Day: June 29, 2021

US pharmaceutical company Moderna said Tuesday that its coronavirus vaccine has proven effective in lab tests in combatting several variants circulating worldwide, including the highly transmissible Delta strain.

The company’s mRNA vaccine proved effective following two doses at forming neutralizing antibodies for the Delta variant, the Eta variant from Nigeria, and additional strains of the Beta variant first found in South Africa, it said in a statement.

It was, however, less effective against Beta variants, Moderna said.

The Delta variant is expected to become the dominant strain worldwide, including in the US where it is spreading rapidly.

Moderna’s data, which used serum samples from eight participants collected one week after the second dose was administered, has not yet been peer-reviewed.

CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement that its data are “encouraging,” and reinforces Moderna’s belief that its vaccine “should remain protective against newly detected variants.”

“As we seek to defeat the pandemic, it is imperative that we are proactive as the virus evolves. We remain committed to studying emerging variants, generating data and sharing it as it becomes available,” said Bancel. “These findings highlight the importance of continuing to vaccinate populations with an effective primary series vaccine.”

Shares of Moderna were up 5.5% in late-day trading following the announcement.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro published a decree on Tuesday that bans unauthorized outdoor fires for 120 days for agricultural purposes.

It is a move that seeks to show progress on the environment to foreign investors and the US administration of Joe Biden.

Deforestation in the Amazon hit a 12-year-high in 2020.

The decree was also signed by the new Environment Minister Joaquim Alvaro Pereira Leite, who took office after Ricardo Salles, who is accused of interfering with investigations into illegal deforestation and illegal logging in the Amazon, resigned last week for personal reasons.

Salles is prohibited from leaving the country.

The decision to ban fires is not unprecedented.

In 2019, during an increase in fires, especially in the Amazon, there was a suspension of the use of fires for 60 days, from August to September, when drought is more severe in the region.

A decision similar was announced last year, with a 4-month suspension.

Despite the decrees, there was little progress in protecting the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest.

In another preventive and repressive action to prevent environmental crimes, the government authorized on Monday the extension until Aug. 31, the period of the so-called Environmental GLO (Guarantee of Law and Order), when armed forces troops are deployed to combat environmental crimes.

The military will work in specific municipalities that face a problematic situation, and in federal areas, such as indigenous lands and conservation units, according to the government.

Troops may be deployed in other locations but the state governor will need to make a request to the president’s office.

Bolsonaro has resorted to the armed forces to patrol in the Amazon since a wave of fires broke records in 2019.

At the time, Brazil faces strong international criticism because of Bolsonaro’s environmental policy, marked by deregulation, increased deforestation in the Amazon and aggressive rhetoric against indigenous leaders and NGOs.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Canada has accelerated the pace on electric cars and trucks to help meet its net-zero emissions target by mid-century, the government announced Tuesday.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the goal to ban sales of gas-powered new cars and light-duty trucks in favor of electric vehicles is now 2035.

That is five years sooner than planned and comes as a result of a recent report by the International Energy Agency that said it was necessary to move the electric goal forward to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

“Only bold climate policies lead to bold results,” Alghabra said in a statement as reported by the Canadian Press.

“We know that we need to do more. Let me just say our target is ambitious, undoubtedly, but it is a must. We believe it is doable,” he said. “It needs determination, it needs focus, it needs effort.”

Canada has already anted up CAN$600 million ($484 million) into a program where buyers qualify for a rebate for purchasing electric vehicles up to C$5,000, ($4,00) according to Canadian Press.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the new target means Canada must work with the US and car and part-makers to achieve the desired result.

That includes approaching vehicle manufacturers to increase the number of electric vehicles now so that consumers would have more choices when they go to buy a new vehicle.

Wilkinson said the 2035 deadline is firm.

“It is a mandatory target,” he said.

The province of Quebec has already announced it is moving up its electric vehicle target date to 2035.

Other countries have put in place bans to stop the sale of gas-powered vehicles, and Norway has the most ambitious target — 2025.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The World Bank announced Tuesday that it has given Kenya 14 billion shillings ($130 million) to help it procure coronavirus vaccines.

“This additional financing will enable Kenya to procure more vaccines via the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) initiative and the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facilities,” according to the World Bank.

World Bank Country Director for Kenya Keith Hansen said the funds will also support the deployment of vaccines by boosting Kenya’s cold chain storage capacity, including establishing 25 county vaccine stores, strengthening the capacity of 36 sub-county stores and equipping 1,177 health facilities with vaccine storage equipment.

“This additional financing comes at a critical time when the Government of Kenya is making concerted efforts to contain the rising cases of COVID-19 infections and accelerate the deployment of vaccines to a wider population,” said Hansen.

-Surge in western region

President Uhuru Kenyatta announced Tuesday in a presidential address that Western Kenya had a surge of infections, noting that “out of every five positive cases in Kenya a fortnight-ago, two were from the western region.”

He announced that Kenya ordered the Johnson and Johnson vaccine and instead of vaccinating 10 million adults by June 2022 as planned, the country will vaccinate the entire adult population of 26 million by 2022.

“We have ordered 10 million vaccines from Johnson and Johnson, with the first consignment arriving in Kenya in August 2021. But in the process of negotiating with this company, we managed to get a lower price. For the price of 10 million vaccines, we have negotiated for them to deliver 13 million vaccines,” he said.

A total of 719 people tested positive for the virus Tuesday from a sample of 7,608 tested in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate is now 9.5%. Total confirmed cases are now 183,603 and cumulative tests conducted are 1,953,344.

Nine patients have succumbed to the disease, all being late deaths reported after conducting facility record audits on diverse dates in October and December 2020 and April and June 2021.

Source: Anadolu Agency

US President Joe Biden will visit the site of a building that collapsed in the state of Florida last week, the White House said Tuesday.

First lady Jill Biden will join the president during his visit to Surfside.

The number of people killed rose to 11 on Monday from the partial collapse of a condominium building as search and rescue teams found two more bodies in the debris.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the number missing fell to 150, and the number accounted for is 136.

No one has been pulled alive from the rubble since the search began Thursday.

More than 80 rescuers are at the site sifting through concrete and metal that spilled to the ground into a parking garage. Heavy equipment, including a crane, has been brought in to help remove larger pieces of debris.

Source: Anadolu Agency