Vaccination Covid Immunity Period: How Long Will COVID-19 Vaccine Immunity Last? - by Jennifer Rainey Marquez,

After half a million deaths and more than a year of lockdowns, quarantines, masking and social distancing, the U.S. is in the midst of a vaccination campaign that aims to put an end to the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Months of rigorous testing and clinical trials have shown that the vaccines are safe and highly effective at preventing COVID-19 and will likely fend off serious illness or hospitalization even if you do get sick. What's still unclear is just how long that protection will last, or whether we'll eventually need boosters or follow-up shots to protect against new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

A piece of the answer came today from Pfizer, which announced that its vaccine, after the second dose, was shown to be highly effective for up to six months — even against one of the well-known virus variants.

Read more at: How Long Will COVID-19 Vaccine Immunity Last?

USA: Spring breakers flock to Covid hotspot Florida to party like it's 2019

ovid-19 and spring break have never mixed well. Last March one young, shirtless man in Miami wearing a backwards-facing green cap went “viral” in the pre-pandemic sense when he told a reporter: “If I get corona, I get corona,” he said. “I’m not going to let it stop me from partying.”

A year later, even after Covid has killed over 500,000 Americans, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended against all travel, similar pictures and videos of spring breakers – no masks or social distancing in sight – are being seen again this year.

Read more at: Spring breakers flock to Covid hotspot Florida to party like it's 2019 | World news | The Guardian

The ABC of Covid-19 Vaccines: Covid vaccine differences? Pfizer v Oxford v Moderna

The three Covid-19 vaccines are from Pfizer-BioNTech, the University of Oxford and Astra-Zeneca and Moderna.

The Pfizer, Oxford and Moderna vaccines each require two doses and you are not fully vaccinated until you've had both shots.

But there are many differences between them.

READ MORE AT: Covid vaccine differences? Pfizer v Oxford v Moderna - BBC News

Global Warming: 'Tip of the iceberg': is our destruction of nature responsible for Covid-19?

Only a decade or two ago it was widely thought that tropical forests and intact natural environments teeming with exotic wildlife threatened humans by harbouring the viruses and pathogens that lead to new diseases in humans such as Ebola, HIV and dengue.

But a number of researchers today think that it is actually humanity’s destruction of biodiversity that creates the conditions for new viruses and diseases such as Covid-19, the viral disease that emerged in China in December 2019, to arise – with profound health and economic impacts in rich and poor countries alike. In fact, a new discipline, planetary health, is emerging that focuses on the increasingly visible connections between the wellbeing of humans, other living things and entire ecosystems.

Read more at: 'Tip of the iceberg': is our destruction of nature responsible for Covid-19? | Environment | The Guardian

The Covid-19 Vaccine development pains: COVID-19 vaccine setback weighs on Wall Street

News of a setback on a coronavirus vaccine candidate and reports of the first COVID-19 reinfection in the United States are sapping investor sentiment, while the official start of earnings season, the unofficial start of the US holiday shopping season, and Apple’s iPhone launch event are all moving markets.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson were down more than two percent minutes into the trading session after the pharmaceutical giant said it had paused clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine candidate due to an “unexplained illness” in a study participant.

Last month, AstraZeneca halted a late-stage trial of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate after a participant fell ill.

The news follows in the wake of more documented evidence that sheds doubt on whether herd immunity to COVID-19 is possible.

Read more at: 
COVID-19 vaccine setback weighs on Wall Street | US & Canada News | Al Jazeera

EU New Deal: The EU is at crossroads and there is no time for a wrong turn - by Vanessa Cotterell

Nearly one year after taking office, Ursula von der Leyen will deliver the State of the Union address to the European Parliament on September 16.

It has been a turbulent year, as Europe resurfaces from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking back at the EU’s very first State of the Union speech, a tradition introduced in 2010 following the Lisbon Treaty, José Manuel Barroso’s words may well have struck a chord with leaders today. Whether it is a looming debt crisis in the years after the global financial crisis or a health crisis with unprecedented and far-reaching consequences, the challenges Europe continues to face will require a strong sense of solidarity and cooperation.

While the rebound will no doubt be a gradual one, time is running out for leaders to agree on a recovery plan and financial framework covering the next seven years. Europe’s recovery and future rely on a comprehensive and ambitious budget plan embodying the principles of cohesion, solidarity and upward convergence. Meanwhile, reducing funding for both existing and prospective EU programmes could be highly damaging to Europe’s already weakened societies and economies.

As Europe continues to grapple with the aftermath of the health crisis, leaders also hope to finalise a number of long-awaited deals and packages aiming to strengthen democracy, mitigate climate change, enhance Europe’s digital sovereignty, manage migration and asylum, and reinvent Europe’s role on the world stage.

However, a lot more is at stake, and now is the time for leaders to channel the lessons learned from the past several months into effective policies and bold proposals for Europe. A health crisis cannot be banished behind borders; the sooner national governments realise this, the less damage will be done to the internal market and Schengen area.

The pandemic has affected individuals and communities differently. As inequalities widen, it would be a mistake to leave behind the people who have been the most vulnerable. Though the crisis may compel us to concentrate on our internal challenges, we should not turn our back on those at our borders who may face greater safety risks and marginalisation.

While the health and economic dimensions of COVID-19 may take centre stage in President von der Leyen’s address, the pandemic’s impact on democracy, rights and freedoms in Europe will also play a significant role. It is time for the EU to come to terms with the fact that democratic backsliding, rule of law breaches and declining civic space, inside the EU and beyond, are a clear and present danger – and may even be amplified during the crisis. The EU’s efforts to hear out citizens on these matters have only further highlighted the importance of European cooperation and actions to protect pluralism and diversity in Europe.

As health emergencies can put the spotlight on some of the weaknesses of democratic systems, the pandemic can be an opportunity for the EU to rethink the mechanisms it has in place to protect the values enshrined in Article 2 of the TEU and enhance them by creating one single framework of a fully-fledged rule of law mechanism.

The EU and its leaders find themselves in a vulnerable, yet very powerful position. Vulnerable because the pandemic is far from over and the policies that are decided on today will affect Europe’s society and economy in the years to come. But also powerful, if one considers that the EU and its Member States have, so far, managed to navigate a global pandemic of unprecedented scale. This crisis can serve as a fresh start, as an opportunity for all Europeans to come together and share their vision for the future.

Europe has evolved since the first State of the Union speech a decade ago, but just like in 2010, a crisis can be a catalyst for our societies to grow closer, for policies to be more effective and inclusive, and for our visions and ambitions to become reality. By working in unison and channelling the lessons learned from the crisis, Europe can emerge from this pandemic more resilient and united.

It is now up to leaders to listen to citizens and deliver.

This piece is based on the EMI Policy Position “A European Union Response to COVID-19 “,

Read more at: 
The EU is at crossroads and there is no time for a wrong turn  | New Europe

Tajikistan: Chinese business briefing: Working overtime to protect Chinese workers overseas

As a source of raw metals, Tajikistan has become a destination for thousands of low-skill Chinese laborers. How Beijing regards these workers has charged into view during the coronavirus pandemic. Spoiler alert: They are not a priority.

Chinese workers at a mine in northern Tajikistan had been demanding passage home for weeks before learning that a Chinese national in the country had contracted COVID-19. Rumors then spread that two had died. On May 20, around 100 of the miners rioted, reportedly fearful they would not receive adequate treatment in Tajikistan if they, too, were infected. Authorities suppressed them with force. Many Chinese workers are stranded.

Contrast their treatment with the fuss made over a Chinese engineer in Turkmenistan: On May 1, China’s envoy to Ashgabat, Sun Weidong, called Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov to ask that a Chinese medivac plane be permitted to land and fetch the engineer, who had suffered a detached retina. He was evacuated for surgery in Tianjin.

It often appears that Chinese diplomats elsewhere in Central Asia are more concerned with their nationals’ health and well-being. For months, embassy press releases from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have described efforts to distribute protective equipment and medicine to Chinese businessmen, teachers, engineers and students. The Chinese Embassy in Tajikistan, by comparison, has been more reticent. Judging by the outpost’s few statements, only a handful of students and teachers have received such packages. A package of aid did finally arrive for the miners, reported China Securities Journal on May 20, the day they resorted to rioting.

Read more at:
Chinese business briefing: Working overtime | Eurasianet

The Netherlands: The US Center for Disease control gives travel 3 warning for visitors to the Netherlands related to Covid-19 and potential terrorist strikes

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for the Netherlands due to COVID-19. and potential terrorist strikes .

Improved conditions have been reported within the Netherlands.Visit the Embassy's COVID-19 page for more information on COVID-19 in the Netherlands.

Terrorism: Terrorists continue plotting possible attacks in the Netherlands. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.

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