All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Preprint: Preliminary Evidence on Long COVID in Children

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While most people appear to recover completely from COVID-19, for a significant percentage of patients, the end of the infection doesn’t necessarily signal the end of their illness. Some are left with various degrees of lung, kidney, heart, or liver damage while others are left with an array of neurological manifestations (see CDC Late Sequelae of COVID-19).

A few (of many) studies we’ve looked at include:

Frequent Neurologic Manifestations & Encephalopathy‐Associated Morbidity in Covid‐19 patients

 J. Neurology: COVID-19 As A Potential Risk Factor For Chronic Neurological. Disorders

 JASN: Acute Kidney Injury In Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19

 JAMA: Two Studies Linking SARS-CoV-2 Infection To Cardiac Injury

Some COVID patients continue to report ongoing, and often debilitating symptoms, months after they should have recovered from their infection, which are not as easily classified;  fatigue, mental `fog’, shortness of breath, joint pain, etc. which have been dubbed as `Long COVID‘. 

Last October, in UK NIHR: Living With COVID-19 (Long COVID), we looked at the potential for many patients to develop what appears to be a  Post Viral Fatigue syndrome – similar to ME/CFS – that could cause permanent disability.

The CDC describes these cases in:

Updated Nov. 10, 2020

CDC is actively working to learn more about the whole range of short- and long-term health effects associated with COVID-19. As the pandemic unfolds, we are learning that many organs besides the lungs are affected by COVID-19 and there are many ways the infection can affect someone’s health.

While most persons with COVID-19 recover and return to normal health, some patients can have symptoms that can last for weeks or even months after recovery from acute illness. Even people who are not hospitalized and who have mild illness can experience persistent or late symptoms.
Multi-year studies are underway to further investigate. CDC continues to work to identify how common these symptoms are, who is most likely to get them, and whether these symptoms eventually resolve.

(Continue . . . ) 

Last week (Thurs Jan 28th) the CDC held a COCA (Clinician Outreach & Communication Activity) Call on clinician’s experiences with `Long COVID’ cases, which is now archived for viewing. 

COCA%2BLong%2BCOVID.png

Up until now, most of the data we’ve seen on `Long COVID’ has involved adults, who are generally far more affected by COVID-19 than are adolescents and children. But as we’ve seen, not all young patients come away unscathed (see MMWR: COVID-19–Associated Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children — U.S., March–July 2020


Today we’ve a preprint study out of Italy, published last week, that looks at the prevalence of `Long COVID’ among a relatively small (n=129) cohort of children and adolescents diagnosed with COVID.

This study is limited by its small size and single-center design – and so it may not be fully representative of the larger picture – but it does provide us with some preliminary data on what has been a little studied cohort of `recovered’ COVID cases.

Follow the link to read the report in its entirety. 

Preliminary Evidence on Long COVID in children

Danilo Buonsenso, Daniel Munblit, Cristina De Rose, Dario Sinatti, Antonia Ricchiuto, Angelo Carfi, Piero Valentini

doi: https://ift.tt/3oAgA97
This article is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed [what does this mean?].


Preview PDF


Abstract


There is increasing evidence that adult patients diagnosed with acute COVID-19 suffer from Long COVID initially described in Italy.

To date, data on Long COVID in children are lacking.

We assessed persistent symptoms in pediatric patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19. More than a half reported at least one persisting symptom even after 120 days since COVID-19, with 42.6% being impaired by these symptoms during daily activities. Symptoms like fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache, insomnia, respiratory problems and palpitations were particularly frequent, as also described in adults.

The evidence that COVID-19 can have long-term impact children as well, including those with asymptomatic/paucisymptomatic COVID-19, highlight the need for pediatricians, mental health experts and policy makers of implementing measures to reduce impact of the pandemic on child’s health.

Background


There is increasing evidence that adult patients diagnosed with acute COVID-19 suffer from Long COVID initially described in Italy (1). A recent large cohort of 1733 patients from Wuhan found persistent symptoms in 76% of patients 6 months after initial diagnosis (2). To date, data on Long COVID in children are lacking. We assessed persistent symptoms in pediatric patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included all children ≤18 year-old diagnosed with microbiologically-confirmed COVID-19 in Fondazione Policlinico Univeersitario A. Gemelli IRCCS (Rome, Italy). Patients > 18 years-old or with severe disability were excluded. Caregivers were interviewed about their child’s health using a questionnaire (supplementary material) developed by the Long Covid ISARIC study group (3), for evaluation of persisting symptoms.

 

Participants were interviewed by two pediatricians, either online or in the outpatient department, from September 1st to January 1st. Participants were categorized into groups according to symptoms status during the acute phase (symptomatic/asymptomatic), need for hospitalization and time from COVID-19 diagnosis to follow-up evaluation (<60, 60-120, > 120 days). Numerical variables were compared using t-test or ANOVA, and categorical variables with χ2 or Fisher’s exact test where appropriate. All analyses were performed using R version 4.0.3 (R Foundation). This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee and all participants consented to participate.

 

Results


129 children diagnosed with COVID-19 between March and November, 2020 were enrolled (mean age of 11 ± 4.4 years, 62 (48.1%) female). Subsequently, three developed Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (2.3%) and two myocarditis (1.6%). Patients were assessed on average 162.5 ± 113.7 days after COVID-19 microbiological diagnosis. 41.8% completely recovered, 35.7% had 1 or 2 symptoms and 22.5% had 3 or more. 52.7% had at least one symptom 120 days or more after diagnosis (Table 1).

Table 2 provides details about persistence of symptoms according to severity and length of followup. Insomnia (18.6%), respiratory symptoms (including pain and chest tightness) (14.7%), nasal congestion (12.4%), fatigue (10.8%), muscle (10.1%) and joint pain (6.9%), and concentration difficulties (10.1), were the most frequently reported symptoms. Although they were more common in symptomatic or hospitalized children, they were also described in those individuals who were asymptomatic during acute phase. 29 out of the 68 (42.6%) children assessed ≥120 days from diagnosis were still distressed by these symptoms.

(Continue . . . )

 

Ralphs And Food 4 Less Plan Store Closures In Long Beach Following City’s New Grocery Worker Pay Mandate

Kroger shows true colors – don’t value employees during Covid or any other time. 601875473d7c92000901c279-eight.jpg
Grocery workers in Southern California demonstrate in front of a Food 4 Less store on Aug. 5, 2020. (UFCW 770)

Ralphs and Food 4 Less have announced plans to close grocery stores in the city of Long Beach, in the wake of elected officials voting to require a temporary $4-per-hour pay bump for local grocery workers.

The grocery chains, both part of The Kroger Co., issued a statement on Monday saying two stores will permanently close on April 17. Ralphs will shut down its store at 3380 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal and Food 4 Less will close a location at 2185 E. South Street.

In the emailed statement, a company spokesperson laid blame for the closures squarely on Long Beach’s city council.

“The irreparable harm that will come to employees and local citizens as a direct result of the City of Long Beach’s attempt to pick winners and losers, is deeply unfortunate,” the spokesperson said. “We are truly saddened that our associates and customers will ultimately be the real victims of the city council’s actions.”

GROCERY WORKERS UNION SAYS CLOSURES ARE ‘RETALIATION’

A Ralphs spokesman said nearly 200 employees currently work at the two stores, and while some may be redirected to other locations, others may be laid off permanently.

Company officials described the two stores as “underperforming” and said the city’s pay mandate left them with few options.

The local grocery workers’ union argues the closures are meant as a form of corporate punishment toward workers demanding better pay during a raging pandemic.

“This is hostile retaliation against workers who have been on the frontlines since the beginning of the pandemic, going to work every day and taking tremendous risks,” said Andrea Zinder, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers local 324.

The union said it is now exploring legal options to fight the company’s decision. Zinder said grocery chain profits have soared as consumers switched from dining out to shopping at grocery stores for homemade meals.

“Kroger has benefited greatly from the pandemic at their workers’ expense,” Zinder said. “And now they’re not willing to compensate the employees for the risks that they’re taking.”

INDUSTRY WARNS OF FURTHER LAYOFFS IF POLICY SPREADS

Officials with the city of Long Beach said in an emailed statement, “Kroger’s decision is unfortunate for workers, shoppers and the company.” The city plans to connect laid off employees with a program that aids workers in securing unemployment benefits and finding new job placements.

Long Beach’s policy was crafted to last for 120 days, giving workers a temporary hourly raise in recognition of the increased risk they have faced as COVID cases surged across Southern California this winter. Other local governments are considering similar proposals, including L.A. County and the city of L.A.

The state’s grocery industry has protested the pandemic pay policies, saying local officials are targeting grocers unfairly while ignoring other industries with public-facing workers. Industry leaders say L.A. County’s proposal amounts to a 28% wage hike, which grocers could not afford without raising prices or reducing their workforce.

The California Grocers Association immediately sued the city of Long Beach over its ordinance, which is now in effect. A court hearing on whether or not to grant the industry a preliminary injunction is set for Feb. 19.

What happened in Myanmar on the first day of the coup

The military cited election fraud in declaring a state of emergency

Soldiers at the capital Naypyitaw. Photo by Radio Free Asia. Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. https://www.rfa.org.

Myanmar’s newly elected parliament members were supposed to convene a session on February 1 to select the country’s president and vice president. Instead, the military seized power, imposed a year-long state of emergency, and detained key leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The NLD won 396 parliamentary seats in the November 2020 general election, while the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) took only 33 seats. The NLD also defeated the USDP in the 2015 election.

Since the election, the military has been contesting the results, citing alleged massive irregularities in voter lists. Election officials, in turn, have disputed the military’s claim.

According to news reports, the military has vowed to hold a new round of elections once it has implemented electoral reforms.

For many in Myanmar, the coup triggered memories of the decades-long junta era which ended after political reforms led to the partial restoration of civilian rule in 2010. Despite the USDP’s election loss in 2015, the military retained influence in parliament and other branches of government, as guaranteed under the 2008 Constitution drafted by the army.

Reports about military activity in the capital were being shared on social media in the early morning of February 1, until phone service and TV channels were suddenly cut off.

My TV right now. Both international channels and of course state channels have been closed. BBC not working either. pic.twitter.com/OiENSmorHt

— Winnie Thaw 🥲🥸 (@ThawWinnie) February 1, 2021

Physician Møe Thìt posted the following on Facebook early on the morning of the coup:

We, Myanmar citizens need the world to know what’s happening in Myanmar right now before our wifis are cut off.

They already cut off TVs broadcasting lines, phone services in order to prevent us reaching to the world.

It was only after communication lines were restored at noon that the rest of the public learned of the arrest of NLD leaders. Among those arrested were Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint

Army and police troops were deployed in public areas:

Myanmar soldiers on guard in Naypyidaw after the army overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi in a military coup. pic.twitter.com/dcdlEWRXCd

— Matthew Tostevin (@TostevinM) February 1, 2021

Myanmar soldiers deployed at City Hall in Yangon after a military coup and the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi pic.twitter.com/GqZfHNdpt2

— Matthew Tostevin (@TostevinM) February 1, 2021

Long queues formed at markets and banks in major cities. Banks were forced to suspend operations because of the disruption in the communication networks.

Many people line-up ATM machines in Yangon, panic under army coup in Myanmar photo credit: Khit Thit Media #coupdetat #Myanmarcoup #Burma #SaveMyanmar #Tatmadaw #PanicBuy pic.twitter.com/hAhu24frXH

— Wa Lone (@walone4) February 1, 2021

Saw some people stocking up on food downtown. Here’s a crowd buying rice under a banner declaring support for Aung San Suu Kyi pic.twitter.com/eKoz1GFadw

— Andrew Nachemson (@ANachemson) February 1, 2021

In addition to NLD leaders, activists and other critics of the military were reportedly also detained:

Filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi was taken by army at 3.30am at his home in Yangon. So they are going beyond political figures. They are rounding all major critical figures up. (He had previously been recently imprisoned for criticism of army) pic.twitter.com/u1IuRkRv29

— Rangoon (@Rangoon_Film) February 1, 2021

Some social media users posted images of pro-military supporters waving flags in the streets:

Military supporters parading around Yangon today #Myanmar pic.twitter.com/hvWX53Z8Df

— Andrew Nachemson (@ANachemson) February 1, 2021

Global Voices reached out to some foreign workers in Myanmar, who shared the following observations of the situation:

Today at around 6am electricity was cut off. Telephone and internet are not accessible. Myanmar people did not expect this will happen. Military said last Saturday they will not stage a coup. People are worried. But since communication lines are off, they do not know of development yet.

Another expat shared their story:

People are disheartened by the news and mostly sharing information about each other’s whereabouts and safety measures. We have all seen this coming but it’s surreal when it actually happens.

Communication networks are back since around 12 pm in my area. I’m used to disrupted signal so it was not a complete shock, though such a long blackout is unusual.

Some foreign residents expect to be evacuated soon, but some, like Yangon-based Global Voices community member Annie Zaman, highlighted the fact that evacuation is not always a simple matter:

Now we are discussing: “How to evacuate our pets?” We can’t leave our kittens behind 😭😭😭#ExpatsWithPets #CoupInBurma pic.twitter.com/5duAPT7jKx

— Annie Zaman အန်နီ (@Natrani) February 1, 2021

There were no reports of violence in the streets, but a journalist was reportedly attacked by a supporter of Buddhist nationalists with close ties to the army.

Thinzar Shunlei Yi summed up the sentiment of many activists:

I condemn the coup and on going rataliations using armed power. Our generations have suffered through hardship all our lives since 1962 military coup and its so dissapointing to see history repeats now.

However, Democracy we witnessed over these past 10 years was FAKE. And we were largely in illusions dreaming of federal democratic nation under military-drafted 2008 constitition. So I am saying all these fake democractic shows and dramas drafted by Military is now revealing its own true color.

Justice for Myanmar, a human rights group whose website was censored in 2020 for publishing reports exposing the anomalous business transactions of the military, identified Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as the main beneficiary of the coup:

Justice For Myanmar notes he is due to retire in June 2021, which threatened his political power and the business interests of he and his family. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has exploited his position as Commander-in-Chief for his personal gain, and today’s coup extends that power and privilege.

As one scholar put it, the last thing Myanmar needs today is another coup:

While everyone’s thinking about Myanmar politics please also think about Myanmar’s poor. Over 2020 lives of tens of millions have been descending into disaster w/ poverty rates soaring from 16 – 60%. Myanmar urgently needs vaccines and an equitable economic recovery (not a coup).

— Thant Myint-U (@thantmyintu) February 1, 2021

Written by Mong Palatino

COVID-19 vaccine in Africa: Caught between China’s soft-power diplomacy and the West’s vaccine nationalism, Part II 

African governments may wait till 2022 before securing a coronavirus vaccine

Nurse Nosipho Khanyile dons her PPE before entering the “Red Zone” at the special COVID-19 Field Hospital in Nasrec, Johannesburg. Image by IMF Photo/James Oatway, July 24, 2020, (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Editor’s note: This is a two-part analysis on the politics behind Africa’s procurement of the COVID-19 vaccines. The continent was forced to look towards China, rather than the West. Read Part I here 

China has deep historical roots when it comes to medical aid in Africa. 

For example, at the peak of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in February 2014, China sent medical supplies, health aid and workers to those troubled African countries. This assistance from Beijing drew the appreciation of then-President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who reportedly said, “China has always stood with Liberia as a true friend.” 

When the Ebola virus broke out, US closed embassies, evacuated diplomats and their citizens from the affected areas.China sent anti-epidemic materials as soon as possible, and sent more than 1,000 medical personnel to the areas with the worst epidemic.https://t.co/AroWhWSNW0

— ShanghaiPanda (@thinking_panda) February 7, 2020

History seems to be repeating itself — this time, with some African countries looking toward China for the vaccine to curb the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.  

China’s soft power vaccine diplomacy

China has offered COVID-19 vaccines to Nigeria and other African countries “first [and] free of charge.” Also, in December 2020, Beijing offered to build a coronavirus vaccine logistic hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while manufacturing centers for vaccine production in Egypt and Morocco.  

If China can pull this off — providing a cold-chain logistics supply in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, where climatic hot temperatures and high humidity reigns supreme — it will give them a competitive edge in this market.

Besides the commercial merit for Beijing, this intervention will positively impact the health sector on the continent, by providing the logistics for a cold-chain medical supply for the future.  

China seemed to be on the forefront of helping African countries in fighting the coronavirus scourge, long before the African Union announced plans to procure the coronavirus vaccine for the continent from Pfizer, a Western pharmaceutical company.

But Beijing’s move is being viewed with suspicion and skepticism by many. 

John Campbell, a senior fellow for Africa policy studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, described Beijing’s COVID-19 “vaccine diplomacy” as a “continuation of China’s efforts to frame itself as the solution to — rather than the cause of — the pandemic.” 

The United States Department of State recently blamed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “deadly obsession with secrecy and control” as the root cause of the pandemic. The US government alleged that the CCP failed to disclose that Wuhan laboratory researchers, experimenting with a virus genetically similar to the coronavirus, had displayed COVID-19 like symptoms as far back as autumn 2019. 

China has rejected this accusation, saying that the United States is trying to shift the blame for its poor handling of the outbreak at home. 

The World Health Organization recently sent a delegation sent to investigate the origins of the virus in Wuhan, after several months of tense negotiations. They were initially denied entry but later allowed to enter a week later. The WHO group of 10 scientists will interview staff of the Wuhan research institutes and hospitals linked to the initial outbreak.

R. Maxwell Bone and Ferdinando Cinotto, African studies scholars at the University of Cambridge, assert that coronavirus diplomacy is conducted through three Chinese core actors: the government, state-owned organizations and private firms already doing business across the continent. 

These three protagonists, the scholars assert, are united in their mission to “divert attention away from the origin of the virus within China,” and lay the “groundwork for commercial deals.” But most importantly, ramping up the CCP’s narrative “that Beijing is assisting its partners during a global crisis that it successfully responded to, while countries in the West face rising death tools and case numbers,” maintains Bone and  Cinotto. 

The CCP’s narrative about handling the coronavirus better than the West is debatable. While Wuhan, in Hubei province, celebrated its virus-free status one year after its first case was detected, Chinese authorities recently ordered a lockdown in Anxin, near the capital Beijing, after a surge in COVID-19 cases. 

China itself has  purchased 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BiTech vaccine, to be used with locally sourced vaccines, to boost immunization for its large  population. 

Meanwhile, W. Gyude Moore, former Liberian minister of public works, told CNN that “the promises concerning [the Chinese] vaccines in Africa have been really vague. There has been no timetable, only promises…I am not aware of any African country that’s taking delivery of Chinese vaccines.” 

The West’s vaccine nationalism

A vial of the COVID-19 vaccine being prepared to be administered at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. Image by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II, December 21, 2020 (CC BY 2.0).

Western governments and analysts may have a point in holding China accountable for its opaque operations that exacerbated the global coronavirus crisis, followed by their use of soft-power diplomacy when it comes to vaccine distribution in Africa. 

However, the West should be equally held accountable for creating the tough market conditions that precipitated African engagement with China, lacking viable alternatives for equitable vaccine access in the West. 

Hence, it is hypocritical to heckle China for their soft-power COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy while Western governments conveniently pursue vaccine nationalism, putting their citizens first before thinking about global, equitable vaccine distribution. 

The implication  of vaccine nationalism is evident in the case of South Africa, where the government is  paying 2.5 times more than their European counterparts for the same amount of doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine, simply because South Africa did not invest in research efforts that went into its development. 

This confirms that vaccine nationalism — in which the West cares more about  bottom lines  than fair and equitable access — is not just propaganda. More or less, developed countries are punishing less-developed ones for lacking the economic means to invest in COVID-19-related research and development.

Marco Hafner, an economist, along with four RAND Europe researchers, defined vaccine nationalism as “a situation in which countries push to get first access to a supply of vaccines” by “potentially hoarding key components for vaccine production.”

The high global demand for a coronavirus vaccine has pitched most African countries behind in the vaccine race. High-income countries have adopted vaccine nationalism by snatching up “doses at the expense of those with less means,” according to Patrick Ho, senior counsel at the New York-based International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), a global health nonprofit.

The investigation by Hafner and others revealed that COVID-19 vaccine nationalism will result in an inequitable allocation, which will eventually “cost the global economy up to $1.2 trillion [USD] a year in GDP [gross domestic product].”

The COVAX promise

In April 2020, WHO, along with the European Commission and France, launched COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility), to ensure fair and equitable access to a coronavirus vaccine across the globe. 

The Geneva-based public–private global health partnership GAVI (the Vaccine Alliance), on behalf of the COVAX facility, is responsible for the provision of “manufacturer-specific contingent volume” of vaccines that meet WHO-led specifications. 

But the COVAX program can only cater to 20 percent of the most vulnerable populations in 150 participating countries. This means that African countries, with a population of over 1.3 billion people, and with at least 2 doses of the vaccine per-person, the continent will need “at least 1.6 billion doses to meet its 60 percent vaccination target.”

This underlines the frustration of African governments in trying to secure COVID-19 vaccines, as most Western manufacturers have already sold billions of doses to rich countries who have the means to pre-order vaccines. 

African countries may not “not gain full access to affordable vaccines until after the rich world has vaccinated its people, probably past 2022,” noted Kenyan journalist John Muchangi. 

Tom Fowdy, a British political and international relations analyst, asked: “Why should Africa have to wait? And why should rich countries come first and put Africa last?” 

Meanwhile, COVID-19 mortality rates in the continent are showing no indication of slowing down. Hence, Africa needs a solution now. 

Written by Nwachukwu Egbunike

COVID-19 vaccine in Africa: Caught between China’s soft-power diplomacy and the West’s vaccine nationalism, Part I

Nigeria and Kenya are sourcing their COVID-19 vaccine from China

People take precautions in Mali against COVID-19. Image by World Bank/Ousmane Traore, March 18, 2020, (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Editor’s note: This is a two-part analysis on the politics behind Africa’s procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. The continent appears forced to look toward China, rather than the West. Read Part II here 

The Nigerian government, on January 5, signified interest in procuring COVID-19 vaccines from China.

Geoffery Onyeama, Nigeria’s foreign minister, stated that Nigeria is “engaging with China” to access COVID-19 vaccines for the country, during a press conference with Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister in Abuja.  

Today, i held a bilateral meeting with Wang Yi, visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister. Signed an Agreement to establish an intergovernmental committee to coordinate cooperation between our two countries. 🇳🇬🇨🇳 @China_emb_ng @MFA_China @NigeriaGov @NiyiAdebayo_ pic.twitter.com/vPemaQvomW

— Geoffrey Onyeama (@GeoffreyOnyeama) January 5, 2021

Onyeama’s announcement was significantly interesting as it offered an official stamp on many African countries moving toward Beijing — rather than the West — to acquire the coronavirus vaccine for their populations. Kenya has also signaled interest in China’s vaccines.

As of January 29, Nigeria had recorded 127,024 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 100,858 recoveries and 1,547 deaths. In December last year, Africa’s most populous nation recorded “a sharp increase” in COVID-19 related cases and fatalities, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. 

Between soft power diplomacy and vaccine nationalism

Why are African nations turning to China for vaccines? For one thing, China has assured African nations of deep discounts, whereas the West is mired in market-based systems linked to private pharmaceutical companies, with vaccines that come with big price tags. 

But China’s willingness to distribute vaccines to Africa as a priority — and at a discount — has analysts wondering about its use of “soft-power diplomacy” on the continent.

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., emeritus professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, describes soft power as “the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion or payment.” 

Yangzhong Huang, director of global health studies at Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations told The World that the “soft power” diplomacy in Africa using the COVID-19 vaccines is not only improving China’s image but also reframing the narrative about China’s handling of the global pandemic. Consequently, China has also “portrayed itself as a benign global power,” says Huang.  

On the other hand, the West’s vaccine nationalism approach leans on private companies and the free-market system to determine who gets the vaccine. 

As of mid-January 2021, more than 7 billion vaccine doses had been purchased globally. However,  a small group of rich countries — comprising just 16 percent of the world’s population — have acquired “4.2 billion doses” which translates to 60 percent of the COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Duke University’s Global Health Institute (DUGHI).

Canada has already preordered enough potential doses “to cover more than five times their population” and other high-income countries, like the United States, have more than enough vaccines to “cover their populations several times over,” states the DUGHI. 

The West’s vaccine nationalism has left the rest of the world — especially African countries — scrambling for alternatives.

Comparing Chinese and Western COVID-19 vaccines

Two Chinese companies, Sinovac and Sinopharm, have produced coronavirus vaccines. Sinovac’s CoronaVac is considered an  inactivated vaccine that employs “killed viral particles to expose the body’s immune system to the virus without risking a serious disease response.” Sinopharm also produces an inactivated vaccine that works similarly

Moderna and Pfizer (messenger) mRNA vaccines, on the other hand, injects an attenuated coronavirus into the body, thereby triggering “an immune response” that “produces antibodies” inside the body, which “protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies,” according to the Center for Disease Control. 

Sinovac and Sinopharm, like all inactivated vaccines, are better situated for most African climates because they can be stored in a standard refrigerator temperature, between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius. Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires cold, deep-freezer storage at minus 80 degrees C

The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine “arrives frozen to the ordering facility between minus 25 degrees to minus 15 degrees Celsius,” but can be stored at “standard refrigerator temperatures, of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, for 30 days.” Hence, it is also suitable for most rural areas in Africa. 

But the efficacy of Sinovac’s CoronaVac is wrapped in confusion. 

On January 13, CoronaVac had a 50.4 percent efficacy rate, following phase III clinical trials conducted by Brazil’s Butantan Institute, reports the South China Morning Post online newspaper.

This was a significant shortfall from data released a week earlier by the Brazilian government, which gave a 78 percent effective pass mark to the vaccine after a late-stage trial. 

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine’s efficacy is 52 percent after the first dose and rises to 95 percent after the second dose, says a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5 percent effective in preventing COVID-19.

Each dose of the Moderna vaccine costs between $32 to $37 USD, while the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine goes for $20 USD per dose. Both vaccines are given in two doses. There seems to be varying costs of CoronaVac — 200 yuan (about $30 USD) per dose in China, and between $5 to $38 USD per dose in Southeast Asian countries.

A number of countries, including Egypt, the UAE, Jordan and Indonesia, have authorized the COVID-19 vaccines produced by China for emergency use. https://t.co/PATO90Xedg

— FANG Qiu (@AmbFangQiu) January 13, 2021

The Chinese vaccines have been adopted in Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey — where they are also anticipated to be produced.

China’s ‘health silk road’ in Africa

Arrival of medical supplies at OR Tambo International Airport donated by the People’s Republic of China to South Africa to help with the fight of Covid-19. Image by GCIS, April 13, 2020, (CC BY-ND 2.0)

China’s medical cooperation in Africa started in 1963, when they sent out their first medical team to Algeria, in northern Africa. 

Over 20,000 Chinese health professionals have been working in different parts of Africa since 1963, and about 200 million Africans have been beneficiaries of Chinese medical interventions in the continent.  

China’s health aid to the continent has “grown substantially” through increased accessibility of medical services, public health systems and building “the capacity of health workers in African countries,” asserts Dr. Garrison Daly, and six other public health scholars. 

Kris Lancaster and two other colleagues from the US-based foreign policy think tank, the Council for Foreign Relations, described  the “health silk road” as the Chinese effort “to recast itself as a responsible global health leader” by promoting a “widespread public diplomacy campaign and sending medical aid worldwide.”

The health silk road is an extension of the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries.

But this health aid has been described as “opportunistic” or a manifestation of Chinese “soft power” or as an attempt to exploit the “natural resources” or curry “political favors” from African countries, according to a study conducted by Dr. Shuang Lin, a family medicine specialist in El Cajon, California, and others.  

This perception persists until today. It has, however, been amplified with the COVID-19 pandemic, following China’s magnanimous assistance to African countries to mitigate the spread of the virus. 

Written by Nwachukwu Egbunike

Rage, rage, rage. Pussy Riot releases new music video in support of Alexey Navalny and all political prisoners

The Russian performance art and activist group Pussy Riot has released a new music video dedicated to political prisoners, including jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny and Pussy Riot activist Maria Alyokhina, who is currently under house arrest. The video, which stars Pussy Riot co-founder Nadezhda (Nadya) Tolokonnikova, includes footage of police officers disrupting the shoot on the grounds that it constituted illegal “gay propaganda.” The video ends with a call to “free political prisoners.”

5,000 and counting. Photographs from the January 31 protests, where Russian law enforcement broke records for nationwide arrests

On Sunday, January 31, protesters across Russia took to the streets for the second weekend in a row to oppose the detention of opposition figure Alexey Navalny. The police response, which was harsh on January 23, was even more severe than last time — as evidenced by numerous testimonies (and videos) of officers using tasers against demonstrators. In total, more than 5,000 people were arrested countrywide, shattering last weekend’s record for the most detentions Russia has ever seen in a single day. Here’s a look at the events of January 31, in photos.

‘They asked why I don’t support Putin’ After the January 23 protest in Astrakhan, police unlawfully detained a 22-year-old student and used her social media to incite protests. Here’s her story. — Meduza

Source: ‘They asked why I don’t support Putin’ After the January 23 protest in Astrakhan, police unlawfully detained a 22-year-old student and used her social media to incite protests. Here’s her story. — Meduza