Friday, May 22, 2020

Coronavirus News (108)



What Xi knew: pressure builds on China’s leader his government now faces the most daunting set of economic and financial challenges since Deng Xiaoping began to steer the country out of the wreckage of the cultural revolution in 1979............. what he knew, what he did and what he didn’t do during a critical 13-day period preceding China’s acknowledgment on January 20 that coronavirus was highly contagious. ......... it is not yet clear whether “the Chinese economy can recover after this shock, especially after the expected restructuring of global supply chains and another escalation in US-China tensions”. ........ After largely disappearing from view in late January and early February, he finally showed up on the front lines of the battle against coronavirus on February 10 and has since led

the most effective long-term containment plan among the world’s most populous nations.

......... Mr Xi’s cause has been helped by the chaotic response to coronavirus in the US and parts of Europe. ......... “Then the virus spread across the world and death tolls were much higher elsewhere. People changed their minds partly because of what Xi did right, but more because of other countries’ failures.” ......... national health officials warned on January 14 in an internal meeting that China faced a “severe and complex public health event”, adding that “the risk of transmission and spread is high”. But Beijing did not make a public announcement until January 20......... Mr Xi’s disappearing act in late January and early February could indicate that even China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong was finding it difficult to get to the bottom of what was happening in Wuhan ...........

“The small infection numbers outside Hubei are related to low testing rates,” says one Chinese doctor who asked not to be named. “We did not have many test sites outside Hubei. If we want to figure out the real infection rate, we need to conduct large-scale antibody testing to see how many people used to be infected.”

........ By contrast, the US response continues to vary depending on the approaches adopted by state governors, leading to multiple Wuhan-sized infection clusters and stubbornly high daily infection and fatality counts.


Covid-19 will blight the prospects of a generation What a lousy time to graduate.

Coronavirus: AstraZeneca ready to supply potential vaccine in September Drugs giant AstraZeneca has announced it is ready to provide a potential new coronavirus vaccine from September. .......The firm said it had concluded deals to deliver at least 400 million doses of the vaccine, which it is developing with Oxford University........AstraZeneca said it was capable of producing one billion doses of the AZD1222 vaccine this year and next. ......... Initial trials are under way and AstraZeneca said it recognised that the vaccine might not work. ....... Scientists have warned that a coronavirus vaccine, if developed, might not confer full immunity, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that

a vaccine might never be found

....... Despite these reservations, intensive research continues, with about 80 groups around the world working on possible vaccines. ........ Specifically, it said it had received support of more than $1bn from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the development, production and delivery of the vaccine


Coronavirus: US health official warns of dangerous second wave a fresh outbreak would likely coincide with the flu season .......... It would put "unimaginable strain" on the US health care system ........

A post-mortem examination has revealed that a person who died at home on 6 February in Santa Clara county is now the first known fatality in the US.

..... the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through".


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