Day: November 18, 2021

A group of Spanish researchers found that treating mice with inactivated bacteria before giving them COVID-19 reduced mortality from 60% to 25%, said a study published on Thursday.

Giving mice a mucosal immunotherapy composed of the bacteria before a COVID-19 vaccine also further increased immune responses and made the vaccine significantly more effective, suggested the data, published in the prestigious journal Frontiers in Immunology.

Unlike COVID-19 vaccines, which activate the adaptive immune system, this treatment “trained” the mice’s innate immune system to go after viruses more effectively.

The innate immune system is the body’s first line of defense against unwanted pathogens. It does not create specific antibodies for each virus but instead broadly springs into action whenever challenged.

The same bacteria, called MV130, has already been shown to be clinically effective at preventing recurrent wheezing in children that was mostly triggered by other viruses. In the same trial, the results of which were published in August, data suggested that the treatment also enhanced immune responses against influenza viruses.

“Our results indicate that mucosal immunotherapy with MV130 represents a promising new tool to fight the tremendous global challenge represented by new emerging viruses, exemplified by SARS-CoV-2,” said the peer-reviewed study.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Google signed a five-year agreement with Paris-based international news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) to pay for its news content.

The agreement becomes one of the largest deals for licensing in the news industry, enabled by new legislation in France.

The deal was based on “remuneration of neighboring rights” under French law, AFP said in a statement, adding it follows months of negotiations within the framework set by the French Competition Authority.

The agreement will also include other projects, including a program for fact-checking, about which details will be shared soon.

News organizations have been losing advertisement revenue to online companies for years, as popular social media platforms use stories without payment.

“This agreement is a recognition of the value of information. This will contribute to the production of quality information and the development of innovation within the Agency,” AFP CEO Fabrice Fries said in a statement.

Google signed a three-year agreement with members of France’s press alliance in January, but the company was fined €500 million ($568 million) by the French Competition Authority in July for failing to negotiate “in good faith” amid the use of copyright content.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Germany’s federal and state governments agreed Thursday on new coronavirus measures, including tougher restrictions for those who are unvaccinated amid record cases.

Decisions were made during a videoconference meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel, likely successor Olaf Scholz and premiers of 16 federal states.

Federal states will put in place tougher measures if COVID-19 hospitalization rates exceed agreed on benchmarks in their regions.

If the rate exceeds three per 100,000 people, the state will introduce the “2G rule” and allow only those who are vaccinated and those who have recovered to indoor public spaces, like restaurants, cafes and cultural facilities.

In the case of a hospitalization rate above nine per 100,000 people, federal states will apply tougher rules and restrict personal contact in public spaces.

Currently, in 12 federal states, including Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia, the hospitalization rate exceeds three per 100,000.

The premiers also called for mandatory vaccinations for certain employees in the health sector, including staff at hospitals and nursing homes, who work with vulnerable populations.

Germany hit its highest daily number of coronavirus cases on Thursday since the pandemic began last year, as officials warned that hospitals were now at the limits of their capacity.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 65,371 new infections in the last 24 hours and 264 additional virus-related deaths.

Active cases climbed to 532,600, reaching a new high in the current fourth wave of the pandemic, according to official data.

There were 3,376 seriously ill patients in intensive care units Wednesday, with 1,710 on mechanical ventilators.

Infections in Germany soared in recent weeks as people spend more time indoors during the colder months and a large part of the population remains unvaccinated.

The government’s goal has been to vaccinate at least 75% of the population to prevent an exponential rise in new infections.

But as of Thursday, 56.4 million people, or 67.8% of the population, have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

Germany’s overall vaccination rate lags behind many other EU members, including Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Thirty-five media organizations in France expressed concerns Thursday about increasing threats by the extreme right against journalists and urged authorities to take action.

In a letter published in the French newspaper, Liberation, media organizations said extreme right-wingers have been threatening and insulting journalists in recent weeks.

It noted that reporters covering activities of the far-right have been subjected to “unacceptable” unprecedented violence.

Members of the far-right tried to prevent journalists from doing their jobs and organizations are concerned about threats and violence, it said.

The letter urged the government and politicians to take measures and defend freedom of the press before the presidential election next April.

It said journalists working for the Street Press website were threatened by the far-right, targeting them with racist drawings featuring Muslims, Jews and Blacks.

And reporters were prohibited from following an event in Bordeaux that will be attended by far-right journalist and writer Eric Zemmour.

An employee of the Mediapart website, which follows activities of the far-right and conducts research on members, has received death threats for weeks, it noted.

Signatories of the letter include public broadcaster France Info, as well as AFP employees, Le Figaro, L’Express, Mediapart, BFMTV, Paris Match, RFI, RMC, RTL, LCI and Liberation.

Source: Anadolu Agency

US President Joe Biden said Thursday that a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in China set for February is “something we’re considering.”

The US president was responding to a reporter who asked about a boycott of the Games at the start of a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

When asked at a news conference on Thursday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not comment on the nature of the boycott but said the Biden administration has “serious concerns” about human rights abuses in China.

“There are a range of factors where we look at what our presence will be,” she said.

Biden’s remarks came three days after a virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which the US president raised human rights abuses and a host of strains on the US-Sino relationship.

Several US lawmakers and human rights advocates have repeatedly called for a boycott of the 2022 Games.

the two leaders did not discuss the Olympics during the conversation on Monday, according to a White House statement.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been in hunger strike since his arrest in Oct.1, reportedly fainted during a meeting with his lawyers, according to his attorney.

Saakashvili’s lawyer Nika Gvaramia, who confirmed incident to local media, said Saakashvili was assisted by doctors and is now fine.

The Georgia’s penitentiary service, which runs the country’s prisons, said Saakashvili’s condition had stabilized.

Intensive care physician Guliko Kiliptari, who examined the former president, affirmed that Saakashvili’s condition is stable.

She added that laboratory tests had been sent to determine possible causes of Saakashvili’s fainting.

Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi on Oct. 1 after secretly returning to Georgia from eight years in exile.

The former president, who was serving his sentence in the southeastern province of Rustavi was transferred to Gldani prison hospital in the capital Tbilisi on Nov. 8 to prevent deterioration in his health due to increased risks, the penitentiary service reported.

Source: Anadolu Agency