A senior World Health Organization official is calling for the equitable distribution of a future COVID-19 vaccine in Africa, warning that the virus will continue to spread if some countries are left behind. WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti sees worrying signs that nations in Africa may be among those last in the queue of low-income countries to receive a vaccine against COVID-19.  She notes some high-income countries that are financing the production or research of vaccines are reserving supplies for themselves.While it is understandable that governments would want to protect their own people, she tells VOA she hopes they are considering the needs of other countries as well. “We are continuing to analyze how this would work,” said Moeti. “We are continuing to advocate very strongly for this equity principle to be adhered to and respected by everyone and that we all work together to make sure that countries, low-income countries, least developed countries are not disadvantaged when it comes time to having access to a vaccine.”  Moeti warns it would be short-sighted of wealthy countries to think only of themselves.  In this interconnected world, she says, no one is safe until everyone is safe, adding a virus knows no borders.  She says COVID-19 will continue circulating around the world until everyone is protected from its deadly sting.She says a vaccine is not a magic bullet and nations must not wait to take action until a safe, effective vaccine is developed—a process that will take many months.  In the meantime, she says it is absolutely essential that countries continue to identify cases, trace contacts, isolate them and minimize the spread of the virus.“Even more importantly, people’s understanding, knowledge and behavior to protect themselves, prevent the virus, prevent themselves spreading to others by wearing masks, by physical distancing whenever it is feasible, by hygiene measures, hand washing, cleaning surfaces in different places are very, very important,” said Moeti.  Moeti notes even when a vaccine is available and affordable, it will take some time to roll it out.  Until then, she says, preventive measures must continue.Latest reports put the number of coronavirus cases in Africa at nearly 1.1 million, including more than 23,000 deaths.  Moeti says cases are increasing as the virus moves from high density urban areas to rural areas that have a lower population density and as communities ease up on lockdown restrictions.She says countries must remain vigilant as curbing COVID-19 is a marathon and not a sprint.
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Two cities in China have found traces of the new coronavirus in imported frozen food and on food packaging, local authorities said on Thursday, raising fears that contaminated food shipments might cause new outbreaks.A sample taken from the surface of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern city of Shenzhen from Brazil, as well as samples of outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp sold in the northwestern Xi’An city, have tested positive for the virus, local authorities said on Thursday.The discoveries came a day after traces of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 were found on the packaging of frozen shrimp from Ecuador in a city in eastern Anhui province. China has been stepping up screenings at ports amid the concerns over food imports.Shenzhen’s health authorities traced and tested everyone who might have come into contact with potentially contaminated food products, and all results were negative, the city’s notice said.The Brazilian embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not immediately reach the Ecuadorean embassy in Beijing.”It is hard to say at which stage the frozen chicken got infected,” said a China-based official at a Brazilian meat exporter.The Shenzhen Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters said the public needed to take precautions to reduce infection risks from imported meat and seafood.The health commission of Shannxi province, where Xi’An city is located, said authorities are testing people and the surrounding environment connected to the contaminated shrimp products sold in a local market.In addition to screening all meat and seafood containers coming into major ports in recent months, China has suspended some meat imports from various origins, including Brazil, since mid-June.The first cluster of COVID-19 cases was linked to the Huanan seafood market in the city of Wuhan. Initial studies suggested the virus originated in animal products on sale at the market.Li Fengqin, who heads a microbiology lab at the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment told reporters in June the possibility of contaminated frozen food causing new infections could not be ruled out.Viruses can survive up to two years at temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius, but scientists say there is no strong evidence so far the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can spread via frozen food.Xinfadi market in China’s capital city Beijing, a sprawling food market linked to cluster infections in June, where virus was found on the chopping board on which imported salmons were handled, will be reopened from the weekend.How the virus entered the market in the first place is yet to be determined, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest update of the investigation in July.
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Iran shut down a newspaper on Monday after it published remarks by an expert who said the official figures on coronavirus cases and deaths in the country account for only 5% of the real toll, allegations rejected by the Health Ministry. Mohammad Reza Sadi, the editor-in-chief of Jahane Sanat, told the official IRNA news agency that authorities closed his newspaper, which began publishing in 2004 and was mainly focused on business news. On Sunday, the daily quoted Mohammad Reza Mahboobfar, an epidemiologist the paper said had worked on the government’s anti-coronavirus campaign, as saying the true number of cases and deaths in Iran could be 20 times the number reported by the Health Ministry. He also said the virus was detected in Iran a month earlier than February 19, when authorities announced the first confirmed case. He said they held up the announcement until after the commemorations of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and parliamentary elections earlier that month. “The administration resorted to secrecy for political and security reasons,” he said, and only provided “engineered statistics” to the public. He also criticized testing efforts and warned of a renewed outbreak next month as universities hold entrance exams and people mark major Shiite holidays. Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari rejected the allegations and said Mahboobfar had no role in the government’s anti-coronavirus campaign. IRNA quoted her as saying the ministry has provided figures in a “transparent” way. “The Health Ministry is not a political body and health of people is its main priority,” she said. The ministry has reported a total of nearly 330,000 cases and 18,616 deaths, including 189 fatalities in the past 24 hours.  Authorities in Iran have come under heavy criticism since the start of the pandemic because of their reluctance to impose the kind of sweeping restrictions seen elsewhere in the region. Iran is home to the deadliest outbreak in the Middle East.  
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A study suggests a possible link between vaping and COVID-19, suggesting teens and young adults in the United States who inhale could be five to seven times more at risk of contracting the disease caused by the coronavirus.Results were published in the Journal of Adolescent Health based on survey data collected in May and analyzed by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.“Young people may believe their age protects them from contracting the virus or that they will not experience symptoms of COVID-19, but the data show this isn’t true among those who vape,” study leader Shivani Mathur Gaiha said in a press statement.The study asked participants if they had ever vaped before, whether they had vaped or smoked in the last 30 days, if they had COVID-19 symptoms, were tested for it or contracted the disease.The results showed that those who had used cigarettes and e-cigarettes in the last 30 days were nearly five times more likely to have COVID-19 symptoms compared to participants who had never smoked or vaped.The study does not prove vaping causes COVID-19. One possible explanation put forward by the researchers is that vaping requires repeated touching of the mouth and face, which would help spread the infection. Additionally, they say nicotine in e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes can cause lung damage, which makes contracting COVID-19 more dangerous.The researchers at Stanford say they hope their findings “will prompt the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to further tighten regulations governing how vaping products are sold to young people.”
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