat

2024.02.22.  Tízmillió forintra bírságolta meg a Közbeszerzési Döntőbizottság a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központot (NNGYK) az őszi Moderna-vakcinabeszerzés miatt. Mint emlékezetes, tavaly januárban a Pfizer és a BioNTech pert indított a magyar állam ellen, mivel Magyarország 2022 novemberében az ukrajnai konfliktusra hivatkozva visszautasította 2021-ben, Európai Uniós keretszerződésben megrendelt hárommillió COVID-19 vakcina átvételét és kifizetését. Hasonló okból perlik Lengyelországot is, Romániában pedig azért robbant ki botrány, mert az akkori kormány túl sok vakcinát rendelt, ezzel pedig kárt okozhattak a román költségvetésnek. A kormány perben áll a Pfizerrel, az őszi szezon előtt csak a Modernától kért ajánlatot mintegy százezer dózisra a fokozottan védendő lakossági csoportoknak. Meglehetősen későn, csak november végén folytatták le a meghívottal a beszerzési tárgyalást. December elején Takács egészségügyért felelős államtitkár elmondta, hogy azok kaphatnak az új vakcinából, akik a térítésmentes influenza-oltásra is jogosultak, továbbá a Moderna gyártója adta a legkedvezőbb árat, a Pfizer nem is adott ajánlatot. Törvényességi ellenőrzés állapította meg, hogy az NNGYK nem tudta meggyőzően bizonyítani a beszerzés feltétlen, pontosabban „rendkívül sürgős” szükségességét és hogy előre nem látható okból előállt rendkívüli sürgősség miatt a nyílt, a meghívásos vagy a tárgyalásos eljárásra előírt határidők nem lennének betarthatók. A kifogásolt közbeszerzéssel az NNGYK 100 ezer adag Moderna vakcinát szerzett be, amelynek becsült értéke mintegy 1,5 milliárd forint. Az eljárást hivatalból indította a Közbeszerzési Hatóság elnöke, a Közbeszerzési Döntőbizottság február 20-án tette közzé az elmarasztalást. (Forrás: nepszava)

2024. február 22.  Országos átlagban a szennyvizek SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyag sűrűsége tovább csökkent a 7. héten, 2024. február 12 -18. között, Budapest, Debrecen, Kecskemét, Pécs, Szekszárd, Szolnok, Szombathely és Tatabánya esetében. Emelkedést Eger és Kaposvár esetén mutattak ki, míg a további 10 vizsgált településen pangás mérhető. Vírusvariáns vizsgálatok a 150 000 főnél több lakost ellátó szennyvíztelepek (Budapest három szennyvíztisztítója, Debrecen, Győr, Miskolc, Pécs és Szeged) szennyvíz mintáiból készülnek, amennyiben a minta SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyag sűrűsége eléri a vizsgálatra alkalmas szintet. A vizsgálatok eredménye a hazai lakosság több mint 40%-ára vonatkoztatható. A variánsok azonosítása a mennyiségi meghatározásnál jóval hosszadalmasabb és költségesebb vizsgálattal jár, emiatt a mérések havonta történnek. 2024 januárjában szinte kizárólagossá vált a JN.1 variáns (a BA.2.86 alvariánsa), ezzel párhuzamosan az egyéb leszármazási vonalak örökítőanyaga a minták többségében a kimutatható szint alá csökkent. Az azonos időszakban vizsgált szennyvíz minták variáns megoszlása egyezést mutat a klinikai mintákban tapasztalt aránnyal.     A szennyvizek Influenza A örökítőanyag sűrűsége az előző heti csúcsérték után a 7. héten csökkenésnek indult. Az Influenza A vírus a SARS-CoV-2-nél jelentősen alacsonyabb kópiaszámban mutatható ki a szennyvíz mintákban, így az eredmények is nagyobb szórást mutatnak - az egyes mintavételi helyek szerinti bontásban a tapasztalatok szerint kevésbé reprezentatívak, az eredmények országos összesítésben értelmezhetőek. A mintavételi helyek megegyeznek a SARS-CoV-2 kimutatásnál bemutatott nagyvárosokkal. (Forrás: nnk *)
* Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ

Spain
"2024. febr. 26".  Prime Minister Sánchez is under pressure from the opposition to remove former transport minister Ábalos from his position as a representative because he is suspected of knowing about a 50 million euro corruption scandal involving the purchase of masks during the epidemic, and is demanding that he shed light on the matter in parliament. .The corruption scandal in question is known as the Koldo case, which concerns Koldo García, a former adviser to Ábalos, who, as part of a corruption network involving several businessmen and public officials, collected more than 50 million euros in bribes from the government for the "brokerage and purchase" of masks at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic. Ábalos was dismissed from his position as transport minister by Sánchez in July 2021. He was an adviser to the former minister García Ábalos, an adviser to the state railway company (RENFE) and a member of the board of the Puertos del Estado public body. (state port administration) between 2018 and 2021, among others. After receiving government contracts to supply masks to health authorities, García tried to “hide these fees” and avoid tracking the money, according to investigators. A few hours after the outbreak of the scandal, at the meeting of the Socialist International in Madrid on Saturday, February 24, Sánchez reiterated the full commitment of the coalition leader - the PSOE and the left-wing Sumar platform - to the fight against corruption "wherever it is". comes from and whoever falls into it', pointing out that 'whoever does it pays', indirectly referring to the Koldo case. The main opposition force in the parliament, the Partido Popular, and the third force in the parliament, the far-right Vox party, are demanding the resignation of Ábalos and all the clarity of the case that shook the Spanish political scene and caused a scandal. public opinion since last week. PP Secretary General Gamarra called for the resignation of the former minister from his deputy position, claiming that Sánchez was also involved in the scandal, because he believed that the prime minister knew about the corruption conspiracy when he fired Ábalos in July 2021. that Sánchez "must provide explanations as to why he fired Ábalos, knowing what he must have already known," did not report the matter to the courts. Over the weekend, Ábalos defended his innocence in the matter, admitting that if the scandal had happened when he was a minister, "then he should have resigned", on the other hand, now, in his position as a member of parliament, he has 'no responsibility'. (Source: euractiv *)
* Euractiv (headquarters in Brussels, Belgium).

European Commission
26 February 2024  Can the EU survive another five years of von der Leyen? Five years ago, she came to the position of President of the European Commission with a less glamorous reputation. Schulz, her compatriot and former president of the European Parliament, described her as the "weakest minister" in Angela Merkel's government. "There was a strong sense that she was upstairs after the German defense minister's debacle, which included a run-down of the armed forces to the point where some soldiers had to take part in NATO exercises with broomsticks instead of guns'. Even the younger partners of the then German government coalition did not support her candidacy. This time, she is less joking as she gets his second five-year term. Still, she carries considerable baggage. There was a farce with the EU's vaccine procurement, which left the EU behind the UK in administering Covid vaccines in the first months of 2021. It turned out that the EU had failed to negotiate treaties that made European shipments a priority, so it found itself standing in the queue. Von der Leyen compounded the mistake by trying to include an emergency clause in the EU withdrawal agreement that would have prevented the export of vaccines from the EU to the UK. She quickly backed down after Ireland complained that it would have meant re-establishing a hard border with Northern Ireland, something the EU had insisted months earlier was out of the question. The disintegration also occurred in connection with Poland's former Law and Justice government, which many in Poland and other parts of the EU saw as excessive institutionalization. Poland has been threatened with withholding of Covid recovery funds after offending the liberal-minded masters of the EU by passing socially conservative laws on abortion and gay marriage - which should surely be outside the purview of a trading bloc and a perfectly legitimate cause for an elected government. a Member State. It is none of her business, but von der Leyen presided over the Commission at a time when Euroscepticism was growing in many member states, including the victory of Wilders in last year's Dutch parliamentary elections, Georgia Meloni's rise to power in Italy and the likely victory of Le Pen's National Assembly in June's European Parliament elections. Then there's the EU's Green Deal, which took a major hit last month after farmers from several countries took their tractors to Brussels to protest regulations they say are putting them out of business. Von der Leyen backed away from measures such as reducing EU citizens' meat consumption and some environmental laws. But no one can say that she did nothing for the farmers. The strangest incident during his presidency was when he announced a review of wolf protection laws last September. 'The concentration of wolf packs in some European regions poses a real threat to livestock and potentially to humans.' Many would agree, even if some conservationists would be outraged at the sudden retreat from the EU's strong rules on the Habitats Directive, which were not previously known to place farmers above rare species. But then a possible inspiration came to light: it turned out that von der Leyen had a 30-year-old pony, Dolly, who had been mauled to death by wolves. It seems that the wolves are not circling von der Leyen just yet, and she may very well win another mandate. But the EU she leads is fragile and economically stagnant. Last year she called for Britain to rejoin the EU to "solve the problems of Brexit". It's a tempting invitation given the EU's own problems. (Source: spectator *)
* The Spectator (United Kingdom)

Európai Bizottság
2024. február 21.  Az Európai Bizottság (EB) félidős értékelése azt mutatja, hogy a 800 milliárd euro-s, a koronavírus-járvány utáni helyreállítást segítő és az ellenálló képességet fokozó Európai Uniós (EU) finanszírozási eszköz (RRF) felhasználása pozitív változást és kézzelfogható eredményeket hozott a reformok és beruházások végrehajtásában. A NextGenerationEU nevű helyreállítási terv középpontjában álló reform- és beruházási eszköz, pénzügyi csomag teljesítette eddigi céljait, végrehajtása "jól halad", mondta Gentiloni, az EB gazdaságpolitikáért felelős tagja Brüsszelben ma. 2023 végéig több mint 1150 "mérföldkövet" és célt értékelt az EB, megállapítása szerint az EU-s tagállamok a terveikben szereplő reform- és beruházási menetrendet kielégítően teljesítik. A brüsszeli testület az RRF alapból eddig közel 225 milliárd euro-nyi támogatást folyósított a tagállamoknak, valamint 67 milliárd euro előtámogatást a reformok és beruházások végrehajtásának fellendítésére, a koronavírus-járvány okozta válság, majd pedig az energiaválság költségvetésre gyakorolt rövid távú hatásainak enyhítésére. Az EU-ban a gazdasági cselekvőképesség visszatért a járvány előtti szintre, a munkanélküliség alacsony, 6 százalék körüli szintre csökkent. Az EU-s foglalkoztatás rövid távon várhatóan akár 0,8 százalékkal is nőhet - mondta Gentiloni. Az állami beruházások 2019 és 2025 közötti várható növekedésének körülbelül a fele az EU-s költségvetésből, különösen a helyreállítási alapból támogatott beruházásokból származik - tájékoztatott. A korábbi válságokkal ellentétben az állami beruházások az EU-ban a koronavírus-járvány és az azt követő energiaválság idején nőttek, a 2019-es 3 százalékról 2023-ra 3,3 százalékra. 2024-ben az állami beruházások várhatóan elérik a GDP 3,4 százalékát - részletezte. Az EU-s biztos kijelentette: az RRF kulcsfontosságú eszköz az EU zöld átállásának felgyorsításában. Kiemelte: valamennyi tagállam terve meghaladta az éghajlat-politikai célkitűzésekre vonatkozó 37 százalékos célt sőt, egyes tagállamok teljes tervük több mint 50 százalékát a zöld menetrendnek szentelték. A helyreállítási tervek REPowerEU fejezetei révén a tagállamok további 60 milliárd euro-nyi forrást fordíthatnak a zöld átállásra. E pénzellátás elősegíti az energiamegtakarítást, a tiszta energiatermelés felgyorsítását és az EU energiaellátásának szétágaztatását, valamint az adóteher nélküli kibocsátású ipar gyártási termelőképességének bővítését - emelte ki. Emlékeztetett: a tagállamok frissítették is nemzeti terveiket, hogy képesek legyenek kezelni az Oroszország Ukrajna elleni háborúja, a pénzromlás és az ellátási láncok szakadása következtében megnövekedett energiaárakat. 2023 végéig az EU Tanácsa jóváhagyta mind a 27 nemzeti terv felülvizsgálatát, hogy maximalizálja hatásukat. A frissítések közel 150 milliárd euro-val növelték a gazdaságoknak nyújtott EU-s támogatás mértékét - mondta. Gentiloni kiemelte: az RRF a jelenlegi tervek szerint 2026-ig érvényes, a helyreállítási és ellenálló képességi eszköz révén nyújtott támogatás okozta pozitív lendület várhatóan folytatódni fog. Az EB jelenleg 18 kifizetési kérelmet értékel, és arra számít, hogy 2024-ben több mint 20 további kifizetési kérelmet nyújtanak be a tagállamok. Ennek alapján a testület több mint 100 milliárd euro-s támogatás kifizetésére számít az év végéig. A biztos arra figyelmeztetett, hogy a nemzeti tervek kialakításában kellő rugalmasságra van szükség a zökkenőmentes végrehajtás biztosításához. A tagállamok hivatalos ügyintézéssel kapcsolatos megfelelő teljesítőképessége kulcsfontosságú a gyors végrehajtáshoz, csakúgy mint a területi és helyi hatóságok, valamint a közösségi partnerek szoros bevonása a megvalósítás során. A helyreállítási eszköz gyors bevezetése és a gyorsan végzett kifizetések azt mutatják, hogy az RRF támogatta a tagállamokat a válság idején, a befektetések és reformok egyedülálló csoportosítása segíti a gazdaságokat abban, hogy jobban felkészüljenek a jövőre - tette hozzá Gentiloni gazdaságpolitikai biztos. (Forrás: infostart)

Vatican
Saturday, February 24, 2024  Pope Francis canceled today's audience as a precaution, after suffering from a mild flu. Francis is scheduled to meet the Roman deacons in the morning. In April, the Pope spent three days in Rome's Gemelli Hospital due to bronchitis, according to the Vatican. He was discharged after intravenous antibiotics. The 87-year-old pope was forced to cancel some of his activities and an international trip at the end of November due to breathing problems. The examination at the time ruled out lung complications. Ferenc had part of one of his lungs removed when he was young and still living in his home country of Argentina. In the past two years, Ferenc has indicated several times that he would be ready to resign if his health deteriorates to such an extent that it hinders the leadership of the Catholic Church. In a TV interview last month, he said he felt in good health and denied any immediate plans to quit. When asked about his health in a recent television interview, Francis reverted to his usual refrain: "He's still alive, you know." (Source: apnews *)
* Associated Press

Africa

February 21, 2024  The African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with the Governments of the Republic of Ghana, the Republic of Rwanda and the United Republic of Tanzania convened a high-level working breakfast on the operationalization of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) and security in the neglected tropics of Africa. a future free from diseases (NTDs). AU heads of state and government, ministers of health, AU specialized bodies, the Development Community, civil society organizations and representatives of the press met at the event. AMA Special Envoy Hon. Sidibe on February 16, moderated on the occasion of the 37th Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government. The establishment and operationalization of the AMA is a significant step towards strengthening pharmaceutical regulation, promoting access to safe and effective medicines and improving public health across Africa. On the other hand, ensuring Africa's NTD-free future means building health resilience on the continent, as NTDs cause significant morbidity and mortality, which collectively contribute to poverty and undermine economic development in Africa, said H.E. Amb. Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian and Social Development, African Union Commission. Through the African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa's Development (AUDA-NEPAD) African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) programme, it has taken a leading role in preparing the road map for the functioning of the AMA. It used the foundation laid by the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization Initiative (AMRH) to strengthen common standards and processes for the regulation of medical products and coordinated regional harmonization through Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as a pillar of the AMA. It established Regional Regulatory Centers of Excellence (RCORE) to increase regulatory capacity and played a key role in establishing continental technical committees, building on the work of the AMRH. The technical upsurge of the AMA is the key to the liberation of the continental pharmaceutical trade, Grey-Johnson underlined on behalf of. Ms. Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD. "Despite the presence of almost 500 pharmaceutical manufacturers on the continent, we face significant obstacles in terms of investment, infrastructure and access to international markets, only five manufacturers have international certification. The challenges we face are often related to the insufficiency or lack of drug control, characterized by unclear policies and incomplete or inconsistent legal and regulatory frameworks. It is therefore crucial to strengthen regulatory measures and accelerate the establishment of the African Medicines Agency,” noted Hon. Sidibe, AU Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency. In 2022, Tanzania became one of the first signatories of the Kigali Declaration. "Since time is not on our side, we call on countries to join Tanzania and invest their domestic resources in eradicating neglected tropical diseases," said Hon. Dr. Ndumbaro, Minister of Culture, Arts and Sports of the United Republic of Tanzania. Objectives of the African Health Strategy 2016-2030 Essential medicines, commodity security and supply systems are included as strategic approaches. Safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines, medical products and technologies – a cornerstone of universal health coverage – are key to a healthy and productive population in Africa. Controlling and eliminating NTDs directly contributes to the goals of universal health coverage (UHC), which cannot be fully achieved without addressing NTDs as part of the national health agenda. (Source: au.int *)
* African Union, international

Asia

North Korea
Feb 28, 2024  Under authoritarian control, North Korea imposed some of the world’s strictest pandemic measures, including near-total travel bans and large-scale border walls. Many embassies closed in Pyongyang because they were unable to rotate staff or ship supplies during the Covid-19 crisis. North Korea has only recently begun easing international restrictions. A delegation from the German Federal Foreign Office visited the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on a technical inspection trip, for the first time since its embassy was shuttered during the pandemic. There was still no decision on reopening the embassy, which was closed in March 2020. Britain, which closed its embassy and pulled all diplomatic staff from North Korea in May 2020, was also seeking to send a team. Britain called on North Korea to allow the international community, including all diplomats and UN agencies and humanitarian non-governmental organisations, to enter the country, a spokesperson said. Sweden’s special envoy for the Korean peninsula, Mr Semneby told that there was some progress towards the eventual return of Swedish diplomats to Pyongyang, but declined to elaborate. One diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that the shuttered facilities would need to be swept for listening devices, as well as cleared of insects and repaired after years of closure. According to NK Pro, a Seoul-based website research that tracks North Korea, as of January 2023 nine countries had functioning embassies in Pyongyang, but only China, Russia, Mongolia and Cuba have been allowed to rotate staff at their embassies since 2023. (Source: straitstimes *)
* The Straits Times (Singapore)

North America

United States
Thursday, February 22, 2024  Shares of Moderna jumped roughly 13% today after the company posted a surprise quarterly profit, partly due to deferred revenue, even as the company cut sales of its only marketable product, a Covid vaccine. The biotech company posted sales of $2.81 billion in the fourth quarter, and revenue from the Covid vaccine fell 43% year-over-year. This decrease was primarily due to lower vaccine volume, but was partially offset by a higher average selling price for the jab, according to Moderna. The company said it booked $600 million in deferred revenue during the quarter for the company's work with Gavi, a global vaccine NGO that coordinates a global vaccine distribution program. Still, the deferred revenue boosted Moderna's full-year Covid vaccine sales to $6.7 billion, an amount the company first disclosed in January. It posted $18 billion in revenue in 2022 and expects vaccine sales to decline even further in 2024. The company noted that the vaccine won 48% of the US Covid vaccine market last year. That's up from 37% in 2022. This includes costs related to the company's efforts to scale back production of the Covid vaccine, as well as the write-off of unused doses of the vaccine. Revenues at the biotech company and other Covid vaccine makers fell as the world continued to recover from the outbreak and became less reliant on vaccines and treatments. Moderna reiterated its 2024 sales guidance of roughly $4 billion. This forecast also includes the arrival of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, which could receive US Food and Drug Administration approval on May 12. The RSV vaccine will have a competitive advantage because it is the only one that comes in a pre-filled syringe, making it easier for pharmacists to administer, CEO Bancel said today. The company will continue to cut spending in 2024, including a full-year planned research and development spending of $4.5 billion, down from $4.8 billion in 2023. Moderna said it expects to return to sales growth in 2025 and break even by 2026 with new product launches. The company currently has 45 products under development, nine of which are under testing. These include Moderna's combination vaccine targeting Covid and flu, which could win approval as early as 2025. The manufacturing pipeline also includes Moderna's personalized cancer vaccine, a highly anticipated vaccine being developed with Merck to target various tumor types in combination with the blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda. (Source: cnbc)

February 21, 2024  ABC to go to court over 'General Hospital' over COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The series' former cast members are suing the network for religious discrimination for firing them for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.      In a ruling issued yesterday, a Los Angeles judge found that the Wahls "sincerely professed" religious beliefs that ABC should have considered by granting them immunity and allowing them to follow safety protocols that the were introduced before the introduction of mandatory vaccination guidelines. ABC was among the studios that completed the summer 2021 vaccine mandates agreed upon by Hollywood guilds and studios. Return-to-work protocols dictated that vaccines may be required for those working in "Zone A" of the production - typically the project's main actors, as well as key crew members who work closely with them in the highest-risk areas of the series. .In 2022, father and son Wahl, who both worked in the show's special effects department, sued ABC after their request for a religious exemption was denied. The rejections were based on the ABC's uncertainty as to whether their objections to administering the vaccine were based on their Christian faith. ABC argued that the Wahls had no genuine religious beliefs and that even if they had, it could not have accommodated them without undue hardship. It also claimed that IATSE waived any right its members had to challenge the mandatory vaccination rules. In its ruling against ABC, the court concluded that the studio likely discriminated against the Wahls on the basis of their religion by failing to find a solution to the vaccine denial. The court ruled that it was up to the jury to decide whether the Wahls were "honest in their beliefs." The court also found that ABC could have afforded the accommodation to Wahls without undue financial or logistical hardship. The Wahls worked largely behind the scenes, running construction and special effects shops for the show. While they occasionally had to go to the production's "Zone A" where the main actors were filming, they were regularly tested for COVID-19, always wore masks and did their best to socially distance themselves from the cast. A reasonable accommodation could have allowed the Wahls to comply with safety protocols in place from July 2020 through the fall of 2021, before the vaccination authorization was granted, the court said. During this time, there was no virus outbreak in the production of the General Hospital, the staff members' lawyers claimed.     The ruling comes on the heels of ABC losing a similar lawsuit by Rademacher, who was fired from General Hospital for refusing to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Unlike crew members who were not in close, masked contact with others, the court found in that case that the nature of their work made it impossible for unvaccinated actors to work safely on set during the pandemic. On this issue, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Goorvitch sided with ABC in Rademacher's lawsuit. He pointed to the actor's refusal to cooperate with Disney officials in an investigation into whether he should be exempt from vaccination mandates as a follower of the Ramallah Revelation book. Goorvitch concluded that such solutions were not possible for the actor. "This decision is consistent with other cases in which courts have held that actors cannot be placed on pre-vaccination protocols because the nature of their work requires close, undisguised contact with other performers," the judge wrote in the order. Rademacher's exemption was denied in part because her religion did not include the formal insignia of religious institutions, and the ABC's belief that her opposition to obtaining the vaccine was "rooted in health or efficacy concerns" rather than her faith. business. One consistency among the lawsuits against Disney and its subsidiaries is how the company is portrayed as handling requests for religious exemptions.     The interviews that screen the applications appear to be conducted by Disney attorneys who investigate the backgrounds of those seeking waivers. In another lawsuit by an actor who challenged his termination after being denied a vaccination exemption, a federal judge dismissed some of Dunbar's claims. U.S. District Judge Gee ruled that producers Disney and 20th Television do not have to face a disparate impact claim that accused them of pursuing a vaccination policy that discriminates against followers of the Universal Wisdom Church. Dunbar's religious exemption was denied because he previously received tattoos and ear piercings in violation of his faith as a member of the Church of Universal Wisdom. (Source: hollywoodreporter)

February 21, 2024  Four major nonprofits that rose to prominence during the coronavirus pandemic by capitalizing on the spread of medical misinformation collectively gained more than $118 million between 2020 and 2022, enabling the organizations to deepen their influence in statehouses, courtrooms and communities across the country, an analysis of tax records shows. Children’s Health Defense and Informed Consent Action Network raise doubts about the safety of vaccines despite assurances from federal regulators. Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance and America’s Frontline Doctors promote anti-parasitic or anti-malarial drugs as treatments for covid, long after regulators and clinical trials found the medications to be ineffective or potentially harmful. Leaders of these groups argue that their promotion of alternative treatments for covid and other conditions is safe.    Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy Jr., received $23.5 million in contributions, grants and other revenue in 2022 alone - eight times what it collected the year before the pandemic began - allowing it to expand its state-based lobbying operations to cover half the country. It paid Kennedy, then chairman and chief legal counsel and now an independent candidate for president, more than $510,000 in 2022, double his 2019 salary. The group started an internet TV channel with daily programming casting doubt on vaccine safety. It says its legal team works closely with state attorneys general to protect off-label use of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to prevent or treat covid. The group donated $50,000 in 2021 to the Republican Attorneys General Association which returned the funds. It has filed lawsuits, written amicus briefs or engaged in appeals in more than two dozen cases since the start of 2020, including an ongoing antitrust lawsuit against media companies alleging suppression of what it claims is “wholly accurate and legitimate reporting” that “self-appointed ‘truth police’” deemed “misinformation.” In 2022 the group spent at least $3 million in legal fees. The organization says it helped defeat coronavirus vaccine requirements for New York health-care workers. In January, it joined forces with Kory, president of Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCA), in suing to stop California’s medical board from punishing doctors who spread what the board determined was misinformation. Children’s Health Defense said it also helped fund Maine physician Nass’s legal defense against the state medical board’s allegations that she improperly prescribed ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Her license has been suspended by the state medical board until April 2025.     Informed Consent Action Network, nearly quadrupled its revenue to about $13.4 million in 2022, giving it the resources to finance lawsuits seeking to roll back vaccine requirements as Americans’ faith in vaccines drops. The group spent nearly $6 million on online “educational programs” in 2022 that the group says reached more than 6 million viewers in 209 countries. It paid Executive Director Bigtree $284,000 in 2022, a 22 percent increase from 2019. Bigtree now works as communications director for Kennedy’s presidential campaign. The group has used its pandemic fundraising to file more than 40 lawsuits since 2020, including suing federal agencies for records on vaccine safety data to drive vaccine skepticism. The group spent more than a third of its 2022 contributions and grants on legal fees. It supported a 2022 lawsuit that created religious vaccine exemptions for schools in Mississippi - which has one of the highest childhood vaccination rates in the country - and is raising money to “free the five” other states that still bar exemptions for people who say their religious beliefs prevent them from being vaccinated.    Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCA) took in more than $8 million in contributions, grants and other revenue in 2022 - nearly 23 times as much as in 2020 - as it continued to tout the anti-parasitic ivermectin as a treatment for covid or against legislation promoting vaccines, which it also began promoting to prevent and treat flu and RSV. The CDC has said there is no clinical data to support the use of ivermectin for flu and RSV. Merck, a pharmaceutical company that manufactures ivermectin, has said there is “no scientific basis” and “no meaningful evidence” to prescribe the drug for covid. When the pharma company that sells it tells you it’s not intended to treat a viral disease because it acts on parasites, that’s saying something. In cases involving two doctors alleged to have followed FLCCA guidance, three patients died. The salaries of Kory and Marik, chairman and chief scientific officer of FLCCA, also rose significantly. In 2022, Kory earned $368,815 from the FLCCC - nearly 60 percent more than his 2021 salary - and Marik earned $400,000, eight times his 2021 earnings. Kory told that he and Marik had left their jobs as “full-time practicing physicians and medical educators” to “dedicate their full attention to the FLCCC.” The credentials and certification committee of the American Board of Internal Medicine has urged that Kory’s and Marik’s certifications be taken away for spreading misinformation, a recommendation that both men are appealing. Marik’s medical license in Virginia expired in 2022. Kory said he and Marik frequently appear on shows run by Children’s Health Defense and Informed Consent Action Network. Kory also used Twitter to encourage his hundreds of thousands of followers to visit his telehealth practice, which charges up to $2,350 for three video appointments.    America’s Frontline Doctors paid the group’s founder, Gold, $581,000 in 2022, more than 17 times what she was paid by the group in 2020s. In a November 2022 lawsuit, the group accused Gold of using nonprofit money to fund her lifestyle. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, citing a lack of jurisdiction, in December 2022. The group spent nearly $1.5 million on legal fees in 2021 and again in 2022, funding work including its opposition to coronavirus vaccine mandates. In 2023, it had to defend itself in an ongoing lawsuit alleging that its promotion of hydroxychloroquine led to the death of a Nevada man who had been prescribed the anti-malarial drug by a doctor affiliated with the organization. Jimenez, a lawyer for America’s Frontline Doctors disputes the allegations - the group is “fighting for the freedom of choice and health care for individuals and fighting for physician independence.”     Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance and America’s Frontline Doctors went from receiving $1 million combined when they formed in 2020 to collecting more than $21 million combined in 2022. The National Christian Foundation gave more than $1.8 million in total to the four groups from 2020 through 2022. The organization describes itself on its website as working with donors to be a “good steward of all God has entrusted to you.” The foundation told all grants are initiated on the recommendation of its more than 25,000 donors. Some of the individuals behind the family foundations or trusts that fund the four groups also contributed the legal maximum in personal donations to Kennedy’s presidential bid. DonorsTrust, which  contributed $1 million in total to Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance, America’s Frontline Doctors and Informed Consent Action Network in 2021 and 2022, calls itself on its website a “principled philanthropic partner for conservative and libertarian donors.” DonorsTrust noted that donations to the same three groups fell to less than $10,000 combined in 2023. Public health experts worry that the well-funded anti-science movement could lead to devastating long-term public health consequences if childhood diseases once vanquished by vaccines come roaring back. Nationally, the proportion of kindergartners with a vaccine exemption reached a new high of 3 percent in the 2022-2023 school year, according to the CDC. Public health experts, including Gostin, director of Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, predict this trend will result in more outbreaks of preventable disease, such as the spate of measles among people who remain unvaccinated. “We’ll find ourselves back a half-century, when the U.S. was ravaged by infectious diseases,” Gostin said.  (Source: msn)

Globalization

Mon, Feb 26, 2024  Measles has been on the rise across most regions, especially due to a high amount of missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic when health systems were overrun with an excessive amount of patients. According to the WHO, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated a setback in providing immunization services, leaving millions of unvaccinated children vulnerable to measles and increasing the likelihood of spreading to communities. Measles is a "highly contagious, serious airborne disease caused by a virus that can lead to severe complications and death." "We can see, from data that's produced with WHO data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that more than half of all the countries in the world are going to be at high or very high risk of outbreaks by the end of this year," Crowcroft, senior technical adviser on measles and rubella for WHO, said in a press conference in Geneva. The disease is common in children, but can seriously affect all age groups, according to the CDC. Though measles vaccines were introduced in 1963, an estimation of 128,000 people died from measles in 2021, especially children under the age of five, the WHO reported. Deaths increased by 43 percent in 2022, exceeding 130,000 deaths due to the disease. Crowcroft cited data saying that more than 306,000 measles cases were reported globally last year, marking a 79 percent increase from 2022. It can be extremely dangerous to a certain group of people, including children younger than five years, adults older than 20 years, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems from other diseases like leukemia and HIV infection. Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes in the first seven to 14 days after exposure. This year, a total of 35 measles cases so far have been reported by 15 jurisdictions across the United States, according to data from the CDC. The states include Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York City, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. The CDC noted the measles cases in these states are often associated with an increase in the number of people who travel abroad, as well as spreading it with communities of unvaccinated people. Florida recorded its largest outbreak in the US, its seventh case of the virus on Friday, February 23 - a child under the age of five, in Brownard County. “Measles is the most infectious pathogen in humans that we know of," Dr. Kimberlin, Co-Director of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Alabama, told. “It’s like a heat-seeking missile. It will find the people who are not immune, and they’re going to get sick.” (Source: the-express *)
* Daily Express US

22 February 2024  Using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, we show blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption in patients with long COVID-associated brain fog. Transcriptomic analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells revealed dysregulation of the coagulation system and a dampened adaptive immune response in individuals with brain fog. Accordingly, peripheral blood mononuclear cells showed increased adhesion to human brain endothelial cells in vitro, while exposure of brain endothelial cells to serum from patients with long COVID induced expression of inflammatory markers. Together, our data suggest that sustained systemic inflammation and persistent localized BBB dysfunction is a key feature of long COVID-associated brain fog. (Source: nature)

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