Daily Archives: March 9, 2021


CDC’s Cautious Advice for Vaccinated People Draws Criticism

The first federal recommendations for people vaccinated against COVID-19 allow cautious steps toward normal life.Too cautious, critics say.The In this Jan. 27, 2021, image from video, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks during a White House briefing.Though vaccinated people are protected from severe illness, there is still a “small risk” that they could carry the virus without showing symptoms and spread it to other people, FILE – In this Feb. 5, 2021, file photo, Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans travel by boat along the …


WHO: Third of World’s Women Are Abused by Intimate Partner

The World Health Organization reports one in three women globally, around 736 million, suffer physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence by a non-partner. The study, the largest ever conducted on the prevalence of violence against women, is based on data from 2000 to 2018.Violence often begins at an early age. The study finds one in four young women aged 15 to 24 are violently abused by an intimate partner. WHO officials said this is of particular concern as it is during this formative age that …


British Royals Say Race Issues Will Be Addressed ‘Privately’ 

Buckingham Palace said Tuesday the British royal family is “saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the past few years have been” for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, popularly known as Harry and Meghan.Following a widely publicized CBS interview Sunday with Oprah Winfrey, in which issues of race, family dynamics and suicidal thoughts were raised, a Buckingham Palace statement issued on behalf of Queen Elizabeth said, “While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”The statement, published on …


US Climate Envoy in Brussels to Meet With EU Leaders

U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry was in Brussels Tuesday to discuss transatlantic cooperation with European Union (EU) officials and U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to rejoin the global climate change effort.   Speaking to reporters alongside EU climate chief Frans Timmermans, Kerry reiterated that climate is “one of the most important issues” that Biden’s “administration intends to deal with.”   Kerry said the climate summit scheduled for November of this year in Glasgow, Scotland “is the last, best opportunity that we have and the best hope that the …


Biden’s Dogs Leave White House After ‘Aggressive Incident’

U.S. President Joe Biden’s two dogs have reportedly been sent back to his home in Delaware after what has been described as aggressive behavior toward a member of White House security. The U.S. cable channel CNN first reported late Monday one of the dogs, Major, had bitten a security staff member, citing people close to the situation. There was no report on how serious the bite was, but apparently staff felt it warranted to remove the dogs from the White House and its grounds. Major, at three years old, is …


Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Neutralizes Brazil Variant of COVID-19, Study Finds

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine neutralizes the rapidly spreading variant of the coronavirus recently discovered in Brazil, according to the results of a laboratory study.   Scientists with Pfizer and the University of Texas took blood from people who had been given the vaccine and mixed it with an engineered version of the mutation, dubbed P.1.  The researchers found the vaccine was roughly as effective against the Brazilian variant as it was against other, less contagious versions of the virus from last year.  The results of the study were published Monday in the New …


Uganda to Begin Nationwide COVID Vaccinations Wednesday

Uganda launches its national vaccination program on Wednesday, two days after receiving 100,000 additional doses of Covid-19 vaccine donated by the Indian government.   So far, Uganda has received 964,000 doses of the vaccine through donations.   Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng said healthcare workers will be the first to get their shots followed by teachers and those in high risk groups, including the elderly.   The health ministry earlier said Ugandans seeking vaccinations must present a national identification card and non-citizens a passport.   Aceng also warned that vaccination …


US Denounces Russian ‘Disinformation’ Over COVID-19 Vaccines

The United States denounced Monday what it called a Russian disinformation campaign against U.S.-made COVID-19 vaccines, saying Moscow was putting lives at risk. The Global Engagement Center, an arm of the State Department whose activities include monitoring foreign propaganda, said that Russian intelligence was behind four online platforms involved in a campaign. The sites have “included disinformation about two of the vaccines that have now been approved by the FDA in this country,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, referring to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “It is very clear that Russia is …


US Sues EZ Lynk for Selling Devices to Defeat Vehicle Emission Controls

The U.S. government on Monday sued the automobile device manufacturer EZ Lynk for selling tens of thousands of “defeat devices” that enabled car and truck owners to disable their vehicles’ computerized emission controls at the push of a button. In a complaint filed in the federal court in Manhattan, the U.S. Department of Justice accused EZ Lynk of having since 2016 violated the federal Clean Air Act by selling its aftermarket EZ Lynk System for drivers of Ford, GMC and Chrysler trucks, among other vehicles. The government said the system includes a …