Just when you though it was over, out comes the World Health Organization to say, not so fast.
The COVID-19 pandemic is &#8220;most certainly not over,&#8221; warned Tedros Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), on Sunday.
Although deaths from a current variant of COVID-19, known as Omicron, have dropped precipitously, the WHO head said &#8220;we lower our guard at our peril,&#8221; <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/05/1118752">according</a> to the United Nations.
“So, is COVID-19 over? No, it’s most certainly not over. I know that’s not the message you want to hear, and it’s definitely not the message I want to deliver,” he said.
Ghebreyesus told officials gathered in Geneva for the opening of the WHO&#8217;s annual meeting that declining testing and sequencing means &#8220;we are blinding ourselves to the evolution of the virus.&#8221; In addition, he said that while billions are vaccinated against the virus, nearly one billion people in lower-income countries still are not.
While some 60% of the world&#8217;s population is vaccinated, he said, &#8220;it&#8217;s not over anywhere until it&#8217;s over everywhere.&#8221;
Ghebreyesus mentioned that &#8220;Reported cases are increasing in almost 70 countries in all regions,&#8221; the UN reported.
&#8220;&#8230; And this in a world in which testing rates have plummeted,&#8221; the WHO head added.
He noted that the virus is spreading rapidly in Africa, where the vaccination rate is the lowest worldwide. And he said while there appears to be ample supply of the vaccine, there is &#8220;insufficient political commitment to roll out vaccines&#8221; in some countries, while there remain gaps in &#8220;operational or financial capacity&#8221; in other nations.
&#8220;In all, we see vaccine hesitancy driven by misinformation and disinformation,&#8221; Ghebreyesus said. “The pandemic will not magically disappear. But we can end it. We have the knowledge. We have the tools. Science has given us the upper hand,&#8221; he said, calling on countries to work together to reach 70% of vaccination coverage.
Ghebreyesus also said the virus is staying ahead of vaccines. “This virus has surprised us at every turn – a storm that has torn through communities again and again, and we still can’t predict its path, or its intensity,” he said.
&#8220;The WHO chief also warned that increasing transmission means more deaths and more risk of a new variant emerging, and the current decline of testing and sequencing means &#8216;we are blinding ourselves to the evolution of the virus,'&#8221; the UN said in a statement.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

Covid-19 Omicron sign

COVID-19 Pandemic ‘Certainly Not Over,’ WHO Chief Says

COVID-19 Pandemic 'Certainly Not Over,' World Health Organization Chief Says 

COVID-19

COVID-19 Vaccine

Pandemic

United Nations

World Health Organization

The number of confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox topped more than 100 over the weekend as the disease has now spread throughout Europe, North America, and Australia.
As of Saturday, &#8220;92 laboratory confirmed cases, and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox with investigations ongoing, have been reported to WHO from 12 Member States that are not endemic for monkeypox virus,&#8221; the World Health Organization <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON385">said</a> in a statement.
&#8220;Reported cases thus far have no established travel links to an endemic area,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;Based on currently available information, cases have mainly but not exclusively been identified amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) seeking care in primary care and sexual health clinics.&#8221;
The organization said that the discovery of confirmed cases of monkeypox in individuals with &#8220;no direct travel links to an endemic area represents a highly unusual event.&#8221;
Monkeypox has now been detected in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Monkeypox endemic countries include Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana (in animals), Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.
&#8220;Surveillance to date in non-endemic areas has been limited, but is now expanding,&#8221; the press release noted, adding that the organization expects that more cases will be reported in the non-endemic nations.  &#8220;Available information suggests that human-to-human transmission is occurring among people in close physical contact with cases who are symptomatic.&#8221;
Symptoms of monkeypox are similar to smallpox, although less severe. There are two strains of the virus: the West African strain and the Congo Basin (Central African) strain, which respectively have a 3.6% and 10.6% fatality rate. The incubation period for the virus can range from 5 to 21 days.
Democrat President Joe Biden addressed the continuing spread of the virus in remarks to reporters on Sunday, saying that people should be worried.
“They haven’t told me the level of exposure yet, but it is something that everybody should be concerned about,” Biden said. “We’re working on it hard to figure out what we do and what vaccine may be available.”
He added, “But it is a concern in the sense that if it were to spread it would be consequential.”
Symptoms of the suspected cases of monkeypox in non-endemic countries include an unexplained acute rash with at least of one of the following symptoms: Headache, acute onset of fever, swollen lymph nodes, body aches, back pain, or profound weakness.

In this photo illustration, the word Monkeypox is seen on

Monkeypox Cases Start To Rise Around World As Disease Now Detected In At Least 12 Countries

Joe Biden

Monkeypox

At least 43 Ukrainian hospitals and health facilities have been attacked by Russia since the start of its invasion last month, according to a report from the director of the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday during virtual remarks that it has documented <a href="https://extranet.who.int/ssa/LeftMenu/Index.aspx?utm_source=Stopping%20attacks%20on%20health%20care%20QandA&amp;utm_medium=link&amp;utm_campaign=Link_who" target="_blank" rel="noopener">43 attacks</a> on hospitals and health facilities that have killed 12 people and injured 34 others.
“[T]he disruption to services and supplies is posing an extreme risk to people with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV and TB, which are among the leading causes of mortality in Ukraine,&#8221; Ghebreyesus <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-covid-health-business-europe-c9a22012d500295c67fd75048a05587b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, according to the Associated Press.
WHO has also <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-who-press-conference-16-march-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, &#8220;More than 300 health facilities are along conflict lines or in areas that Russia now controls, and a further 600 facilities are within 10 kilometres of the conflict line.&#8221;
To help, the organization has sent &#8220;about 100 metric tonnes of supplies, including oxygen, insulin, surgical supplies, anaesthetics, and blood transfusion kits.&#8221;
A joint <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/13-03-2022-stop-attacks-on-health-care-in-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA was released on March 13 condemning Russia&#8217;s attacks on health facilities.
“Today, we call for an immediate cessation of all attacks on health care in Ukraine. These horrific attacks are killing and causing serious injuries to patients and health workers, destroying vital health infrastructure and forcing thousands to forgo accessing health services despite catastrophic needs,&#8221; the organizations wrote.
&#8220;To attack the most vulnerable – babies, children, pregnant women, and those already suffering from illness and disease, and health workers risking their own lives to save lives – is an act of unconscionable cruelty,&#8221; the statement added.
According to the Ukrainian government, a Russian airstrike has destroyed a maternity hospital in Mariupol last week in a direct hit that left children buried underneath. At least three people were killed and 17 were injured in the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/03/16/1086982186/russias-strike-on-ukraine-maternity-hospital-is-part-of-a-terrible-wartime-tradi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">destruction</a>. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/atrocity-russia-bombs-maternity-hospital-reports-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>:
<blockquote>“An apparent Russian strike on Wednesday damaged and destroyed buildings at a hospital complex in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, including a maternity ward, according to several videos verified by The New York Times,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/world/europe/ukraine-mariupol-hospital-strike.html">The New York Times</a> reported, adding, “The city is part of a vital stretch of terrain that Russia is trying to capture in an apparent attempt to link Russian-backed separatist enclaves in the southeast with Crimea, the southern peninsula Russia seized in 2014.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted, “Mariupol. Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Mariupol. Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity. <a href="https://t.co/FoaNdbKH5k">pic.twitter.com/FoaNdbKH5k</a>
&mdash; Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1501579520633102349?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote>“Footage has emerged of badly wounded patients and nurses being evacuated from decimated buildings, while pregnant women were carried out on stretchers into a courtyard covered in rubble and littered with huge craters,” <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10593177/Ukraine-war-Russia-reopens-evacuation-routes-besieged-cities.html">The Daily Mail</a> reported, adding, “Video footage from the aftermath of the attack showed that large parts of the hospital had completely collapsed, while blood soaked mattresses were pictured lying in hallways.”</blockquote>
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Ukraine hospital

At Least 43 Hospitals And Health Facilities Attacked In Ukraine, Says WHO

Russia

Ukraine

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that it advised Ukraine to destroy dangerous pathogens in the country&#8217;s public health laboratories to prevent any of them from getting out amid Russian President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine.
&#8220;Biosecurity experts say Russia&#8217;s movement of troops into Ukraine and bombardment of its cities have raised the risk of an escape of disease-causing pathogens, should any of those facilities be damaged,&#8221; Reuters <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-03-10/exclusive-who-says-it-advised-ukraine-to-destroy-pathogens-in-health-labs-to-prevent-disease-spread">reported</a>. &#8220;Like many other countries, Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans including, most recently, COVID-19. Its labs have received support from the United States, the European Union and the WHO.&#8221;
The WHO, a United Nations agency, told Reuters: &#8220;As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills.&#8221;
The WHO said that it has already been working with the labs in Ukraine for years to prevent any pathogens from getting accidentally or deliberately released.
Reuters said that the agency made no reference to biowarfare, and that the agency had encouraged everyone to operate in &#8220;the safe and secure disposal of any pathogens they come across, and to reach out for technical assistance as needed.&#8221;
The Department of Defense <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2022-03-09/u-s-blasts-russia-claims-of-bioweapons-labs-in-ukraine-absurd-laughable">claimed</a> this week that rumors that the U.S. maintained nefarious bioweapons labs in Ukraine were &#8220;false&#8221; and were &#8220;a piece of the Russian playbook here.&#8221;
U.S. officials say that they are worried that Russia could be preparing to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine after Russia accused Ukraine of planning a false flag attack using such weapons.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/19/business/russia-has-been-laying-groundwork-online-for-a-false-flag-operation-misinformation-researchers-say.html">reported</a>:
<blockquote>A new report by the European Expert Association, a research group that focuses on security in Ukraine, and the technology watchdog group Reset Tech said that since October, misinformation researchers had observed rumors circulating widely online and in Russian news media that could be groundwork for such an operation, or to help justify a military buildup.
Many of the rumors first started circulating on anonymous Telegram channels, and were then repeated in televised statements by Russian officials, the report said. Others started with statements from Russian officials and were repeated on Telegram channels until they became talking points among ordinary citizens.</blockquote>
An official <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-warns-russia-use-chemical-weapons-false-flag-operation-ukraine-rcna19391">told</a> NBC News that the U.S. was worried that the Russians were making the claim “to justify a false-flag operation or them using chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine themselves,” adding, “We do believe that we should be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons.”
Related:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-barr-warns-what-u-s-cannot-allow-to-happen-during-russias-invasion-of-ukraine">Bill Barr Warns What U.S. Cannot ‘Allow’ To Happen During Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-on-historic-gas-prices-i-cant-do-much-right-now-russias-responsible">Biden On Historic Gas Prices: ‘I Can’t Do Much Right Now. Russia’s Responsible.’</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-threatens-to-send-oil-prices-to-300-per-barrel-or-higher-if-west-bans-oil-imports">Russia Threatens To Send Oil Prices To $300 Per Barrel Or Higher If West Bans Oil Imports</a></li>
</ul>
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">member</a>.

Lab in Lviv carries out COVID-19 tests

WHO Reaches Out To Laboratories In Ukraine Amid Fears Of Dangerous Pathogens Escaping

False flag

The World Health Organization (WHO) received fierce criticism for calling Down syndrome a “severe birth defect.”
In a <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/birth-defects">blog post</a> discussing “World Birth Defects Day,” the WHO explained that birth defects take “a significant toll on individuals, families, health care systems and societies.” Congenital heart defects, neural tube defects, and hemoglobin disorders were featured alongside Down syndrome.
The WHO — which voices <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/abortion#tab=tab_1">support</a> for “comprehensive abortion care services” — highlights in the blog post that “ultrasound can be used to screen for Down syndrome and major structural abnormalities during the first trimester, and for severe fetal anomalies during the second trimester.”
On Twitter, however, parents with special needs children — especially those with Down syndrome — responded to the WHO’s callous approach toward the matter.
“Please could you explain how #DownSyndrome is a birth defect in the context of the determining criteria you are using,” one mother asked. “Surely you mean #GeneticCondition? The presence of an extra chromosome does not make my son defective and I do not see any defect in this image!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Please could you explain how <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DownSyndrome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DownSyndrome</a> is a birth defect in the context of the determining criteria you are using. Surely you mean <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GeneticCondition?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GeneticCondition</a> ? The presence of an extra chromosome does not make my son defective and I do not see any defect in this image! <a href="https://t.co/nSw09zHmV4">pic.twitter.com/nSw09zHmV4</a>
— Kate Harris (@welshkate) <a href="https://twitter.com/welshkate/status/1499707616527802368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
“@WHO we are shocked, this post seems defective,” another user <a href="https://twitter.com/LisaFar34706367/status/1499701390524002305">said</a>. “Please clarify that you do NOT believe people with #DownSyndrome are defective and you do NOT think they should be prevented. … and you believe in #HealthForAll, however many chromosomes.&#8221;
“#DownSyndrome is NOT a severe birth defect that is preventable. It is a genetic variation,” a third user explained. “This post is false and needs to be edited/removed. I’m appalled that the World Health Organization doesn’t know the difference. PS nothing about my son is defective.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DownSyndrome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DownSyndrome</a> is NOT a severe birth defect that is preventable. It is a genetic variation. This post is false and needs to be edited/removed. I’m appalled that the World Health Organization doesn’t know the difference. PS nothing about my son is defective 👇🏻👇🏻💙💛♾ <a href="https://t.co/xna0MtIPgd">pic.twitter.com/xna0MtIPgd</a>
— Evolution Vintage (@EvolutionVtg) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvolutionVtg/status/1500155316687671298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
“So you are telling me this girl is a ‘birth defect’? Down syndrome is not a birth defect!” another user added. “Time to educate yourselves.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
So you are telling me this girl is a “birth defect”? Down syndrome is not a birth defect! Time to educate yourselves. <a href="https://t.co/2Pe7lVAupR">pic.twitter.com/2Pe7lVAupR</a>
— Chris Wolfe (@Wolfie_64) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wolfie_64/status/1500006725948084224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
Down syndrome <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/downsyndrome.html">arises</a> from a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome, resulting in altered mental and physical development. As Down syndrome activist Katie Shaw <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-all-have-an-equal-life-down-syndrome-advocate-speaks-at-packed-march-for-life">explained</a> at the most recent March for Life, “There is a waiting list of babies with Down syndrome to be adopted.” However, many children conceived with the condition are aborted.
“I am broken-hearted to think of all my friends who are not here today because of abortion,” Shaw, who happens to have Down syndrome, said at the event. “We all have an equal life, and it starts in the womb. Everybody has a soul, no matter how small.”
In a recent interview with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-an-mlb-pitcher-and-gun-rights-lobbyist-are-teaming-up-to-abolish-abortion-one-state-at-a-time">The Daily Wire</a>, Dennis Sarfate and Zach Lautenschlager — who lead <a href="https://www.takeactionforlife.org/">Action for Life</a>, the legislative arm of the Christian ministry <a href="https://endabortionnow.com/">End Abortion Now</a> — explained that abortion is the murder of an image-bearer of God, meaning that government officials must ensure equal protection under the law for preborn babies.
“Life starts at conception — that is a baby,” Sarfate, a former MLB pitcher, explained. “That is a human being worthy of respect and worthy of protection. God even calls it murder. We don’t have the authority to take life … You’re killing an innocent human being that deserves life, that God is allowing to be put into a woman.”
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

WHO Calls Down Syndrome A ‘Severe Birth Defect,’ Blasted By Parents Of Special Needs Children

Down Syndrome

The top COVID-19 envoy at the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday claimed that we&#8217;re only at the &#8220;halfway mark&#8221; of the pandemic.
The worldwide scourge of COVID-19 last week entered its third year in the U.S., which means David Nabarro, the WHO&#8217;s special envoy for COVID-19, is predicting it won&#8217;t be until 2024 that we see an end.
&#8220;What people are seeing from around the world and reporting to the WHO is this is still a very, very dangerous virus, especially for people who have not been vaccinated and who&#8217;ve not been exposed to it before,&#8221; Nabarro told Sky News, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10434707/WHO-warns-against-comparing-Covid-flu-nasty-surprises.html">according</a> to The Daily Mail.
&#8220;The end is in sight, but how long is it going to take to get there? What sort of difficulties will we face on the way? Those are the questions that none of us can answer because this virus continues to give us challenges and surprises,&#8221; Nabarro said.
&#8220;It&#8217;s as though we&#8217;re just passing the halfway mark in a marathon and we can see that yes, there is an end and fast runners are getting through ahead of us. But we&#8217;ve still got a long, long way to trudge and it&#8217;s going to be tough,&#8221; he said.
The envoy also warned officials not to compare COVID-19 to the flu — following Britain&#8217;s decision to do just that — saying it is irresponsible because it implies the virus, and its now-dominant strain &#8220;has suddenly got incredibly weak.&#8221;
He told <a id="mol-e016def0-7d00-11ec-84df-f9671efc32e2" class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/sky-news/index.html">Sky News</a> the virus &#8220;can also mutate and form variants and we&#8217;ve seen several but we know there are more not far away. So quite honestly, we are not saying that this should be considered to be like flu or indeed like anything else — it&#8217;s a new virus, and we must go on treating it as though it is full of surprises, very nasty and rather cunning.&#8221;
U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said falling case numbers and relatively low hospitalization rates mean &#8220;we need to learn to live with Covid in the same way we have to live with flu.&#8221;
Nabarro told Sky News of the comparisons: &#8220;I keep wondering what the people who make these amazing predictions know that I and my colleagues in the WHO don&#8217;t know.&#8221;
&#8220;Governments have got to set the direction and not shy away from that. All governments everywhere should not suggest to people that the data have suddenly changed, or the viruses suddenly got incredibly weak,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;So all I&#8217;m asking every leader in the world to do is to help everybody stay focused on the job which is keeping this virus at bay, preventing people from getting infected if at all possible, and making certain that we are well prepared to deal with further surges as they come,&#8221; Nabarro said.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com.
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Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Omicron Covid variant concept

We’re Only At ‘Halfway Mark’ Of Pandemic: WHO Official

The World Health Organization’s top scientist said during a media briefing on Tuesday that there is no evidence that healthy children and adolescents need booster shots and that the goal needs to be protecting specific vulnerable populations.
“The aim is to protect the most vulnerable, to protect those at highest risk of severe disease and dying,” the W.H.O.&#8217;s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan <a href="https://youtu.be/oIa0hAimtfU?t=2067">said</a>. “Those are our elderly populations, the immunocompromised, people with underlying conditions, but also health care workers because if a lot of health care workers get infected as we see now, they can be out sick and we don’t want them getting severely ill.”
“There’s no evidence right now that healthy children or healthy adolescents need boosters,” she added. “No evidence at all.”
Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director for the W.H.O.’s health emergencies program, said they have not determined how many doses of the vaccine that they will say people need or how often people will need to get shots.
“I think people do have a certain fear out there that this booster thing is going to be like every two or three months and everyone’s going to have to go and get a booster,” Ryan said. “And I don’t think we have the answer to that yet.”
CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/18/who-says-theres-no-evidence-healthy-children-adolescents-need-covid-boosters.html">reported</a>:
<blockquote>He said scientists may eventually redefine how many doses are required in the primary series of Covid shots. While most healthy people may need just two shots, he said the elderly or immunocompromised may need three or four.
Swaminathan’s and Ryan’s comments come roughly two weeks after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved booster shots for adolescents aged 12 to 17 amid the current surge in coronavirus cases due to the highly contagious omicron variant.</blockquote>
The remarks come as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has rapidly spread across the world, leading to a surge in cases while also appearing to not be as deadly as previous strains.
Democrat President Joe Biden promised on the campaign trail that he would &#8220;shut down the virus,&#8221; yet under his leadership cases have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-sets-new-global-daily-record-of-1-million-virus-cases-biden-promised-to-shut-down-the-virus">skyrocketed</a> to new highs and more Americans have now died from the coronavirus under his leadership than died under former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s approval rating in a left-of-center mainstream poll cratered to 33% last week as Americans grapple with the continuing pandemic, supply chain issues, inflation, and other issues.
“Americans give President Joe Biden a negative 33 – 53 percent job approval rating, while 13 percent did not offer an opinion,” Quinnipiac University reported. “In November 2021, Americans gave Biden a negative 36 – 53 percent job approval rating with 10 percent not offering an opinion.”
Biden’s approval rating from Democrats sank by double digits from 87% in November to 75% in the new poll. The percentage of Democrats who now disapprove of him doubled from 7% to 14%. Only 1 in 4 Independents approved of Biden’s job performance while only 2% (not a typo) of Republicans approved of Biden’s job performance.
Biden earned bad scores on major issues, including:
<ul>
<li>the economy: 34 percent approve, while 57 percent disapprove;</li>
<li>foreign policy: 35 percent approve, while 54 percent disapprove;</li>
<li>the response to the coronavirus: 39 percent approve, while 55 percent disapprove.</li>
</ul>
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SWITZERLAND-WHO-HEALTH-VIRUS

World Health Organization: ‘No Evidence At All’ That Healthy Children, Adolescents Need Boosters

Children

COVID-19 Vaccine Booster

Cases of COVID-19 appear to be tapering off after reaching a peak in South Africa, where the new variant dubbed Omicron was first discovered, according to a new report.
&#8220;Gauteng province has seen a meteoric rise infections since mid-November, when the first cases of the highly-evolved strain started appearing — jumping from 58 to 11,703 as of yesterday,&#8221; The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10292185/Covid-cases-reaching-peak-Omicron-epicentre-South-Africa-expert-claims.html">reported</a>. But the U.K. paper said data suggests the spread may have already peaked, which a British expert hailed as &#8220;tentative good news.&#8221;
Professor Christina Pagel, a mathematician at University College London who has been following the outbreak, said infections had been rising by about 25% a day since November 15, but &#8220;over the last four days have dipped below this trend, suggesting cases may be rounding off their previous exponential rise,&#8221; the Mail said.
The Mail also said an analysis of hospitalizations in South Africa suggests Omicron is causing less severe symptoms than previous variants and the original virus. &#8220;The variant has caused 60 percent fewer hospitalized patients going to intensive care in Gauteng compared to Delta,&#8221; said the paper.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said &#8220;the number of [hospital] admissions is very low&#8221; in South Africa compared with the Delta wave, even though the number of infections has been higher than with the previous strain.
When word of the new variant first emerged, panic ensued.
The WHO said Omicron poses a “very high” global risk and could bypass even those who have been vaccinated. The strain is a “highly divergent variant with a high number of mutations… some of which are concerning and may be associated with immune escape potential and higher transmissibility,” the U.N. agency said.
“The overall global risk related to the new variant … is assessed as very high,” WHO said, adding that Omicron “has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic.”
But a doctor in South Africa said shortly after Omicron emerged that&#8217;s not what he was seeing. &#8220;A South African doctor who was one of the first to suspect a different coronavirus strain has said that symptoms of the Omicron variant appear to be mild and could be treated at home,&#8221; <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/omicron-symptoms-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-compare-to-other-covid-infections-12482061">according</a> to The Sun newspaper. &#8220;Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of South African Medical Association, told Reuters that on 18 November she noticed seven patients at her clinic who had symptoms different from the dominant Delta variant, albeit &#8216;very mild.'&#8221;
“Their symptoms were so different and so mild from those I had treated before,” Coetzee told <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/south-african-doctor-raised-alarm-omicron-variant-says-symptoms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Telegraph</a>.
And early data showed that Omicron may not be as bad as the original COVID-19, or the variant Delta. &#8220;Researchers at a major hospital complex in Pretoria reported that their patients with the coronavirus are much less sick than those they have treated before, and that other hospitals are seeing the same trends,&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/06/world/africa/omicron-coronavirus-research-spread.html">reported</a>. &#8220;In fact, they said, most of their infected patients were admitted for other reasons and have no Covid symptoms.&#8221;
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Doctor with blood sample of Covid-19 Omicron B.1.1.529 Variant and general data of covid-19 Coronavirus Mutations.

Has Omicron Outbreak Already Peaked In South Africa’s ‘Ground Zero’?

Omicron Variant

South Africa

While little is yet known about a new Omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the CEO of Moderna, a pharmaceutical company that produced a vaccine to ward of the initial strain of the virus, said it could be up to 90 days before a new vaccine to target Omicron is developed.
The new variant features more mutations on the spike protein, the part of the virus the mRNA vaccines — including Moderna&#8217;s &#8211; target. However, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/29/world/omicron-variant-covid">The New York Times</a> notes, experts believe that the current vaccines “are likely to offer protection from severe illness and death.”
Stephane Bancel <a class="class" href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/11/29/moderna-ceo-stephane-bancel-breaks-down-omicron-vaccine-strategy.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">told</a> CNBC&#8217;s Squawk Box that his company is currently researching the variant found last week in South Africa and already spreading in Europe and elsewhere.
Bancel &#8220;fears that the antibodies Moderna&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccine provides to fight against the virus could be eight times lower against the new strain,&#8221; The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-10254393/Moderna-CEO-warns-vaccine-antibody-levels-EIGHT-TIMES-lower-against-Omicron-variant.html">reported</a>.
&#8220;There are two key things that we don&#8217;t know yet and will find out in [coming] weeks,&#8221; Bancel said. &#8220;One is vaccine efficacy. What is the impact of this new variant on the vaccine efficacy, and we should know that in around two weeks.&#8221;
&#8220;We believe this [variant] is highly infectious… it seems to be much more infectious than Delta,&#8221; Bancel added.
According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/29/world/omicron-variant-covid">The New York Times</a>, experts &#8220;have said that it could be two weeks or longer before more information about the variant’s transmissibility, and the severity of illness it causes, is available.&#8221;
&#8220;Given the large level of mutation it is highly possible that the efficacy of the vaccines, all of them, is going down,&#8221; Bancel said.
The CEO said it will take Moderna researchers from two to six weeks to learn how effective their vaccine is against Omicron. He also said it could take up to 90 days to create a new version of its COVID-19 vaccine to handle the new variant.
Omicron poses a “very high” global risk and could bypass even those who have been vaccinated, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Monday.
The strain is a “highly divergent variant with a high number of mutations … some of which are concerning and may be associated with immune escape potential and higher transmissibility,” the U.N. agency said.
“The overall global risk related to the new variant … is assessed as very high,” WHO said, adding that Omicron “has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic.”
But a doctor in South Africa suggested that the situation might not be quite so dire. &#8220;A South African doctor who was one of the first to suspect a different coronavirus strain has said that symptoms of the Omicron variant appear to be mild and could be treated at home,&#8221; <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/omicron-symptoms-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-compare-to-other-covid-infections-12482061">according</a> to The Sun newspaper. &#8220;Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of South African Medical Association, told Reuters that on 18 November she noticed seven patients at her clinic who had symptoms different from the dominant Delta variant, albeit &#8216;very mild.'&#8221;
“Their symptoms were so different and so mild from those I had treated before,” Coetzee told <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/south-african-doctor-raised-alarm-omicron-variant-says-symptoms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Telegraph</a>.
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Coronavirus – Vaccination bus in the resin on the way

Moderna CEO Warns It May Be 90 Days Before Updated Vaccine Available

Moderna

The new Omicron variant of COVID-19, which was detected by South African researchers last week, poses a “very high” global risk and could bypass even those who have been vaccinated, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Monday.
The strain is a “highly divergent variant with a high number of mutations… some of which are concerning and may be associated with immune escape potential and higher transmissibility,” the U.N. agency said.
“The overall global risk related to the new variant … is assessed as very high,” WHO said, adding that Omicron “has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic.”
But a doctor in South Africa said just the opposite. &#8220;A South African doctor who was one of the first to suspect a different coronavirus strain has said that symptoms of the Omicron variant appear to be mild and could be treated at home,&#8221; <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/omicron-symptoms-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-compare-to-other-covid-infections-12482061">according</a> to The Sun newspaper. &#8220;Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of South African Medical Association, told Reuters that on 18 November she noticed seven patients at her clinic who had symptoms different from the dominant Delta variant, albeit &#8216;very mild.'&#8221;
“Their symptoms were so different and so mild from those I had treated before,” Coetzee told <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/south-african-doctor-raised-alarm-omicron-variant-says-symptoms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Telegraph</a>.
Little is known so far about the variant. According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/29/world/omicron-variant-covid">The New York Times</a>, experts &#8220;have said that it could be two weeks or longer before more information about the variant’s transmissibility, and the severity of illness it causes, is available,&#8221; but also believe that current vaccines &#8220;are likely to offer protection from severe illness and death.&#8221;
The WHO has declared Omicron to be a “variant of concern&#8221; and urged its 194 member states to vaccination high-priority groups and to “ensure mitigation plans are in place” should the strain spread widely.
Still, Coetzee said none of those infected lost their sense of smell or taste or suffered serious health risks.
“It presents mild disease with symptoms being sore muscles and tiredness for a day or two not feeling well,” Coetzee told the Telegraph. “So far, we have detected that those infected do not suffer the loss of taste or smell. They might have a slight cough. There are no prominent symptoms. Of those infected some are currently being treated at home.”
She detailed one case of a 6-year-old girl who had “a temperature and a very high pulse rate, and I wondered if I should admit her. But when I followed up two days later, she was so much better.&#8221;
Coetzee added that the cases she has seen so far involved healthy people but expressed worry over elderly people and those with comorbidities, such as diabetes or heart disease.
“What we have to worry about now is that when older, unvaccinated people are infected with the new variant, and if they are not vaccinated, we are going to see many people with a severe [form of the] disease,” she said.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that the U.S. should “be prepared to do anything and everything,” including lockdowns, to battle Omicron.
&#8220;We just really need to, as I said so often, prepare for the worst. It may not be we’ll have to go the route people are saying. We don’t know a lot about this virus. So we want to prepare as best we can, but it may turn out this preparation, although important, may not necessarily push us to the next level,&#8221; Fauci said.
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Microscopic view of covid-19 omicron variant or B.1.1.529, variant of concern.

WHO: Omicron Variant Poses ‘Very High’ Global Risk

Anthony Fauci

In the wake of a report detailing alleged sexual misconduct by workers for the World Health Organization during missions to the Congo, the European Union has suspended funding for WHO programs in the African nation.
According to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/exclusive-eu-suspends-funding-who-programmes-congo-after-sex-scandal-2021-10-28/">Reuters</a>, which obtained a letter from the European Commission (EC) to the WHO detailing the suspension of funding, the commission “informed the WHO of the immediate suspension of financing for five WHO programmes, including its Ebola and COVID-19 operations.”
Just over $24 million will be cut from the organization’s activities in the Congo as the EC asks for greater accountability and for guard rails to be put in place.
In an email to Reuters, the EC said they wanted &#8220;robust safeguards to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/who-issues-plan-prevent-sexual-abuse-after-congo-scandal-2021-10-21/">prevent such unacceptable incidents</a> as well as to act decisively in such situations&#8221; for those with whom they work.
However, the EC noted that it would still be giving funding to WHO programs and operations in other countries.
Several of the measures sought by the EC include mandating background checks for WHO employees, compensation for the victims of the alleged sexual misconduct, and examination of WHO management over the incidents “for the negligence in the treatment of allegations and evidence.”
&#8220;The Commission has temporarily suspended the payments and will refrain from awarding new funding related to the humanitarian activities undertaken by WHO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This measure does not affect EU funding for WHO operations elsewhere,&#8221; it explained.
The group noted that it has “extreme concern” about the “magnitude of the findings” of a <a href="https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/ethics/ic-final-report-28092021-en-version.pdf?sfvrsn=fef409a0_9&amp;download=true">report</a> released last month that implicated 21 WHO workers in alleged sexual misconduct during a mission to the Congo from 2018-2020.
In light of this suspension of funding, the WHO will have 30 days to respond, after which the European Commission will decide within 30 days whether or not to maintain the suspension.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nearly-two-dozen-world-health-organization-workers-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-abuse">reported</a> by The Daily Wire, a report from last month implicated roughly 80 aid workers (21 who worked for WHO) in a variety of sexual misconduct, including alleged rapes and forced abortions.
One woman named in the report, Lisianne, recounted becoming pregnant after an expatriate WHO doctor allegedly pressured her into having sex with him so she could keep her job. He reportedly gave her abortion pills when he found out she was pregnant.
“This is the biggest finding of sexual abuse perpetrated during a single U.N. initiative in one area or one country during the time-bound period of a U.N. response effort,” <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-united-nations-world-health-organization-ebola-virus-36ceb41d266190d149a74e400332e1ed">said</a> Paula Donovan, co-director of the Code Blue, an organization dedicated to cracking down on sexual abuse by U.N. personnel.
Donovan was not impressed when the WHO announced earlier this month that it would be referring the alleged misconduct cases back to U.N. personnel in New York, as well as national authorities in the Congo.
“This is a giant step backward. The WHO is treating dozens of violent crimes alleged against its own personnel and top officials as simple breaches of UN rules. If governments allow the UN to get away with this, it will be a solid victory for UN impunity,” she said. 
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SWITZERLAND-CHINA-HEALTH-EPIDEMIC-WHO-VIRUS

‘Extreme Concern’: WHO European Funding Suspended In Congo Following Handling Of Rape, Forced Abortion Allegations

Africa

Nearly two dozen workers for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Congo have been accused of sexual misconduct, including conduct that encompasses rape, according to <a href="https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/ethics/ic-final-report-28092021-en-version.pdf?sfvrsn=fef409a0_9&amp;download=true">findings</a> from a panel. 
The panel&#8217;s report implicates roughly 80 aid workers as perpetrators of sexual misconduct, of which 21 were employed by the WHO. The abuse is supposed to have taken place from 2018-2020 during a mission to Congo. The report was put out Tuesday by the WHO after being pressured into investigating.
“This is the biggest finding of sexual abuse perpetrated during a single U.N. initiative in one area or one country during the time-bound period of a U.N. response effort,” Paula Donovan said. Donovan is the co-director of the Code Blue, an organization dedicated to cracking down on sexual abuse by U.N. personal. 
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-united-nations-world-health-organization-ebola-virus-36ceb41d266190d149a74e400332e1ed">reported</a> that Malick Coulibaly, one of the panel’s investigators, noted that they documented at least nine alleged rapes by the aid workers, several of which resulted in women being forced to have abortions by their rapists. 
The report finds that there were a total of 29 pregnancies among Congolese women from aid workers. While most of the pregnancies resulted in births, several ended in miscarriages and a few in forced abortions via injection or other drugs.  
One young girl, identified as “Jolianne,” was raped by a U.N. worker when she was just 13 years old. The worker had apparently told the young girl that he would give her a ride back to her home after she had been selling phone cards on the roadside. 
“Instead, he took her to a hotel where she says she was raped by this person,” the report notes. Julianne, who became pregnant through the rape, was the youngest of the victims. 
Many victims told investigators that they would get jobs if they had sex with the aid worker. However, the investigators wrote that, &#8220;The vast majority of the alleged victims the review team met did not get the jobs they were promised despite having consented to having sex.&#8221;
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One victim interviewed by the panel claimed, &#8220;To get ahead in the job, you had to have sex [&#8230;] Everyone had sex in exchange for something. It was very common. I was even offered sex if I wanted to get a basin of water to wash myself in the base camp where we were staying during the retaliation.”
The panel indicated that 12 of the 75 individuals who were interviewed for testimony were men.
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Another one of the investigators, Aïchatou Mindaoudou, said that individuals in leadership at WHO “were aware of what was going on and did not act.” 
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that he was sorry to the abuse victims calling the report “harrowing reading.” 
&#8220;What happened to you should never happen to anyone. It is inexcusable. It is my top priority to ensure that the perpetrators are not excused but are held to account,&#8221; Ghebreyesus said. 
He added that “wholesale reform of our structures and culture&#8221; would be forthcoming in light of the panel’s findings. 
It is not yet known if the accused perpetrators, from both Congo and abroad, of the abuse will face prosecution for their actions, which took place during an Ebola crisis in the Congo. For the time being, several WHO perpetrators have been fired and others banned from working for the international organization again. 
&#8220;We encourage the WHO to continue and show the community that its personnel who abused women and their daughters in our community have been genuinely, severely punished,&#8221; Esperence Kazi <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/who-heartbroken-by-congo-sex-abuse-probe-findings-2021-09-28/">said</a>, a leader of the group &#8216;One Girl One Leader&#8217; in Beni.
The problems found unveiled by the panel are not limited to Congo but seem to be more widespread throughout U.N. peacekeeping missions. 
Code Blue’s <a href="http://www.codebluecampaign.com/the-problem">website</a> says that there is a widespread problem of sexual misconduct by U.N. forces and that this is compounded by poor response from the U.N. bureaucracy. 
“Member States have not yet come to the realization that the day of reckoning is approaching,” the website says,  “If they do not take the initiative to fully recognize, understand, and solve a problem that has become an attention-getting Achilles heel, the UN’s sexual abuse crisis is likely to reach a pinnacle soon that could hobble the United Nations’ ability and authority to perform any of its functions.&#8221;
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