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October
Merck pill seen as 'huge advance', raises hope of preventing COVID-19 deaths
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: An experimental COVID-19 treatment pill called molnupiravir being developed by Merck & Co Inc and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, is seen in this undated handout photo released by Merck & Co Inc and obtained by Reuters May 17, 2021. Merck & Co Inc/Handout via REUTERS -
An experimental antiviral pill developed by Merck & Co could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for those most at risk of contracting severe COVID-19, according to data that experts hailed as a potential breakthrough in how the virus is treated.
If it gets authorisation, molnupiravir, which is designed to introduce errors into the genetic code of the virus, would be the first oral antiviral medication for COVID-19.
Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said they plan to seek US emergency use authorisation for the pill as soon as possible and to make regulatory applications worldwide.
"An oral antiviral that can impact hospitalisation risk to such a degree would be game-changing," said Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
Current treatment options include Gilead Sciences' infused antiviral remdesivir and generic steroid dexamethasone, both of which are generally only given once a patient has already been hospitalised.
"This is going to change the dialogue around how to manage COVID-19," Merck Chief Executive Robert Davis told Reuters.
Existing treatments are "cumbersome and logistically challenging to administer. A simple oral pill would be the opposite of that", Adalja added.
The results from the Phase III trial, which sent Merck shares up more than 9 per cent, were so strong that the study is being stopped early at the recommendation of outside monitors.
Shares of Atea Pharmaceuticals, which is developing a similar COVID-19 treatment, were up more than 21 per cent on the news.
Shares of COVID-19 vaccine makers Moderna were off more than 10 per cent, while Pfizer was down less than 1 per cent.
Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said investors believe "people will be less afraid of COVID and less inclined to get vaccines if there is a simple pill that can treat COVID".
Pfizer and Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG are also racing to develop an easy-to-administer antiviral pill for COVID-19. For now, only antibody cocktails that have to be given intravenously are approved for non-hospitalised patients.
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said on Friday that molnupiravir is "a potential additional tool ... to protect people from the worst outcomes of COVID", but added that vaccination "remains far and away, our best tool against COVID-19".
A planned interim analysis of 775 patients in Merck's study looked at hospitalisations or deaths among people at risk for severe disease. It found that 7.3 per cent of those given molnupiravir twice a day for five days were hospitalised and none had died by 29 days after treatment. That compared with a hospitalisation rate of 14.1 per cent for placebo patients. There were also eight deaths in the placebo group.
"Antiviral treatments that can be taken at home to keep people with COVID-19 out of the hospital are critically needed,” Wendy Holman, Ridgeback's CEO, said in a statement.
Scientists welcomed the potential new treatment to help prevent serious illness from the virus, which has killed almost 5 million people around the world, 700,000 of them in the United States.
"A safe, affordable, and effective oral antiviral would be a huge advance in the fight against COVID," said Peter Horby, a professor of emerging infectious diseases at the University of Oxford.
The study enrolled patients with laboratory-confirmed mild to moderate COVID-19, who had symptoms for no more than five days. All patients had at least one risk factor associated with poor disease outcome, such as obesity or older age.
Drugs in the same class as molnupiravir have been linked to birth defects in animal studies. Merck has said similar studies of molnupiravir - for longer and at higher doses than used in humans - indicate that the drug does not affect mammalian DNA.
Merck said viral sequencing done so far shows molnupiravir is effective against all variants of the coronavirus including the highly transmissible Delta, which has driven the recent worldwide surge in hospitalisations and deaths.
It said rates of adverse events were similar for both molnupiravir and placebo patients, but did not give details.
Merck has said data shows molnupiravir is not capable of inducing genetic changes in human cells, but men enrolled in its trials had to abstain from heterosexual intercourse or agree to use contraception. Women of child-bearing age in the study could be pregnant and also had to use birth control.
The US drugmaker said it expects to produce 10 million courses of the treatment by the end of 2021.
The company has a US government contract to supply 1.7 million courses of molnupiravir at a price of US$700 per course.
Davis said Merck has similar agreements with other governments, and is in talks with more. Merck said it plans a tiered pricing approach based on country income criteria.
The US government has the option to purchase up to an additional 3.5 million treatment courses if needed, a US health official told Reuters. The official asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorised to comment publicly on the contract.
Merck has also agreed to license the drug to several India-based generic drugmakers, which would be able to supply the treatment to low- and middle-income countries.
Molnupiravir is also being studied in a Phase III trial for preventing infection in people exposed to the coronavirus.
Merck officials said it is unclear how long the FDA review will take, although Dean Li, head of Merck's research labs, said, "they are going to try to work with alacrity on this"//CNA
October
US sends more than 8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Bangladesh, Philippines
Written by nuke
A health worker carries used vials of a COVID-19 vaccine in Quezon City, Philippines, Sep 13, 2021. (Photo: AP/Aaron Favila) -
The United States announced on Friday (Oct 1) it is sending more than 8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Bangladesh and the Philippines in the latest wave of aid to a world still struggling to tame the pandemic.
Five shipments totalling 5,575,050 doses will go to the Philippines by next week, a White House official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another 2,508,480 doses will arrive early next week in Bangladesh, the official said.
The vaccines - all Pfizer-BioNTech - are being donated through the World Health Organization's COVAX program.
The "administration understands that putting an end to this pandemic requires eliminating it around the world", the official said, noting that US donations represent "the largest-ever purchase and donation of vaccines by a single country".
Hard-hit Bangladesh has already received millions of US vaccine doses, including another 2.5 million sent just last week.
According to AFP's database, only about 10 per cent of Bangladesh's population has been fully vaccinated.
The impoverished country of about 170 million people, which neighbours India, has imposed some of the world's longest lockdowns in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The Philippines has recorded more than 2.5 million infections, including more than 38,000 deaths. Just over a quarter of the adult population has been fully vaccinated amid a delayed and slow vaccination roll-out.
Officials warn the economy could take more than a decade to recover from the pandemic impact, which has thrown millions out of work.
Nearly 70 per cent of the economy, including 23.3 million workers, remained under "heightened quarantine" restrictions, Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said on Thursday//CNA
October
UK PM Johnson says he has confidence in police and chief after murder
Written by nuke
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick delivers a statement outside the Old Bailey, where police officer Wayn sentenced following the murder of Sarah Everard, in London, Britain, Sep 30, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Henry Nicholls) -
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday (Oct 1) said he had confidence in the police and London's Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick as fury grew over the murder of a woman by a policeman.
Wayne Couzens, 48, used his position as a police officer to stop Sarah Everard before abducting, raping and murdering her. He was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.
Dick has faced criticism for her handling and response to the case, with some lawmakers calling for her to resign.
"I hope to goodness that it has not shaken public trust in those hundreds of thousands of police officers around the country... who do, overwhelmingly, a fantastic job," Johnson said.
Asked if he was standing by Commissioner Dick, he said "yes, absolutely".
"I think it's very important that people should have confidence in policing and what the police do, and I do, let me stress that."
Johnson said there was "disturbing stuff" about allegations of previous misconduct by Couzens that needed investigating, as well as his participation in WhatsApp groups with colleagues which is being probed.
"We also need to get to the bottom of the WhatsApp groups where messages were being exchanged between police officers. I am concerned," he said.
Many women have shared their own harrowing experiences in dealing with male policemen, and expressed anger at the police for continuing to put the onus on women to protect themselves from officers.
One police boss told BBC radio that women should be "streetwise" and not submit to unjustified arrest, while Met Police advice said that women should wave a bus down if they "do not believe the officer is who they say they are".
"Telling women to question an officer or shout down a bus is one small step away from blaming a woman for failing to spot danger or get help if and when they get attacked by a police officer," deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said on Twitter.
"It's simple. Stop expecting bus drivers to police the police and start protecting women."//CNA
October
FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk in front of the White House as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues in Washington, U.S., May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis -
The United States surpassed 700,000 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday (Oct 1), according to a Reuters tally, as officials roll out booster doses of vaccines to protect the elderly and people working in high-risk professions.
The country has reported an average of more than 2,000 deaths per day over the past week, which represents about 60 per cent of the peak in fatalities in January, a Reuters analysis of public health data showed.
The United States still leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths, accounting for 19 per cent and 14 per cent of all reported infections and fatalities, according to Reuters tally. Globally, the pandemic is set to surpass 5 million deaths.
The highly transmissible Delta variant has driven a surge in COVID-19 cases that peaked around mid-September before falling to the current level of about 117,625 cases per day, based on a seven-day rolling average.
That is still well above the 10,000 cases a day that top US infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci has said needs to be reached to end the health crisis.
While national hospitalisation numbers have fallen in recent weeks, some states, particularly in the south of the country, are bucking that trend to record big rises, putting pressure on healthcare systems.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr Rochelle Walensky on Friday said that weekly COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations in the United States were down 15 per cent from the previous week.
The United States had a daily average of 106,400 COVID-19 cases, 8,300 hospitalisations and more than 1,476 deaths in its most recent seven-day period, Walensky told reporters at a White House briefing.
The US is on track to double the number of COVID-19 rapid-scale tests on the market over the next 60 says, said White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients.
The US Food and Drug Administration also said on Friday that an advisory panel of its experts would hold meetings later this month to discuss authorising booster doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccines.
US President Joe Biden received a booster shot on Monday, hoping to provide an example for Americans on the need to get the extra shot even as millions go without their first.
While scientists are divided over the need for booster shots when so many people in the United States and other countries remain unvaccinated, Biden announced the push in August as part of an effort to shore up protection against the highly transmissible Delta variant.
About 56 per cent of the US population has been fully vaccinated, with around 65 per cent receiving at least one dose, according to the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New York hospitals on Monday began firing or suspending healthcare workers for defying a state order to be vaccinated, while a federal judge ruled in favor of an Ohio private healthcare provider that had mandated shots for its staff.
Vaccination rates in some parts of the Midwest and South are lagging those in the Northeast and parts of the West Coast, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, indicating a divide between the rural and urban parts of the country//CNA
October
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Russian resort of Sochi on September 29, 2021 -
The United States on Friday (Oct 1) warned Turkey of further risks to bilateral ties if it buys more weapons from Russia, after US countermeasures over its purchase of the S-400 air defense system.
The statement came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin earlier this week and discussed greater military cooperation, including on warplanes and potentially submarines.
Turkey, a NATO member, defied US warnings in 2017 to buy the S-400 air defense system, a deal that the Western alliance fears will allow Russia to hone its skills at targeting US and Western European aircraft.
"We've urged Turkey at every level and opportunity not to retain the S-400 system and refrain from purchasing any additional Russian military equipment," Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told reporters when asked about Erdogan's trip.
"We continue to make that clear to Turkey and what the consequences will be if they move in that direction," said Sherman, who was on a visit to Switzerland.
Sherman reiterated that the S-400 was "not compatible or operable with NATO systems."
In response, the United States expelled Turkey from its state-of-the-art F-35 jet program in which multiple Turkish companies were involved and through which Ankara expected as many as 100 planes and had Turkish suppliers.
But Sherman stressed that the United States valued the relationship with Turkey, pointing to its welcome to millions of Syrian refugees and offers to help restore Kabul's international airport.
"Turkey is a challenge sometimes. I'm sure they find the United States a challenge at times. But they are a valued NATO ally," Sherman said.
Erdogan said Thursday that his relationship has "not gotten off to a good start" with US President Joe Biden, who while out of power described the Turkish leader as an autocrat and voiced support for the opposition//CNA
October
Cuba aims to fully inoculate 90% of residents against COVID-19 by December
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: A nurse shows a dose of Abdala vaccine against the coronavirus at a vaccination center in Havana, Cuba REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini -
Cuba is speeding up its COVID-19 vaccination program as it aims to fully inoculate 90 per cent of its population against the coronavirus by December, an ambitious goal that has yet to be reached by even wealthier nations.
The health ministry reported on Thursday that more than 80 per cent of Cuba's 11.3 million people had received at least a first shot of a three-dose immunization regimen with Cuban-made vaccines Abdala, Soberana-2 or Soberana-plus.
Close to 50 per cent were fully vaccinated, it said - well ahead of the global average of 34 per cent, according to the Our World In Data website.
The government has said Cuba is on track to become the first country to inoculate so much of its population with its own vaccines. It is administering them to those as young as two years old after clinical trials testing them on children. The United States by comparison has yet to authorise COVID-19 vaccines for anyone younger than 12.
Currently Cuba is lagging China, which has fully inoculated an estimated 79 per cent of its population with its own vaccines. But Cuban authorities are vaccinating at a faster clip per capita.
"We will be the first in the world to reach everyone with our own vaccines,” Ileana Morales, director of science and innovation at the health ministry, said on state television.
State developer BioCubaFarma said its vaccines reduce serious illness and death by 90 per cent, even if breakthrough infections are possible.
It has not yet published data supporting that claim for the scientific community to review.
The World Health Organization recently launched the process to evaluate all three Cuban vaccines.
"It will be a unique case in the world," said Jose Moya Medina, the Pan American Health Organization's representative in Cuba. "I hope and think Cuba will be an example for all countries in the world as only full vaccination can stop the pandemic and possible emergence of more dangerous variants."
Cuba missed its early vaccination targets - partly due to US sanctions hampering production, the government said - and suffered one of the world's worst COVID-19 outbreaks in July and August, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus.
But the government said this month that BioCubaFarma had produced enough shots to fully vaccinate the entire population.
The cash-strapped country, which boasts pristine beaches and towns with colonial-era architecture, is banking on success to fully open its borders by mid-November for the tourism high-season.
Its vaccination campaign could give it an advantage over other countries in the region - one of the world's most reliant on tourism - which is struggling with surging cases in part due to vaccine scepticism and low uptake.
Cuba is already lifting domestic restrictions in heavily vaccinated provinces, including Havana, as it tries to revitalise an economy severely battered by the pandemic, US sanctions and domestic inefficiencies.
Shortages of food, medicine and just about every consumer good have led to severe hardship for many, on top of pandemic lockdowns, layoffs and inflation.
Cases and deaths per 100,000 residents in Havana, where around 80 per cent of adults are vaccinated, are less than 20 per cent of what they were two months ago, according to official data, and far below the rest of the country.
In 2020, Cuba’s pandemic response outperformed most countries. This year, however, the Delta variant swept through the populace and, in some provinces, overwhelmed its much acclaimed health services. At one point, Cuba had the highest per capita infection rate in the world, as daily cases peaked at nearly 10,000 in July and 98 deaths.
The health ministry reported a pandemic total of 11,863 cases and 146 deaths as of Dec. 31, 2020. Those tallies skyrocketed this year and stood at 877,428 cases and 7,436 deaths as of Wednesday//CNA
October
Blinken seeks to patch up on France trip after subs furor
Written by nuke
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says North Korea's statements are increasing the chance for "instability and insecurity" -
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will promise better communication with France on a trip to Paris to next week where officials are still smarting over the cancellation of a massive submarine contract.
Blinken will travel to Paris from Monday through Wednesday for a meeting of the OECD club of advanced market economies and also meet French officials, the State Department announced.
Blinken will then fly from Paris to Mexico City for his first trip to the neighboring country as the top US diplomat, a trip already announced by the Mexican government.
France was infuriated last month when Australia canceled a multibillion-dollar deal for French submarines, saying it would pursue US nuclear versions as tensions rise with China.
"We agree that the Sep 15 announcement would have benefited from better and more open consultation among allies," said Karen Donfried, the assistant secretary of state for European affairs.
"Our meetings in Paris are part of our commitment toward a process of in-depth consultations going forward. We recognize this will take time and will take hard work and it will need to be demonstrated not only in words but also in deeds," she told reporters.
France accused the United States of betrayal and Australia of back-stabbing and withdrew ambassadors from both countries.
Tensions began to ease when President Joe Biden spoke by telephone with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. French Ambassador Philippe Etienne returned Wednesday to Washington and was promptly met by Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security advisor.
France is still livid with Australia, with a long-planned round of Australia-EU free trade talks postponed.
Australia announced the submarine decision as it joined a new alliance with Britain and the United States, dubbed AUKUS, one of a series of initiatives by Biden as he views a rising China as the paramount concern of the United States in the 21st century.
Amid accusations by Paris pundits that France was collateral damage in Biden's laser focus on China, US officials assured that Blinken would speak to France, which has Pacific territories, about the Asia strategy.
"AUKUS is not intended to replace existing arrangements or existing partnerships," Donfried said.
"On the contrary, we welcome the opportunity to discuss how to include the EU and other partners in our initiatives around the Indo-Pacific going forward," she said.
Some Europeans were also concerned by Biden's decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan, allowing the Taliban to take over. Biden said America's longest war was a costly distraction from competition with China.
Blinken had already been planning to visit for the 60th anniversary of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
He will co-chair an OECD ministerial that will look at promoting a green economy, a month before high-stakes UN climate talks in Glasgow.
China, which has observer status at the OECD, frequently comes under fire from the US for its state-driven trading practices as well as its aggressive lending to developing nations.
Blinken will speak at the OECD on "shared values" including transparency, said Matt Murray, a senior State Department official handling economic affairs.
"The administration is very interested in engaging like-minded partners and allies to talk about the behaviors of non-market economies including China," Murray said//CNA
October
Russia worried AUKUS pact will allow Australia to enter elite nuclear submarine club
Written by Nur Yasmin
Russia said on Friday it was concerned that the AUKUS defence agreement between Australia, Britain and the United States would allow Australia to enter the select group of nations that operate nuclear-powered submarines.
The three-way pact, under which Australia will obtain nuclear submarine technology from the United States, has angered France and concerned China since it was announced by Washington, London and Canberra last month.
Moscow said earlier this week it was seeking more information about the pact and on Friday Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said he saw it as a challenge to global nuclear non-proliferation.
"We are also concerned about the ... partnership that will allow Australia, after 18 months of consultations and several years of attempts, to obtain nuclear-powered submarines in sufficient numbers to become one of the top five countries for this type of armaments," Ryabkov said, the TASS news agency reported.
"This is a great challenge to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime," he was quoted as saying.
Ryabkov was speaking in Geneva.
The United States, Russia, Britain, France and China all operate nuclear-propelled submarines. (Reuters)
October
Rohingya militants 'saddened' by killing of civil society leader
Written by Nur Yasmin
Rohingya militants demanded accountability on Friday for the killing of a top civil society leader by gunmen in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, saying "criminals" were responsible and decrying "finger-pointing" after the death.
Friday's Twitter statement was made by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, one of several armed groups operating in sprawling refugee camps in the south of Bangladesh.
ARSA said it was shocked and saddened by Wednesday's killing of Mohib Ullah, who led one of the largest of several community groups to emerge since more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled neighbouring Myanmar after a military crackdown in August 2017.
"It is time for bringing the criminals to account instead of finger-pointing with baseless and hearsay accusations," the group said in its statement, blaming the shooting on "transnational border-based criminals", but citing no evidence.
Mohib Ullah, who was in his late 40s, was a moderate leader who had faced threats from hardliners for years, people close to him have said. Speaking after the shooting, his brother, Habib Ullah, had blamed ARSA members for his death. read more
The United Nations and the United States have condemned the killing and urged a swift investigation by authorities in Bangladesh. read more
Violent men claiming affiliation to ARSA and other gangs rule the camps at night, refugees say, kidnapping critics and warning women against breaking conservative Islamic norms. (Reuters)
October
Japan's restaurants, bars welcome back drinkers as COVID-19 controls ease
Written by Nur Yasmin
Typhoon winds and rain dampened what might have been a more celebratory mood in Tokyo on Friday, as restaurants were allowed to sell alcohol and stay open later following the lifting of the latest COVID-19 state of emergency.
Japan is cautiously easing restrictions that have prevailed across much of the nation for almost six months. New COVID cases in Tokyo totalled 200 on Friday, a sharp drop from more than 5,000 a day in August amid a fifth wave driven by the infectious Delta variant that brought the medical system to the brink.
The restrictions, intended to blunt infections by reducing mobility and interaction, have been particularly tough on the service sector.
Minoru Sasaki, president of a liquor wholesaler company Sasaki Co., said about 20% of his customers have had to close their doors during the pandemic, and he was relieved that people could now drink again in restaurants.
"I'm really happy!" Sasaki said about the easing. "The employees are looking forward to getting back to business. Up to now, they've been talking about how they'll have to diet to shed the weight they've gained in the meantime. Everyone is thinking positively, which is a big help."
Businesses large and small prepared to welcome in drinkers from Friday, even as the rain fell in sheets.
BEER ORDERS JUMP
Suntory Holdings Ltd said orders for beer kegs and bottles were up 230% in the run-up to Friday, compared to the previous week. Beer halls run by Kirin Holdings Co (2503.T) and Sapporo Holdings Ltd (2501.T) reopened with heightened infection controls, such as plastic partitions, air quality meters and limits on the number of people per party.
Shigeko Yukawa, a 57-year old restaurant manager in Tokyo, said she and her employees had longed to reopen after a more than two-month closure. They tried to make a go of it with food only, but it just didn't work.
"No alcohol means no customers. That's it," Yukawa said. "I thought we could get through just with meals, but alcohol is important. It was proven that they come to restaurants only when they can be offered both alcohol and tasty food."
Even as COVID-19 cases subside and the number of Japanese fully vaccinated reaches 60% of the population - above the level in the United States - public health experts are concerned about a possible rebound this winter that could send the country back into yet another emergency situation.
"After such a long state of emergency, from today there will be a lot of people wanting to go out, and that could lead to a quicker rebound," said Koji Wada, professor of public health at the International University of Health and Welfare in Tokyo.
"These rebounds tend to happen within about three weeks when there are no vaccines, so a key point will be to see how we do beyond that time now that vaccination has progressed, and also to be wary of a possible worsening of the situation around November," he added.
Even now some voluntary restrictions will remain in place.
Restaurants and bars can only serve alcohol until 8 p.m. and are asked to close at 9 p.m. The government has said such restrictions may be lifted further with the implementation of a system to check vaccination or COVID-19 testing status, but details on the plan remain sketchy.
Throughout the pandemic, Japan has eschewed the kind of harsh lockdowns on commerce and travel imposed in Europe and the United States, relying mostly on strong requests and social pressure to gain compliance from the public.
But not everyone plays along. Global-Dining Inc (7625.T), which runs 43 restaurants including one that inspired the movie "Kill Bill: Volume I", has sued the Tokyo government for trying to impose curbs on its operating hours and sales of alcohol.
"I don't think we would do anything special," Chief Executive Kozo Hasegawa said about the restriction easing.
"We have been operating our restaurants as usual except for ones in shopping malls." (Reuters)