Virus reports

close Video What does US intelligence know about the origins of COVID-19? Former director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe weighs in on 'The Ingraham Angle' China did "little" to investigate the origins of COVID-19 in Wuhan during the first eight months of the pandemic, according to an internal World Health Organization report from August that was reviewed by The Guardian . "Following extensive discussions with and presentation from Chinese counterparts, it appears that little had been done in terms of epidemiological investigations around Wuhan since January 2020," the report said, according to The Guardian. Some WHO researchers returned from a fact-finding trip in Wuhan this month partially disappointed that China refused to share raw data about the first patients to get COVID-19. Dominic Dwyer, an Australian infectious diseases expert who was on the trip, told Reuters that the WHO team requested raw patient data on 174 … [Read more...] about China did “little” to investigate COVID-19 origins in early months: report

The British government is advising that secondary school pupils wear masks when they reopen — but that they cannot be made compulsory. Meanwhile, children as young as five are being told to wear masks at school, a report claims. “In line with public health guidance, we are also now advising that face coverings should be worn in secondary school classrooms as well as in further and higher education settings unless social distancing can be maintained,” the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, has said, adding: “Again, this is to help reduce transmission. The risk to children themselves is incredibly low. This is a temporary measure to support the return of schools and will be in place until Easter, when it is reviewed.” But, according to operational guidance from the Department for Education (DoE) cited by the Telegraph , this advice should not be used as grounds to force masking on secondary school pupils, and “no pupil should be denied education on the grounds … [Read more...] about UK: Govt Says Masks in Schools Are Recommended – But Not Compulsory

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – Doctors in Hungary on Wednesday began administering a COVID-19 vaccine developed in China, making the country the first European Union nation to use a Chinese jab as officials aim to bolster trust in its safety and effectiveness. General practitioners around the Central European country were instructed to administer the shots, developed by Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm, to elderly patients. The Sinopharm jab brings the number of vaccines currently in use in Hungary to five including the Russian-developed Sputnik V, more than in any other country in the 27-nation EU. But for the country’s expanded palette of vaccines to be put to full use, officials are seeking to increase lagging public trust in those produced in Eastern countries. “I ask for all fears to be dispelled about the Chinese and Russian vaccines, because more than 30 million people have received these vaccines without any particular problems,” Hungary’s chief medical officer, Cecilia … [Read more...] about Hungary Becomes First Country in Europe to Administer Chinese Sinopharm Vaccine

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week but remained high by historical standards. Applications for benefits declined 111,000 from the previous week to a seasonally adjusted 730,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It is the lowest figure since late November. Still, before the virus erupted in the United States last March, weekly applications for unemployment benefits had never topped 700,000, even during the Great Recession of 2008-2009. The latest figures come as the job market has made scant progress in the past three months. Hiring averaged just 29,000 a month from November through January. Though the unemployment rate was 6.3% in January, a broader measure that includes people who have given up on their job searches is closer to 10%. All told, 19 million people were receiving unemployment aid as of Feb. 6, up from 18.3 million the previous week. About three-quarters of those recipients are receiving checks from federal … [Read more...] about U.S. jobless claims fall to 730,000 but layoffs remain high

The United Kingdom’s top health official, Stephen Powis, the national medical director for NHS England, is warning Britons to take actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s coronavirus treatment advice with a hefty grain of salt. On Wednesday, Powis told the BBC that he urges caution to anyone looking to the eccentric actress for advice on how to cure the coronavirus. “In the last few days, I see Gwyneth Paltrow is, unfortunately, suffering from the effects of Covid. We wish her well, but some of the solutions she’s recommending are really not the solutions we’d recommend in the NHS,” Powis said. After noting that she had been suffering from the virus, Paltrow told fans that a “functional medicine practitioner” said to her that she should engage in an “intuitive fasting” program to help her get over the illness. Paltrow went on to tell fans that this program includes eating nothing before 11 a.m., taking infrared saunas, eliminating sugar and alcohol, and adopting a plant-based and … [Read more...] about UK Health Chief Warns Britons Against Gwyneth Paltrow’s Advice for Coronavirus Cures