People in the Northern Hemisphere are in for a once-in-a-millennium treat on December 21 — the winter solstice and the longest night of the year — when Jupiter and Saturn will meet in a “great conjunction,” the closest they will be seen in the sky together for nearly 800 years.Astronomers use the term “conjunction” to describe any time two celestial bodies appear to meet in the sky, as viewed from Earth. But when Saturn and Jupiter, the two largest planets in the solar system, appear to meet in the sky, they call it a “great” conjunction.Astronomers say the two planets regularly appear to pass each other in the solar system from Earth’s perspective, with their positions being aligned in the sky about once every 20 years.What makes this year’s great conjunction so significant is that the two planets have not passed this close to one another in 400 years, and it has been nearly 800 years since the alignment occurred at night, as it will this year, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness it.Astronomers recommend finding an unobstructed view of the western sky about an hour after sunset. Jupiter will appear first and then Saturn; Jupiter will look like a bright star, and Saturn will be slightly fainter and will appear slightly above and to the left of Jupiter. Astronomers say the conjunction will be bright enough to be seen in cities.The conjunction will be the climax, but astronomers say observers do not have to wait until then. The two planets will be clearly visible in the west through December 25, though they will reverse positions in the sky after December 21, with the brighter Jupiter to the left. 
 
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In Tanzania, female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation, is still practiced among some ethnic groups as a rite of passage into womanhood. Many girls are forced or coerced into it by their family to avoid being shunned, and end up scarred for life. To bridge the gap between health and tradition, health care nonprofit Amref has been promoting an alternative rite of passage for girls. Charles Kombe reports from Tanga, Tanzania.Camera: Rajabu Hassan
Video editor: Jon Spier
 
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California expects to receive a little over two million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in December, which would be enough to vaccinate half of the state’s health care workers. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetyan
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World Health Organization regional officials said Thursday China will welcome an international team of WHO experts to investigate the origins of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.At a news conference in Manila, WHO Regional Emergencies Director Dr. Babatunde Olowokure told reporters the agency has been in contact with China and is discussing places they will visit.    The WHO announced Wednesday it was sending a team of researchers to China in the first week of January to study what led to the global pandemic that has so far killed more than 1.6 million people out of a total of more than 74.2 million cases.In an interview with the Associated Press news agency earlier this week, a member of the WHO team traveling to China, German biologist Fabian Leendertz, said the visit will likely start in the city of Wuhan where COVID-19 was first detected late last year. Most researchers believe the infection originated in bats.China has previously opposed calls for an international inquiry into the origins of the ailment, saying such calls are anti-China, but has been open to a WHO-led investigation.  The United States, which has accused China of having hidden the outbreak’s extent, has called for a “transparent” WHO-led probe and criticized its terms, which allowed Chinese scientists to do the first phase of preliminary research.Chinese state media have suggested the coronavirus existed abroad before it was discovered in Wuhan, citing its presence on imported frozen food packaging and scientific papers claiming it had been circulating in Europe last year.
 
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The French government says President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.”The president tested positive for COVID-19 today,” a statement from the presidency said Thursday. It said Macron had been tested after the “onset of the first symptoms.”The government said Macron will self-isolate for seven days, in accordance with national regulations, and will continue to work and carry out his activities remotely.The French president adds to the list of heads of state and government around the world who have contracted COVID-19, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Donald Trump.The World Health Organization announced Wednesday it was sending a team of researchers to China in the first week of January to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus that led to the global pandemic that has so far killed more than 1.6 million people out of a total of 74.2 million total cases.The 10-member team will examine medical data and test samples to determine how the virus that causes COVID-19 jumped from animals to humans, and where it originated. Most researchers believe the virus, which was first detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, originated in bats.People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus use a pedestrian crosswalk at the Ginza shopping street Dec. 17, 2020, in Tokyo.Trump has accused the Chinese government of covering up information about the pandemic.Meanwhile, the formal approval process for a second COVID-19 vaccine in the United States begins Thursday.The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccines advisory committee will review data on a vaccine developed jointly by Massachusetts-based drugmaker Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. FDA regulators earlier this week confirmed Moderna’s claims of the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.If the advisory panel approves the Moderna vaccine, the FDA could grant emergency use authorization as early as Friday, meaning nearly 6 million doses could be distributed across the U.S. beginning next week. The Moderna-NIH vaccine will add to the 2.9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shipped out this week that began the inoculation effort in the U.S., starting with frontline health care workers and nursing home residents.The White House announced Wednesday that Vice President Mike Pence will receive the vaccine on Friday. President-elect Joe Biden will be vaccinated sometime next week, according to the transition team. The 78-year-old Biden is at high risk of contracting the virus due to his age.The FDA said Wednesday that pharmacists could draw extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine if there is any extra solution leftover in the vials. The vials are supposed to hold enough of the vaccine for five doses, but pharmacists have found there was enough for an additional sixth or even seventh dose. A spokesperson said in a statement the FDA was working with Pfizer to determine “the best path forward.”At least one health care worker in the Northwest Pacific state of Alaska suffered an allergic reaction just minutes after being inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday, the first such case of an adverse reaction in the United States. The New York Times is reporting that a second health care worker at the same hospital in Alaska also suffered an allergic reaction within minutes of being inoculated. Two health care workers in Britain also suffered allergic reactions after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.Vaccines normally produce various side effects, such as fever, fatigue, headache or pain at the injection site, but officials say such effects are common and disappear within a day or two. The report on the Moderna-NIH vaccine submitted to the FDA revealed that four volunteers in the late-stage clinical trial developed Bell’s palsy, a condition that involves temporary paralysis or weakness in the facial muscles. Three of those participants had received the two-dose vaccine, while the other one was given a placebo.The Inter-American Development Bank pledged $1 billion Wednesday to help Central American and Caribbean nations fight the coronavirus pandemic.The IDB will devote the money to purchasing vaccines, strengthening national institutions distributing the shots, and building immunization capacity.The pledge is in addition to $1.2 billion the bank already mobilized in the region to pay for testing and treatment.Wednesday’s announcement comes as Latin America reports surges in COVID-19 cases and deaths. According to the Reuters news agency, roughly 33% of the world’s COVID-19 deaths were recorded in Latin America, though the region only accounts for 9% of the global population.
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The Inter-American Development Bank pledged $1 billion Wednesday to help Central American and Caribbean nations fight the coronavirus pandemic.The IDB will devote the money to purchasing vaccines, strengthening national institutions distributing the shots and building immunization capacity.The pledge is in addition to $1.2 billion the bank already mobilized in the region to pay for testing and treatment.Wednesday’s announcement came as Latin America reported surges in COVID-19 cases and deaths. According to the Reuters news agency, roughly 33% of the world’s COVID-19 deaths were recorded in Latin America, though the region accounts for only 9% of the global population.Around the worldAbout a quarter of Mexico’s population has been exposed to the virus, officials said. Over 115,000 Mexicans have died of the virus, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.A new set of tight restrictions took effect Wednesday in Germany to try to curb a rising number of coronavirus infections and deaths.The hard lockdown mandated the closing of all nonessential businesses and limiting private gatherings to no more than five people. The restrictions, which will remain in effect until January 10, were imposed by Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday after talks with Germany’s 16 regional governors.The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s central disease control center, reported 952 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, shattering the previous single-day record of 598 posted just last Friday.Germany’s seven-day incidence of new cases has also set a record, rising to nearly 180 per 100,000 people.Health Minister Jens Spahn called on the European Union’s regulatory agency late Tuesday to give final approval of the vaccine jointly developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech by Christmas. The vaccine is being administered to health care workers in Britain and the United States, after government regulators quickly approved its use after a thorough review process.Meanwhile, in the U.S., the White House announced Wednesday that Vice President Mike Pence would receive the vaccine on Friday.President-elect Joe Biden will be vaccinated next week, according to the transition team.Regulators with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday that its preliminary analysis of a second vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health confirmed its safety and effectiveness.The report revealed that four volunteers in the late-stage clinical trial developed Bell’s palsy, a condition that involves temporary paralysis or weakness in facial muscles. Three of those participants had received the two-dose vaccine, while the other one was given a placebo.The approval process of the Moderna vaccine is now in the hands of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which meets Thursday. If the committee gives its approval, the FDA would the grant the vaccine an emergency use authorization.The FDA granted emergency approval Tuesday of an over-the-counter COVID-19 test developed by Ellume, an Australian-based health care technology company. The self-administered home kit returns test results within 15 to 20 minutes through a smartphone application. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.As the United States, Britain and other nations escalate efforts to vaccinate citizens against the virus that has sickened more than 73.5 million people worldwide, causing more than 1.6 million deaths, a new study says at least one-fifth of the world’s population may not have access to a vaccine until 2022, as wealthier nations buy more than half of next year’s potential doses.The study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health came just days after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned about the rise of “vaccine nationalism” among the world’s richest nations at the expense of much poorer countries.Separately, two of the world’s biggest annual New Year’s celebrations are either being curtailed or canceled because of the pandemic. New York City is banning visitors from the city’s historic Times Square to witness the iconic “ball drop” that counts down the final seconds of the year.In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, officials announced Tuesday that the city is calling off its annual New Year’s Eve beach party, which normally attracts hundreds of thousands of people with live music and a spectacular fireworks display.
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Chinese state media says a lunar probe containing the first samples of moon rocks and soil since the moon missions of the 1970s has returned to Earth.Quoting China’s space agency, Xinhua news agency on Thursday said the capsule carrying the samples collected by the Chang’e-5 space probe landed in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region.With this mission, China became only the third country to have retrieved samples from the moon, following the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s.China Space Agency: Lunar Probe Successfully Lands on MoonProbe is expected to gather lunar soil and rock samples and return them to EarthTwo of the four modules that made up the Chang’e-5 probe, named after a mythical Chinese moon goddess, landed on the moon Dec. 1. They collected about 2 kilograms of samples, by scooping and drilling about 2 meters into the moon’s crust. The space agency said it also planted a Chinese flag at the landing site.The probe loaded the samples into a capsule on the ascent module that, two days later, blasted off from the moon’s surface and linked up with the orbiter module that brought it back to Earth.The samples are the first gathered for study on Earth since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976.Scientists hope the samples will help them learn about the moon’s origins, formation and volcanic surface activity. 
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The Czech Republic Wednesday launched nationwide COVID-19 testing in hopes of slowing the spread of virus in the country, which, like much of Europe, has seen a surge of infections in recent weeks.The Czech Health Ministry is offering the free antigen tests at about 170 testing sites around the country. The antigen tests are cheaper and faster but somewhat less accurate than standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratory tests with results taking about 15 minutes. If someone tests positive, the ministry will administer a PCR test.The Health Ministry hopes to conduct 60,000 tests per day. The ministry’s web site says people can get tested repeatedly, every five days. Thousands registered for the first day of tests Wednesday.The Czech Republic experienced Europe’s biggest per-capita spikes in cases in October and November, and nearly 10,000 deaths in the country of 10.7 million. Criticized for its slow response to the pandemic, the government recently implemented COVID-19 restrictions, closing bars, restaurants and hotels, and imposing an overnight curfew.The country reported 5,315 new cases a day on average in the past week using the standard PCR tests, while the number of hospitalized patients grew to 4,632 from 4,475 a week ago.  
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A new set of tight restrictions took effect Wednesday in Germany in an attempt to curb a rising number of coronavirus infections and deaths.    The hard lockdown mandates the closing of all non-essential businesses and limits private gatherings to no more than five people. The restrictions, which will remain in effect until January 10, were imposed by Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday after talks with Germany’s 16 regional governors. The government’s Robert Koch Institute,  the country’s central disease control center, reported 952 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, shattering the previous single-day record of 598 posted just last Friday.  Germany’s seven-day incidence of new cases has also set a record, rising to nearly 180 per 100,000.  Health Minister Jens Spahn called on the European Union’s regulatory agency late Tuesday to give final approval of the vaccine jointly developed by U.S. drug maker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech by Christmas Day. The vaccine is currently being administered to health care workers in Britain and the United States, after government regulators quickly approved its use after a thorough review process.  Meanwhile, the United States is on the cusp of getting a second coronavirus vaccine.Regulators with the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that its  preliminary analysis of a vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health confirmed its safety and effectiveness.    US Gives Favorable Review to Second COVID-19 VaccinePositive FDA review of Moderna vaccine comes as US hospitals ramp up inoculations with shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech The report did reveal that four volunteers in the late-stage clinical trial developed Bell’s palsy, a condition that involves temporary paralysis or weakness in a person’s facial muscles.  Three of those participants had received the vaccine, while the other was given a placebo, or a false version of the vaccine. The approval process of the two-dose vaccine is now in the hands of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which meets Thursday.  If the committee gives its stamp of approval, the FDA would then grant an emergency use of authorization for the Moderna vaccine.   White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Tuesday 6 million doses of the Moderna vaccine could be shipped out to the public by next week after the FDA grants approval.  The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed jointly by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech were administered to health care workers across the U.S. this week. Ahead of a final decision on the Moderna vaccine, the FDA granted emergency approval Tuesday of an over-the-counter COVID-19 test developed by Ellume, an Australian-based health care technology company.  The self-administered home kit returns the test results within 15-20 minutes through a smartphone application.  US FDA Announces New, Prescription-free At-home COVID Test Users can get results in as little as 20 minutes, the FDA said As the United States, Britain and other nations escalate their efforts to vaccinate their citizens against a virus that has sickened over 73.5 million people worldwide, including over 1.6 million deaths, a new study says at least a fifth of the world’s population may not have access to a COVID-19 vaccine until 2022, as wealthier nations buy more than half of next year’s potential doses. The study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health comes just days after United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned about the rise of  “vaccine nationalism” among the world’s richest nations at the expense of much poorer nations.  While First COVID-19 Vaccines Arrive, Much of the World Will Have to Wait Limited manufacturing capacity and wealthy-country preorders mean many may not see a vaccine until 2022Two of the world’s biggest annual New Year’s celebrations are either being curtailed or cancelled due to the pandemic.  New York City is banning visitors from the city’s historic Times Square to witness the iconic “ball drop” that counts down the final seconds of the previous year.  In Brazil, officials in Rio de Janeiro announced Tuesday that it is calling off its annual New Year’s Eve beach party, which normally attracts hundreds of thousands of people with live music and a spectacular fireworks display.
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The hunger relief organization Feeding America says more people are seeking help at food banks nationwide. More with VOA’s Mariama Diallo.
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Ukrainian riot police used tear gas Tuesday to clear anti-lockdown protesters from the Maidan, Kyiv’s central square and backdrop for the 2014 popular uprising that toppled former President Viktor Yanukovych. Several thousand protesters, including small-business owners, rallied against a planned nationwide coronavirus lockdown slated for January 8 — a day after the widely celebrated Orthodox Christmas holiday. Police moved in to break up the demonstration as people began pitching tents on the square. The latest anti-lockdown uprising since April but the first to turn violent, Tuesday’s protests come amid signs of a worsening pandemic and widespread claims that coronavirus case numbers are being suppressed by local and regional officials. Residents in towns and villages in Ukraine’s west and north tell VOA that hospitals are short of medical staff, who are either falling sick themselves or sometimes refusing to work without personal protective gear. Hospitals in some areas have reached capacity for intensive care patients. Authorities said 40 police officers were injured in the clashes, some of them suffering chemical burns to their eyes when protesters threw tear gas canisters back at them. Ukrainian law enforcement officers stand guard during a rally of entrepreneurs and representatives of small businesses amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Dec. 15, 2020.Protesters also suffered injuries, with some being hospitalized, according to the UNIAN news agency. Since April, small-business owners and entrepreneurs have led a string of anti-lockdown demonstrations opposing tough restrictions and weekslong quarantines that they say wreck livelihoods while failing to contain the spread. Ukrainian authorities have reported more than 909,000 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, and about 15,000 fatalities. The highest incidence rates have been recorded in Kyiv and the Cherkasy region of central Ukraine, according to the health ministry. On December 9, the Ukrainian government announced it would impose a new strict national lockdown from January 8 to 24. On Monday, the government also announced pre-holiday restrictions starting on December 19 that will prohibit large gatherings in schools, restaurants and entertainment centers. The pre-holiday restrictions limit the number of people allowed to attend religious services, and restaurants will have to close from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Ukraine’s small businesses have received little or no pandemic compensation, although the government is now offering a one-time payment of Hr 8,000 ($288). Ukrainian law enforcement officers use tear gas as they block demonstrators during a rally of entrepreneurs and representatives of small businesses amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kyiv, Ukraine, December 15, 2020.Last month, Ukraine Health Minister Maksym Stepanov warned that the country faces a “very severe” winter but said there would be no weekslong nationwide lockdown as regular weekend lockdowns were stabilizing case numbers. “I can say with confidence that if we adhere to these measures, we will be able to stop the growth, at least stabilize it where it is now,” Stepanov said in an interview with Reuters. But he conceded that, in his opinion, the winter “will be very severe in terms of morbidity and the number of seriously ill.” President Zelenskiy, who contracted the coronavirus last month, says he is overseeing preparations for the purchase of vaccines and the roll-out of a mass-inoculation program. “We must be ready with a plan of action for vaccination,” he recently said. “The state must decide who will be vaccinated first, how many patients hospitals will be able to vaccinate within a month, and most importantly — we must help medical institutions with vaccines.” The World Bank approved last week a new loan for Ukraine aimed at helping to support low-income families. The $300 million loan comes as the international financial institution has projected the poverty level in Ukraine could reach 23% by the end of the year. “The new funds will help finance Ukraine’s COVID-19 social protection emergency response by introducing fast cash transfers to individuals and households who have lost their jobs or income sources because of the pandemic,” the bank said in a statement.  
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Scientists at Japan’s space agency on Tuesday confirmed the capsule they recovered last week from their Hayabusa2 probe that had landed on an asteroid did indeed contain samples collected from that heavenly body.The Hayabusa spacecraft was launched in 2014 and arrived at the near-Earth asteroid called Ryugu in 2018. The probe spent about a year and a half orbiting, observing and eventually landing on the asteroid, where it collected samples.It headed back toward Earth last year, finally dropping its collection capsule into Earth’s atmosphere December 5. It was recovered in a remote area of Australia and delivered to the Tokyo-based Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) last week.At a press conference on Tuesday, JAXA scientists said they took their time and great care to open the capsule, to preserve any gases and other materials collected on Ryugu. Until it was opened, they could not be sure they obtained what they were after.In this photo provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), a member of JAXA retrieves a capsule dropped by Hayabusa2 in Woomera, southern Australia, Dec. 6, 2020.JAXA’s Hayabusa project manager Yuichi Tsuda said the capsule contained plenty of soil samples and gas.”It has been more than 10 years since we started this project, and six years have passed since we launched it,” he told reporters. “The asteroid soils that we dreamed of are finally in our hands.”Scientists say they believe the samples, especially ones taken from under the asteroid’s surface, contain valuable data unaffected by space radiation and other environmental factors that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on our planet.They are particularly interested in analyzing organic materials in the samples. JAXA hopes to find clues about how the materials are distributed in the solar system and are related to life on Earth. They intend to distribute portions of their samples to other researchers around the world, including scientists with the U.S. space agency, NASA.
 
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President-elect Joe Biden’s Presidential Inaugural Committee announced measures Tuesday to protect public health during an inauguration that will take place in the midst of a coronavirus crisis that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States. The committee said in a statement it is collaborating with the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies “to ensure that the inauguration … honors and resembles sacred American traditions while keeping Americans safe and preventing the spread of COVID-19.” On January 20, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take oaths of office at the U.S. Capitol with “vigorous health and safety protocols,” followed by Biden’s inaugural address, the committee said.  “The ceremony’s footprint will be extremely limited, and the parade that follows will be reimagined,” it added. President-elect Joe Biden speaks after the Electoral College formally elected him as president, Dec. 14, 2020, at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del.The committee is calling on Americans to remain at home as they celebrate the day’s inaugural activities. “The pandemic is continuing to have a significant public health impact across the nation. Americans everywhere must do their part to slow the spread of the virus: wear masks, stay home and limit gatherings. We are asking Americans to participate in inaugural events from home to protect themselves, their families, friends and communities,” said Dr. David Kessler, the committee’s chief medical adviser. President Donald Trump’s presence at the inauguration has yet to be determined. When asked during an interview broadcast Sunday with Fox News if he would attend the ceremony, Trump, still waging an unsuccessful battle to overturn election results, replied, “I don’t want to talk about that.”  As it has for months, the U.S. continues to lead the world in coronavirus infections and related deaths. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 16.5 million of the world’s 73 million coronavirus cases were in the U.S., home to more than 301,200 COVID-19 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.  
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As U.S. hospitals ramped up COVID-19 vaccinations Tuesday with the first vaccine approved for emergency use, federal regulators issued a favorable review of a second vaccine needed to combat the country’s worsening crisis.The Food and Drug Administration said its preliminary analysis of a vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health confirmed its safety and effectiveness.The FDA’s review moves the Moderna vaccine closer to regulatory authorization and comes as U.S. hospitals increased vaccinations with the shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which the FDA cleared for emergency use last week.The temperature on a freezer reads -69°C as workers move boxes containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to be shipped at the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in Portage, Michigan.In Washington, Dr. Raymond Pla, an anesthesiologist at George Washington University Hospital, was visibly emotional when he spoke to reporters after he and four of his colleagues received the vaccine.”Excitement, in my personal view, doesn’t give the appropriate amount of deference and respect and honor to the sacrifice of my colleagues in health care, some of whom have gotten sick, some of whom have died,” Pla said.Army Gen. Gustave Perna, chief officer of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine development program, said the vaccine distribution went incredibly well.The coronavirus which causes the COVID-19 disease has killed more than 300,000 Americans and infected more than 16.5 million, more than in any other country, according to the Johns Hopkins University.US Reaches Another Grim Milestone in COVID-19 PandemicMore than 300,000 Americans have now died in year-long global outbreak; Germany pleads with European Union’s drug regulators to approve coronavirus vaccine before ChristmasHealth care workers and elderly people in long-term care facilities are the first to receive the first round of 2.9 million doses at a time when cases are surging in the U.S. by tens of thousands a day.Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Steven Hahn said it is possible that 20 million Americans will be able to get vaccinated with the first of two required doses by the end of December.Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to the government’s vaccine development, told the U.S. cable news program “Fox News Sunday” that 100 million Americans might be vaccinated by the end of March.But on the ABC News show “This Week,” Hahn said it was a “significant problem” that a quarter to half of Americans, according to polls, are wary of the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, despite being approved by U.S. health regulators. Others have vowed to not be inoculated.Hahn said the government has “to be transparent on the safety” of the Pfizer vaccine, as well as on the Moderna vaccine being reviewed by regulators this week. Clinical tests showed both were 95% effective. Slaoui said that for the United States to acquire “herd immunity,” which would halt transmission of the deadly virus, the country needs about 75% or 80% of the population immunized. Slaoui said he hopes that point could be reached between May and June.”It is, however, critical that most of the American people decide and accept to take the vaccine,” Slaoui said. “We are very concerned by the hesitancy that we see.”Dr. Pla, an African-American, said he felt a personal responsibility to take the vaccine, given the high degree of reluctance within the Black community due to decades of racist practices that have both led to a lack of basic, decent care and being subjected to unethical medical research. He said “going out into the community and spreading the word” would be vital in easing fears among African-Americans and building up trust in that community.
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Doses of the first federally approved coronavirus vaccine were administered to front-line health care workers in the United States Monday. That signals what health officials call a significant turn in the fight against the virus that has claimed more than 300,000 lives in the U.S. alone. VOA’s Jesusemen  Oni has more.
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