World Health Organization (WHO)
Covid: WHO renames UK and other variants with Greek letters
Dhaka, June 1 (UNB)--From now on the WHO will use Greek letters to refer to variants first detected in countries like the UK, South Africa and India.
According to BBC, the UK variant for instance is labelled as Alpha, the South African Beta, and the Indian as Delta.
The WHO said this was to simplify discussions but also to help remove some stigma from the names.
Read: India's COVID-19 tally reaches 28,175,044 with 127,510 new cases
Earlier this month the Indian government criticised the naming of variant B.1.617.2 - first detected in the country last October - as the "Indian variant", though the WHO had never officially labelled it as such.
"No country should be stigmatised for detecting and reporting variants," the WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, tweeted. She also called for "robust surveillance" of variants, and for the sharing of scientific data to help stop the spread.
Letters will refer to both variants of concern, and variants of interest. A full list of names has been published on the WHO website.
These Greek letters will not replace existing scientific names. If more than 24 variants are officially identified, the system runs out of Greek letters, and a new naming programme will be announced, Ms Van Kerkhove told STAT News in an interview.
"We're not saying replace B.1.1.7, but really just to try to help some of the dialogue with the average person," she told the US-based website. "So that in public discourse, we could discuss some of these variants in more easy-to-use language."
Read: Global Covid cases top 170.5 million
On Monday, a scientist advising the UK government said the country was in the early stages of a third wave of coronavirus infections, in part driven by the Delta, or Indian variant.
It is thought to spread more quickly than the Alpha (UK; Kent) variant, which was responsible for the surge in cases in the UK over the winter.
Vietnam, meanwhile, has detected what appears to be a combination of those two variants. On Saturday, the country's health minister said it could spread quickly through the air and described it as "very dangerous".
Long working hours increase deaths from heart disease, stroke: WHO, ILO
Long working hours led to 745 000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29 per cent increase since 2000, say the latest estimates on Monday (May 17, 2021).
The latest estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) were published in Environment International on Monday.
In a first global analysis of the loss of life and health associated with working long hours, WHO and ILO estimate that, in 2016, 398 000 people died from stroke and 347 000 from heart disease as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week.
Read Create more overseas jobs for female workers: Speakers
Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19%.
This work-related disease burden is particularly significant in men (72% of deaths occurred among males), people living in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, and middle-aged or older workers.
Most of the deaths recorded were among people dying aged 60-79 years, who had worked for 55 hours or more per week between the ages of 45 and 74 years.
Read: Indian COVID variant: Why is it more deadly? How is it affecting the neighboring countries?
With working long hours now known to be responsible for about one-third of the total estimated work-related burden of disease, it is established as the risk factor with the largest occupational disease burden.
This shifts thinking towards a relatively new and more psychosocial occupational risk factor to human health.
The study concludes that working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week.
Read: What does it feel like to get COVID-19 after taking the vaccine?
Further, the number of people working long hours is increasing, and currently stands at 9% of the total population globally.
This trend puts even more people at risk of work-related disability and early death.
The new analysis comes as the COVID-19 pandemic shines a spotlight on managing working hours; the pandemic is accelerating developments that could feed the trend towards increased working time.
Read Uncertain, uneven recovery likely amid unprecedented labour market crisis: ILO
“The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way many people work,“ said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
He said teleworking has become the norm in many industries, often blurring the boundaries between home and work.
In addition, he said many businesses have been forced to scale back or shut down operations to save money, and people who are still on the payroll end up working longer hours.
Read Homeworkers need to be better protected, says ILO
"No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease. Governments, employers and workers need to work together to agree on limits to protect the health of workers," said the WHO DG.
“Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard,” added Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, at the World Health Organization.
“It’s time that we all, governments, employers, and employees wake up to the fact that long working hours can lead to premature death”.
Read Safe Lifestyle in COVID-19 Lockdown: Do's, Don'ts, and Precautions
The WHO and ILO said Governments, employers and workers can take the following actions to protect workers’ health:
Governments can introduce, implement and enforce laws, regulations and policies that ban mandatory overtime and ensure maximum limits on working time; bipartite or collective bargaining agreements between employers and workers’ associations can arrange working time to be more flexible, while at the same time agreeing on a maximum number of working hours; and employees could share working hours to ensure that numbers of hours worked do not climb above 55 or more per week.
Read 81 million jobs lost as COVID-19 creates turmoil in Asia Pacific labour markets: ILO
Two systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the latest evidence were conducted for this study.
Data from 37 studies on ischemic heart disease covering more than 768 000 participants and 22 studies on stroke covering more than 839 000 participants were synthesized.
The study covered global, regional and national levels, and was based on data from more than 2300 surveys collected in 154 countries from 1970-2018.
Read ILO advocates better policies to protect workers & biz in the digital economy
Ready to offer more support if Covid situation deteriorates in Bangladesh: China
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming has said China is ready to help Bangladesh with more medical supplies, including medical oxygen, if the situation gets worse as it is facing the second wave of Covid-19.
“China is ready to offer more, if needed,” he said, recalling how Bangladesh and China helped each other in dealing with the first wave of Covid-19.
Read:Chinese Embassy invites essays from Bangladeshi friends
Ambassador Li said they will do whatever they can during the second wave of Covid-19 in Bangladesh.
He said this pandemic unseen in a century is a global challenge, and past experience keeps reminding them that only through cooperation within the international community they can embrace victory.
“Bangladesh has done what it can to fight the pandemic, and it’s my strong conviction that with the joint efforts of the people of Bangladesh and government, and the help of the international community, Bangladesh’s V-Day over Covid-19 will be just around the corner,” said the Chinese Ambassador.
He made the remarks during a virtual programme organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) on Monday. DCAB President Pantho Rahaman and its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin also spoke at the event.
The Ambassador said it is believed that the safe and reliable Chinese vaccine will play a positive role in the construction of Bangladesh’s anti-epidemic defence line, help the people of Bangladesh to overcome the epidemic, and continue the friendship story between the two countries.
He said, “The virus respects no boundary, and we’re all in this together. Solidarity and cooperation are our most powerful weapon in this war.”
The envoy said China hopes all parties will take real action, provide more vaccines to developing countries, including Bangladesh, and contribute to the equitable distribution and application of vaccines across the world so that we can defeat the virus at an early date.
Some 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines gifted by the Chinese government to Bangladesh will arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Ambassador Li said it is a concrete step towards honoring President Xi Jinping’s pledge of making Covid-19 vaccines a global public good, a solid action taken by both sides towards building a community with a shared future for mankind, and a powerful measure to implement the consensus reached in the recent virtual meeting of Foreign Ministers of China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Covid-19.
Read:5 lakh doses of Chinese vaccine to arrive on May 12: Envoy
This vaccine gift (Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine) is produced by Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Biotec Group.
The World Health Organization (WHO) listed the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving the green light for this vaccine to be rolled out globally. The Sinopharm product is an inactivated vaccine called SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell).
He said its efficacy for symptomatic and hospitalised disease was estimated to be over 79%, all age groups combined and its easy storage requirements make it highly suitable for low-resource settings.
The envoy said it is also the first vaccine that will carry a vaccine vial monitor, a small sticker on the vaccine vials that change color as the vaccine is exposed to heat, letting health workers know whether the vaccine can be safely used.
Last year, at China’s most trying moments, Bangladesh was among the first countries to donate medical supplies to China in a great act of valuable support.
When the epidemic situation in China eased, China supported Bangladesh’s fight against the virus through various means including gifting medical supplies and sending medical experts.
China offered to gift vaccines to Bangladesh in February but the Embassy did not get the EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) from the government of Bangladesh until April 30.
Though facing difficulties of huge domestic demand and a tight supply of international market, China decided to give priority to ensuring that the vaccines arrive in Bangladesh as soon as possible, said the Ambassador.
He said although it was the May Day holiday in China (five days), many Chinese workers worked overtime and sacrificed personal rest time to rush out these vaccines in less than two weeks.
Read:Beijing wants Dhaka not to join Quad
The Ambassador said it is under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and with the great spirit of fighting the pandemic that they are able to conquer the virus.
The year 2021 marks the birth centenary of the CPC which, in the days to come, will continue leading the Chinese people to work relentlessly to fight the pandemic, promote global economic recovery and defend peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom which are shared values of humanity, he said.
Vaccine deserts: Some countries have no COVID-19 jabs at all
At the small hospital where Dr. Oumaima Djarma works in Chad’s capital, there are no debates over which coronavirus vaccine is the best.
There are simply no vaccines at all.
Not even for the doctors and nurses like her, who care for COVID-19 patients in Chad, one of the least-developed nations in the world where about one third of the country is engulfed by the Sahara desert.
Also read:New Covid strains won’t impact efficiency of Russian vaccines, expert claims
“I find it unfair and unjust, and it is something that saddens me,” the 33-year-old infectious diseases doctor says. “I don’t even have that choice. The first vaccine that comes along that has authorization, I will take it.”
While wealthier nations have stockpiled vaccines for their citizens, many poorer countries are still scrambling to secure doses. A few, like Chad, have yet to receive any.
The World Health Organization says nearly a dozen countries — many of them in Africa — are still waiting to get vaccines. Those last in line on the continent along with Chad are Burkina Faso, Burundi, Eritrea and Tanzania.
“Delays and shortages of vaccine supplies are driving African countries to slip further behind the rest of the world in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and the continent now accounts for only 1% of the vaccines administered worldwide,” WHO warned Thursday.
And in places where there are no vaccines, there’s also the chance that new and concerning variants could emerge, said Gian Gandhi, UNICEF’s COVAX coordinator for Supply Division.
“So we should all be concerned about any lack of coverage anywhere in the world,” Gandhi said, urging higher-income countries to donate doses to the nations that are still waiting.
While the total of confirmed COVID-19 cases among them is relatively low compared with the world’s hot spots, health officials say that figure is likely a vast undercount: The countries in Africa still waiting for vaccines are among those least equipped to track infections because of their fragile health care systems.
Chad has confirmed only 170 deaths since the pandemic began, but efforts to stop the virus entirely here have been elusive. Although the capital’s international airport was closed briefly last year, its first case came via someone who crossed one of Chad’s porous land borders illegally.
Regular flights from Paris and elsewhere have resumed, heightening the chance of increasing the 4,835 already confirmed cases.
The Farcha provincial hospital in N’Djamena is a gleaming new campus in an outlying neighborhood, where camels nibble from acacia trees nearby. Doctors Without Borders has helped supply oxygen for COVID-19 patients, and the hospital has 13 ventilators. The physicians also have plenty of Chinese-made KN95 masks and hand sanitizer. Still, not a single employee has been vaccinated and none has been told when that might be possible.
That was easier to accept at the beginning of the pandemic, Djarma said, because doctors all around the world lacked vaccines. That has changed dramatically after the development of shots in the West and by China and Russia that have gone to other poor African countries.
Also Read:Doctors in Nepal warn of major crisis as virus cases surge
“When I hear, for example, in some countries that they’ve finished with medical staff and the elderly and are now moving on to other categories, honestly, it saddens me,” Djarma said. “I ask them if they can provide us with these vaccines to at least protect the health workers.
“Everyone dies from this disease, rich or poor,” she says. “Everyone must have the opportunity, the chance to be vaccinated, especially those who are most exposed.”
COVAX, the U.N.-backed program to ship COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, is aimed at helping low- and middle-income countries get access. A few of the countries, though, including Chad, have expressed concerns about receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine through COVAX for fear it might not protect as well against a variant first seen in South Africa.
Chad is expected to get some Pfizer doses next month if it can put in place the cold storage facilities needed to keep that vaccine safe in a country where temperatures soar each day to 43.5 degrees Celsius (110 degrees Fahrenheit).
Some of the last countries also took more time to meet the requirements for receiving doses, including signing indemnity waivers with manufacturers and having distribution plans in place.
Those delays, though, now mean an even longer wait for places like Burkina Faso, since a key vaccine manufacturer in India scaled back its global supply because of the catastrophic virus surge there.
“Now with global vaccine supply shortages, stemming in particular from the surge of cases in India and subsequently the Indian government’s sequestration of doses from manufacturers there, Burkina Faso risks even longer delays in receiving the doses it was slated to get,” said Donald Brooks, CEO of a U.S. aid group engaged in the COVID-19 response there known as Initiative: Eau.
Front-line health workers in Burkina Faso say they’re not sure why the government hasn’t secured vaccines.
“We would have liked to have had it like other colleagues around the world,” says Chivanot Afavi, a supervising nurse who worked on the front lines of the response until recently. “No one really knows what this disease will do to us in the future.”
In Haiti, not a single vaccine has been administered to the more than 11 million people who live in the most impoverished country of the Western hemisphere.
Haiti was slated to receive 756,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine via COVAX, but government officials said they didn’t have the infrastructure needed to conserve them and worried about having to throw them away. Haitian officials also expressed concerns over potential side effects and said they preferred a single-dose vaccine.
Also Read:India's disaster hangs over countries facing COVID-19 surges
Several small island nations in the Pacific also have yet to receive any vaccine, although the lack of outbreaks in some of those places has meant there is less urgency with inoculation campaigns. Vanuatu, with a population of 300,000, is waiting to receive its first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine later this month, but it has recorded only three cases of coronavirus, all of them in quarantine.
At the Farcha hospital in Chad, nine health care workers have gotten the virus, including Dr. Mahamat Yaya Kichine, a cardiologist. The hospital now has set up pods of health care worker teams to minimize the risk of exposure for the entire staff.
“It took almost 14 days for me to be cured,” Kichine says. “There were a lot of caregivers that were infected, so I think that if there is a possibility to make a vaccine available, it will really ease us in our work.”
US support behind vaccine patent waiver ‘monumental moment’ in Covid fight: WHO
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has hailed the US administration's decision to support temporary vaccine patent waiver as a "monumental moment" in the global fight against Covid-19.
"This is a monumental moment in the fight against Covid-19. The commitment by the President of the United States Joe Biden and Ambassador Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, to support the waiver of IP protections on vaccines is a powerful example of American leadership to address global health challenges,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday.
Also Read:WHO, Germany to launch new global hub for pandemic, epidemic intelligence
“I commend the US on its historic decision for vaccine equity and prioritizing the well-being of all people everywhere at a critical time. Now let's all move together swiftly, in solidarity, building on the ingenuity and commitment of scientists who produced life-saving Covid-19 vaccines."
On Wednesday, Ambassador Kai issued a statement saying the extraordinary circumstances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic required extraordinary measures to respond and that the waiving of intellectual property protections on vaccines was needed to help end the pandemic.
The US would, the statement continued, participate in World Trade Organization negotiations to support the temporary waiving of protections, and work with the private sector and other partners to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution.
Dr Tedros said the White House’s support for the temporary waiving of intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines reflects the wisdom and moral leadership of the US to work towards ending the pandemic.
Also Read:Bangladeshi doctor made WHO Representative to Maldives
"But I am not surprised by this announcement. This is what I expected from the administration of President Biden.”
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic WHO has been working with partners to scale up the development and distribution of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments through the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator, a pillar of which is the COVAX Facility for equitable sharing of vaccines to at-risk people worldwide.
Effective, equally accessible vaccine to help world return to new normal: Dhaka
State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam has expressed hope that an effective and safe vaccine against COVID-19 will be equally accessible globally which can help the world to return to the "new normal".
COVID-19: Challenges and Initiatives
Earth planet is upset and convulsed at the guerrilla attacks and blazes of an invisible infectious disease smaller than bacteria titled Coronavirus, also identified as COVID-19 by WHO, which has in the interim confirmed worldwide 4.3 million cases with at least more than 300000 deaths and 1.7 million recoveries. First defined in detail in the 1960s, the coronavirus gets its name from a distinctive Latin corona, meaning ‘Crown’ of sugary-proteins, that project from the envelope surrounding the particle.
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Bangladesh reports 969 new coronavirus cases, 11 deaths
With the detection of 969 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours till Tuesday, the total number of such cases in Bangladesh stood at 16,660, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).