UNITED STATES
FDA warns on J&J risk
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday updated its warning labels for the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine to include information about an observed “increased risk” of a rare neurological disorder. The news is a further blow for the drug, which was granted an emergency use authorization in February, but has played a minor role in the nation’s immunization campaign. Based on analysis of a federal vaccine safety monitoring system, officials have identified 100 preliminary reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome after about 12.5 million doses administered, people familiar with the matter said. Of these reports, 95 of them were serious and required hospitalization. There was one reported death.
MALAYSIA
200 infected at vaccine site
A COVID-19 vaccination center was yesterday ordered to close for sanitation after more than 200 volunteers and workers tested positive over the weekend, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin told reporters. Those inoculated from Friday to Monday at the center, about 25km outside Kuala Lumpur, are advised to self-isolate for 10 days, he said. The facility has a capacity of about 3,000 doses daily. Of the 453 workers and volunteers screened, 204 tested positive, Khairy said, adding that the center is to resume vaccinations today after sanitation and a change of staff.
FRANCE
Record signup for jabs
Nearly 1 million people made appointments for COVID-19 jabs in a single day, after President Emmanuel Macron cranked up pressure on everyone to get vaccinated to save summer vacation and the economy. An app that centralizes vaccine and other medical appointments, Doctolib, announced yesterday morning that 926,000 people had made appointments on Monday, a daily record since the nation rolled out COVID-19 vaccines in December. People younger than 35 made up 65 percent of the new appointments. Macron said anyone wanting to go out to eat or drink, take a long-distance train or visit a shopping center would need to show a “health pass,” which means either proof of vaccination or a negative test. The pass will also be needed to attend a festival, a theater show or a cinema screening. Macron also announced mandatory vaccinations for healthcare staff, retirement home workers and others working with vulnerable people from September in line with similar moves in Greece, Italy and Britain.
AUSTRALIA
Pain-free glucose test
Australian scientists said they have developed the “holy grail” of blood sugar testing for diabetics, a non-invasive strip that checks glucose levels via saliva. For diabetics, managing their blood sugar levels typically means pricking their fingers multiple times a day with a lancet and then placing a drop of blood on a testing strip. Understandably, some diabetics avoid the painful process by minimizing their tests. However, this latest test works by embedding an enzyme that detects glucose into a transistor that can then transmit the presence of glucose, said Paul Dastoor, professor of physics at the University of Newcastle in Australia, who led the team that created it. Since the electronic materials in the transistor are inks, the test can be made through printing at a low cost, Dastoor said. The technology could also be transferred to COVID-19 testing and allergen, hormone and cancer testing, he said.
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
‘DOWNSIZE’: The Trump administration has initiated sweeping cuts to US government-funded media outlets in a move critics said could undermine the US’ global influence US President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America (VOA) and other government-run, pro-democracy programming, with the organization’s director saying all VOA employees have been put on leave. On Friday night, shortly after the US Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the US Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, a former Arizona gubernatorial and US
Indonesia’s parliament yesterday amended a law to allow members of the military to hold more government roles, despite criticisms that it would expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs. The revision to the armed forces law, pushed mainly by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition, was aimed at expanding the military’s role beyond defense in a country long influenced by its armed forces. The amendment has sparked fears of a return to the era of former Indonesian president Suharto, who ex-general Prabowo once served and who used military figures to crack down on dissent. “Now it’s the time for us to ask the
RSS