Category: Corona Virus

Medical workers wait to vaccinate people at a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic last month in Hollandale, Miss. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

Medical workers wait to vaccinate people at a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic last month in Hollandale, Miss.

A new study estimates that the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. is more than 900,000, a number 57% higher than official figures.

Worldwide, the study's authors say, the COVID-19 death count is nearing 7 million, more than double the reported number of 3.24 million.

The analysis comes from researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, who looked at excess mortality from March 2020 through May 3, 2021, compared it with what would be expected in a typical nonpandemic year, then adjusted those figures to account for a handful of other pandemic-related factors.

The final count only estimates deaths "caused directly by the SARS-CoV-2 virus," according to the study's authors. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.

Researchers estimated dramatic undercounts in countries such as India, Mexico and Russia, where they said the official death counts are some 400,000 too low in each country. In some countries including Japan, Egypt and several Central Asian nations the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's death toll estimate is more than 10 times higher than reported totals.

"The analysis just shows how challenging it has been during the pandemic to accurately track the deaths and actually, transmission of COVID. And by focusing in on the total COVID death rate, I think we bring to light just how much greater the impact of COVID has been already and may be in the future," said Dr. Christopher Murray, who heads the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

The group reached its estimates by calculating excess mortality based on a variety of sources, including official death statistics from various countries, as well as academic studies of other locations.

Then, it examined other mortality factors influenced by the pandemic. For example, some of the extra deaths were caused by increased opioid overdoses or deferred health care. On the other hand, the dramatic reduction in flu cases last winter and a modest drop in deaths caused by injury resulted in lower mortality in those categories than usual.

Researchers at UW ultimately concluded that the extra deaths not directly caused by COVID-19 were effectively offset by the other reductions in death rates, leaving them to attribute all of the net excess deaths to the coronavirus.

"When you put all that together, we conclude that the best way, the closest estimate, for the true COVID death is still excess mortality, because some of those things are on the positive side, other factors are on the negative side," Murray said.

A worker sprays disinfectant inside a temporary quarantine center for COVID-19 patients this week in Hyderabad, India. Researchers estimate more than 400,000 people have died of COVID-19 in India than has been officially reported. Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A worker sprays disinfectant inside a temporary quarantine center for COVID-19 patients this week in Hyderabad, India. Researchers estimate more than 400,000 people have died of COVID-19 in India than has been officially reported.

Experts are in agreement that official reports of COVID-19 deaths undercount the true death toll of the virus. Some countries only report deaths that take place in hospitals, or only when patients are confirmed to have been infected; others have poor health care access altogether.

"We see, for example, that when health systems get hit hard with individuals with COVID, understandably they devote their time to trying to take care of patients," Murray said.

Because of that, many academics have sought to estimate a true COVID-19 death rate to understand better how the disease spreads.

The revised statistical model used by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation team produced numbers larger than many other analyses, raising some eyebrows in the scientific community.

"I think that the overall message of this (that deaths have been substantially undercounted and in some places more than others) is likely sound, but the absolute numbers are less so for a lot of reasons," said William Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard University, in an email to NPR.

Last month, a group of researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University published a study in the medical journal JAMA that examined excess mortality rates in the U.S. through December.

While that team similarly found the number of excess deaths far exceeded the official COVID-19 death toll, it disagreed that the gap could be blamed entirely on COVID-19 and not other causes.

"Their estimate of excess deaths is enormous and inconsistent with our research and others," said Dr. Steven Woolf, who led the Virginia Commonwealth team. "There are a lot of assumptions and educated guesses built into their model."

Other researchers applauded the UW study, calling the researchers' effort to produce a global model important, especially in identifying countries with small reported outbreaks but larger estimates of a true death toll, which could indicate the virus is spreading more widely than previously thought.

"We need to better understand the impact of COVID across the globe so that countries can understand the trajectory of the pandemic and figure out where to deploy additional resources, like testing supplies and vaccines to stop the spread," said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins.

Researchers at UW also released an updated forecast for the COVID-19 death count worldwide, estimating that roughly 2.5 million more people will die of COVID-19 between now and Sept. 1, driven in part by the dramatic surge of cases in India.

In the United States, researchers estimated roughly 44,000 more people will die of COVID-19 by September.

NPR science correspondent Rob Stein contributed to this report.

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New Study Estimates More Than 900000 People Have Died Of COVID-19 In U.S. - NPR

Delhi and Uttar Pradesh extended their ongoing lockdown till May 17 as a large part of the country remained under strict curbs due to the raging COVID pandemic. Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Puducherry will also have a two-week shutdown starting Monday.

In the Northeast, Mizoram government has imposed a seven-day complete lockdown from Monday and Sikkim has lockdown-like restrictions till May 16.

Requirement of a positive test for the COVID-19 virus is not mandatory for admission to a COVID-19 health facility and no patient will be refused services on any count, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, announcing the revised national policy for admission to various categories of COVID-19 facilities.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday chaired the 25th meeting of the high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 and reiterated the importance of full protection through two COVID-19 vaccine doses.

You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.

Here are the latest updates:

Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on Sunday extended till May 17 their ongoing lockdown and corona curfew respectively as a large part of the country remained under strict curbs due to the raging COVID pandemic with 4,03,738 new cases and 4,092 deaths recorded in a day.

Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Puducherry will also have a two-week shutdown starting Monday, while in Karnataka stringent lockdown-like restrictions will come into effect till May 24 . On Saturday, Kerala came under a nine-day complete lockdown.

In the Northeast, Mizoram government has imposed a seven-day complete lockdown from Monday and Sikkim has lockdown-like restrictions till May 16.

-PTI

New Delhi

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 9 said GST exemption to domestic supplies and commercial import of COVID-19 drugs, vaccines and oxygen concentrators would make these items costlier for consumers as manufacturers would not be able to offset the taxes paid on inputs.

Earlier in the day Ms. Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider exempting organisations, agencies and individuals supplying equipment and drugs related to the management of the COVID-19 pandemic from customs duty and other Central taxes. Vikas Dhoot

New Delhi

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday attacked the Centre over the export of coronavirus vaccines, saying a large number of lives could have been saved in India if the doses were given to people in the country first.

He said When the vaccine was developed, we all thought that people would not die and hoped that this would get better soon.

Mr. Sisodia said Indian vaccines have been sold to foreign countries when people are dying at home. This is being done by the Modi government to build its image in the world instead of saving people at home. Nikhil M. Babu

Uttar Pradesh

Alarmed by deaths in recent days among AMU teachers due to COVID and COVID-like symptoms, Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor wrote to the ICMR on May 9, urging it to study the infection variant circulating around the university campus.

In a letter to the director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the V-C said 16 serving and 18 retired teachers besides other employees of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) have succumbed to the infection in the past 18 days.

There is a possibility that "a particular variant may be circulating in areas around the AMU campus and surrounding localities, which has led to these deaths", he said, stressing the need for the study to control the spread of the virus. PTI

Maharashtra

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday stressed on the role of private doctors, specially family physicians, in the fight against COVID-19, saying they can help in early diagnosis of the infection in their patients and facilitate timely treatment for them.

Addressing around 700 private doctors from across the state during a meeting held via video conference, Mr. Thackeray appealed to them to join hands with the state administration to curb spread of the viral infection. PTI

Madhya Pradesh

The district administration extended the COVID-19 induced curfew in the Madhya Pradesh capital till May 17, an official said.

The curfew was supposed to be lifted at 6 am on May 10.

Enforced on April 12 given the rise in coronavirus positive cases, the curfew was later extended subsequently after every one week till May 10.

"The corona curfew is extended in the areas under the Bhopal Municipal Corporation and Berasia town till 6 am on May 17 as per the order issued by district collector Avinash Lavaniyam," the official said.

He said essential services and emergency travel are exempted from the purview of the restrictions on the movement of people. PTI

South Africa

South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has said that four cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus have been detected in the country, but there was no cause for panic as all such cases were quarantined.

The four cases of B.1.617.2 [Indian variant of coronavirus] have been detected in Gauteng [2] and KwaZulu-Natal [2] and all have a history of recent arrival from India. All cases have been isolated and managed according to the national COVID-19 case management guidelines and contact tracing has been performed in order to limit the spread of this variant, Mr. Mkhize said in a statement on May 8.

Kerala

To address the growing need for medical oxygen in the wake of the rise in COVID-19 cases, the Kasaragod district administration with the support of local bodies is setting up an oxygen plant in the district.

District Collector D. Sajith Babu told The Hindu that the plant which would be set up on the Chattanchal Industrial Estate would provide 200 oxygen cylinders a day.

He said the plant would be a public sector undertaking managed by the district panchayat.

New Delhi

Delhi received just 499 metric tonnes of oxygen on May 8 against the average supply of 700 MT ordered by the Supreme Court, AAP MLA Raghav Chadha said on May 9.

Over the last week, the city got an average of 533 MT oxygen daily, which is 76% of the quantity directed by the SC.

On May 8, only four healthcare facilities in the national capital, with 1,271 oxygen beds, sent out oxygen shortage SOS calls, the city government said.

The Delhi government supplied 15.50 MT of oxygen to these hospitals, according to official data. PTI

Gujarat

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on Sunday said he has recovered from COVID-19 infection and got discharged from a hospital, where he was admitted over two weeks back.

Mr Patel, 64, was on April 24 admitted to Ahmedabad's UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre after testing positive for coronavirus.

"After 15 days of treatment at UN Mehta Hospital, I have been discharged today. With the blessings of God and your best wishes, I am recovering fast," Mr Patel, who is also the state Health Minister, said in a post on Twitter.

He said he was thankful to people, doctors and staff members of the hospital for their "best wishes and affection".

"I need more rest as per the advice of the doctors, and hence I request your kind support," Patel added. - PTI

Gujarat

Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel's father died on Sunday at a hospital in Ahmedabad where he was beingundergoing treatment for COVID-19, a party leader said.

Later, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani spoke to Mr. Patel over phone and conveyed his condolences, a government release said. - PTI

Uttar Pradesh

Some hospitals in Uttar Pradesh are consuming oxygen several times higher than the average, the State government said on Sunday based on the preliminary report of an oxygen audit conducted by it.

Taking note of it, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the health and medical education departments to coordinate with such hospitals and take action to balance the consumption. - Omar Rashid

Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu Cabinet led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin advised authorities to ensure that medical oxygen supplied to government and private hospitals is being utilised properly and to make sure that it is not wasted as the State is supplying it amidst several constraints.

During the meeting, Mr. Stalin also advised the authorities to increase awareness of the benefits of vaccination and take steps to fully utilise the vaccines available across the State. - T.K. Rohit

Kerala

The State police actively dissuaded inessential travel on the second day of the lockdown on Sunday.

Law enforcers flagged down vehicles and challenged drivers and passengers to state their reason for travel. The clampdown on journeying will continue till May 16. - G. Anand

West Bengal

West BengalChief Minister Mamata Banerjeeon Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to waive all forms of taxes and customs duty on equipment and drugs being used to fight theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Ms. Banerjee also urged Modi to strengthen health infrastructure and augment supplies of equipment, medicines and oxygen for treatment of coronavirus-positive patients.

Jammu and Kashmir

The Border Roads Organization (BRO) conducted several cycling expeditions over eight days, covering 900 kms, in Ladakh to spread awareness on measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The event was organised as part the "Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav" and its 61st Raising Day.

Such expeditions foster a spirit of adventure, sportsmanship and camaraderie, in addition to reinforcing a connect with the local population, BRO officials said. Members of Project Himank and Project Vijayak carried out these cycling expeditions in Ladakh from April 30 to May 7.

Uttar Pradesh

With the arrest of seven persons, the Noida police on Saturday claimed to have busted a gang that sold vials of injections used in pneumonia treatment packaged as remdesivir.

Remdesivir is an antiviral drug that is being used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Due to its high demand, it is not easily available in the market.

While some of the accused work as nursing staff with hospitals in Delhi-NCR, others are medical representatives of pharmaceutical companies, police said. The accused used their credentials to target gullible people who needed remdesivir injections in hospitals and at pharmacies, they said.

The accused sold a vial between 40,000 and 45,000 when it normally does not cost more than 3,500 depending on the manufacturer, the police said.

New Delhi

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said the lockdown in the national capital has been extended by another week.

Cases have come down but we need to extend the lockdown. If we do not, we will lose what we have gained. We need to save lives at this point despite the hardships and will extend it by another week, said Mr, Kejriwal.

Because of the lockdown, new cases have started coming down with positivity rate coming below 25% over the past few days.

We have used the lockdown to improve our health infrastructure. Over the past few days our oxygen situation has also improved and we have improved the system, he said.

Vaccine stock is low but we have asked for more vaccines and hopefully the Centre will provide it, Mr. Kejriwal said, adding that the Metro services will also be shut this week.

Karnataka

Vaccination for those aged between18 and 44 will be available at all major government hospitals and medical colleges from May 10, Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar announced on May 9.

According to a release, starting May 10, COVID-19 vaccination for the 18 to 44 years age group will be provided at KC General Hospital, Jayanagar General Hospital, Sir C.V. Raman General Hospital, government medical colleges, ESI hospital and NIMHANS in Bengaluru.

In other districts, initially, the vaccination will be provided at district hospitals, government medical colleges and all taluka hospitals. The number of vaccination centres will be increased as and when more vaccines become available, the Minister said.

UAE

Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates will begin shipping aid for free into India to help fight a crushing outbreak of the coronavirus, the airline said Sunday.

The offer by Emirates, which has some 95 flights weekly to nine cities, comes as air freight costs have skyrocketed. That's as air cargo demand has risen to its highest recorded level ever amid the pandemic, which has seen carriers including Emirates fly cargo in otherwise-empty passenger seats.

Tamil NAdu

With a view to augment the supply of medical oxygen, Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) NLC India Ltd. (NLCIL) is in the process of setting up nine Pressure Swing Adsorption Medical Oxygen Plants at its project sites, including Neyveli and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, and sites across the country.

Tenders have been floated for the plants and once the process is completed, they will be set up within a month.

The move is in line with the direction of the Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi to PSUs under its fold to set up oxygen plants to meet the rise in demand for medical oxygen in hospitals across the country.

Karnataka on Saturday reported 47,563 new cases of COVID-19 and 21,534 were from Bengaluru Urban, while there were 482 more deaths.

The State, with high incidence everyday, had 5,48,841 active patients. The test positivity rate (TPR) for the day stood at 30.28%.

The daily testing level stood at 1,57,027, including 1,46,586 RT-PCR tests.

Keralas COVID-19 worries persisted with 41,971 new cases recorded on Saturday from 1,48,546 samples, representing an average TPR of 28.25%. The State had 4,17,101 active cases.

A record number of 64 recent deaths were added to the State toll.

Kerala went into a nine-day lockdown on Saturday bringing normal life to a near standstill.

Tamil Nadu

The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has urged Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu to issue appropriate instructions to the police and make sure that they do not prevent lawyers from visiting courts or their offices during the strict lockdown to be imposed from May 10 to 24. BCTNP chairman P.S. Amalraj said there should not be any hindrance to lawyers since the judiciary and courts had been exempted from the lockdown.

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Coronavirus live updates | COVID-19 induced curfew extended in Bhopal till May 17 - The Hindu

The Duchess of Sussex believes women should be prioritised as the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

The 39-year-old royal addressed viewers of the Vax Live concert on Saturday night (08.05.21) after she and husband Prince Harry acted as campaign chairs for the event, which supports COVID-19 vaccinations across the globe and featured performances from stars such as Jennifer Lopez and Foo Fighters.

In a pre-recorded message, Meghan said: "The past year has been defined by communities coming together tirelessly and heroically to tackle COVID-19. We've gathered tonight because the road ahead is getting brighter.

"But it's going to take every one of us to find our way forward. As campaign chairs of Vax Live, my husband and I believe it's critical that our recovery prioritises the health, safety and success for everyone - and particularly women, who have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic."

The former actress - making her first TV appearance since her and The Duke of Sussex's tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March - told viewers that "women, and especially women of colour, have seen a generation of economic gain wiped out" during the pandemic and can only "rebuild" once jabs have been distributed fairly across the world.

Meghan said: "But if we work together to bring vaccines to every country and continent, insist that vaccines are equitably distributed and fairly priced, and ensure that governments around the world are donating their additional vaccines to countries in need, then we can begin to fully rebuild.

"Not only to restore us to where we were before, but to go further, and rapidly advance the conditions, opportunity, and mobility for women everywhere."

The duchess - who was known as Meghan Markle before she married Prince Harry - admits that the campaign is of particular importance as she and her husband are expecting a baby daughter.

Meghan - who shares son Archie, two, with Harry - said: "My husband and I are thrilled to soon be welcoming a daughter.

"It's a feeling of joy we share with millions of other families around the world. When we think of her, we think of all the young women and girls around the globe who must be given the ability and the support to lead us forward."

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Duchess of Sussex wants women to be the focus of coronavirus recovery - Inside NoVA

InvestorPlace

AT&T (NYSE:T) continues to face strong pressures on multiple fronts and the companys longer term outlook appears to be particularly negative. As a result, I recommend that investors sell T stock into its recent strength. Source: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock Although AT&T reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on April 22, driven by the strength of its mobility business, the latter unit will likely face sizeable margin pressures and/or market share losses as inflation heats up. Also likely to drag down the telecom companys shares over time are its large debt and accelerated cord-cutting. Finally, in the long-term, the companys broadbands unit could be hit with tough competition from Elon Musks Starlink service. Mobility Margin Pressures In the wake of AT&Ts Q1 results, research firm MoffettNathanson stated that the company was able to continue offering attractive discounts to its wireless customers. But in the face of rising inflation, the company will likely have the uncomfortable choice of curtailing those discounts, potentially leading to major market share losses, or causing its wireless profit margins to fall meaningfully.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Further, the unit may have gotten a boost from the novel-coronavirus pandemic as many consumers likely spent less money on experiences and more on computer hardware, including cell phones and tablets. That trend, of course, is expected to fade going forward as the economy reopens. Debt, Cord Cutting and Ad Revenue As of the end of the first quarter, AT&T had a huge debt load of $169 billion., and its net debt was equal to 3.1 times its EBITDA, excluding certain items. There are some indications that the company could have trouble paying off its debt going forward. And if AT&T has to cut its dividend (the shares have a gigantic forward dividend yield of 6.6%) in order to pay down its debt, T stock is likely to dive sharply. 7 Stocks to Buy Right Now With All Eyes on Crypto Cord-cutting continues to be problematic for AT&T, as its premium video subscribers tumbled by 3 million last year and 620,000 last quarter. And according to S&P, in-line with previous predictions Ive made, cord-cutting is expected to generally accelerate going forward. The revenue of the companys Warner Media unit jumped 9.8% YOY as its ad sales jumped 18.5% YOY amid the economic reopening trend. Although the reopening will continue to boost ad revenue in the near-term and medium-term, I believe that, over the longer run, inflation may cause the companys ad revenue to fall meaningfully. Specifically, as companies profit margins drop due to higher input costs, many of them may react by cutting their ad budgets. Potential Competition From Starlink For many years, I have believed that tech companies could disrupt the somewhat antiquated broadband internet services offered by the cable and telecom companies. So far, this hasnt happened yet, but now Elon Musk, the man who revolutionized automobiles, is entering the sector. The Starlink satellite internet service, provided by Musks SpaceX company, has gotten off the ground (no pun intended). Although Starlink is only offering internet service in limited areas at this point, by the end of this year, its expected to be available in most of the world, although its only seeking to serve 5 million U.S. households at this point. Still, as technology and Starlinks innovations advance, I think that the services capacity will surge and its price will decrease. Since AT&T Fiber added a net total of 235,000 consumer subscribers last quarter, competition from Starlink would likely cause a serious problem for AT&T and T stock. The Bottom Line on T Stock AT&T faces an array of threats, including margin pressures, cord-cutting, inflation, and a huge debt load. Moreover, the company only expects its revenue to inch up 1% this year. Given these points, investors should sell T stock. On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article. Larry Ramer has conducted research and written articles on U.S. stocks for 14 years. He has been employed by The Fly and Israels largest business newspaper, Globes. Larry began writing columns for InvestorPlace in 2015. Among his highly successful, contrarian picks have been GE, solar stocks, and Snap. You can reach him on StockTwits at @larryramer. More From InvestorPlace Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG It doesnt matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next Potential 500% Winner Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2 Says Buy THIS Now The post AT&T Is Ailing, and Investors Should Unload T Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.

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U.S. turning the corner on coronavirus pandemic -White House's Zients - Yahoo Finance

Coronavirus: World leaders and drugmakers weigh in on patent waiver proposal - as it happened  Financial Times

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Coronavirus: World leaders and drugmakers weigh in on patent waiver proposal - as it happened - Financial Times

An empty hotel and beach which have opened for visitors is seen in Karon, Phuket Island, Thailand March 31, 2021. Picture taken March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo

Thailand expects to offer the Moderna (MRNA.O) vaccine to most of its population soon as it steps up the rollout of its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, a health official said on Saturday.

The latest drive comes amid growing public criticism of the slow rollout of free vaccinations offered by the government, which stands at 1.73 million shots so far - less than 1% of its population.

Health authorities have yet to start mass vaccinations even as the tourism-reliant country struggles with a third wave of infections.

The government expects 61 million shots of AstraZeneca to be produced locally from June. But these vaccinations and those from Moderna will not be offered free.

Moderna last month applied for vaccine registration in Thailand, which should be approved soon, said Withoon Danwiboon, head of the Government Pharmaceutical Organization.

"What we expect from Moderna is its commitment on how soon they will bring in their vaccine," he said.

India's Bharat Biotech has started the application process for vaccine registration while China's Sinopharm has yet to apply, he said.

Thailand has so far approved the vaccines of Sinovac Biotech (SVA.O), AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N). read more

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thailand would try to secure more vaccines, on top of existing orders of about 65 million.

"Our current target is for 100 million doses of vaccines, but Thailand should have 150 million doses or more," he posted on his Facebook page on Saturday.

Thailand's latest outbreak has been exacerbated by the highly transmissible UK coronavirus B.1.1.7 variant, leading to more than 52,000 infections and 288 fatalities in just over five weeks.

On Saturday, 2,419 new coronavirus cases were reported, with 19 new deaths.

($1 = 31.04 baht)

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Thailand set to boost COVID-19 vaccinations, expects to approve Moderna shots - Reuters

HONOLULU (KHON2) Friday, May 7, was the first day that Hawaii residents were able to upload their vaccination cards to the Safe Travels website.

The State admitted that there were some hiccups.

Get Hawaiis latest news sent to your inbox, click here to subscribe to News 2 You, a daily newsletter.

Uploading the vaccination card will allow Hawaii residents to travel inter-island without getting tested starting on Tuesday, May 11. Officials say there were many who could not get it done.

Maybe because its a surge, people all want to get on now. So be patient, if it doesnt work right now, go back in a few hours and try again, said Maui Mayor Mike Victorino.

The State says more than 1,400 vaccination cards were uploaded on the first day. Those who are having problems are advised to sure the information on the vaccination card and the flight are accurate. Screeners can also check the card itself when the traveler arrives. Officials recommend bringing the physical vaccination card, just to be sure.

Mayor Victorino says he is adding extra screeners come Tuesday, but stresses the importance for travelers to have patience then as well.

Were going through a new age a new change so lets all be patient. Go a little earlier to the airport, be prepared for a little delay. When you get off the plane, prepare for a little delay, said Mayor Victorino.

The State says travelers can only upload their vaccination card if it is linked to a trip. Theyre trying to develop the system so the uploaded card can be saved for future trips.

Those who are able to upload their vaccination card will get a QR code, which can be printed or save on a mobile phone. Screeners will use that code to verify all the information that is on the travelers Safe Travels profile.

Theyll be looking at your ID to make sure thats you and it matches whats on the card, and if upon the screeners review they deem it legitimate, you will be successfully screened in, said Elton Ushio, Kauai Emergency Management administrator.

Counties like Maui and the Big Island are already checking vaccination cards from mainland travelers, which allows them to bypass the post-arrival test. Officials there say they already have some experience on what to expect starting Tuesday.

Nothing will really change for us as far as our testing protocols and our checking protocols of those who are coming in with a vaccination, because we already have the infrastructure in place to handle that, said Cyrus Johnasen, from the Hawaii County Mayors Office.

Click here to visitthe Safe Travels Hawaii website.

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A few hiccups on day 1 of coronavirus vaccination card uploads to Hawaii Safe Travels - KHON2

Delhi India continues to break records for new COVID-19 infections and deaths. On Friday the Health Ministry said 414,188 new cases were confirmed and 3,915 more deaths added to the country's toll, which brought the total number of fatalities blamed on the coronavirus in India to more than 234,000.

The country has been scrambling to ramp-up supplies of oxygen and vaccines to alleviate dire shortages that have forced Indians to line up for hours, even days.

CBS News correspondent Chris Livesay met 18-year-old Rohin Sharma, who'd already waited for five hours under the hot New Delhi sun. Filling up his oxygen canisters was a matter of life and death.

"My mother is in critical," he told CBS News.

But it could be worse. CBS News also met Sonu Yadav, who'd been waiting in the line for two days.

As a last resort, others come to a Sikh temple in the Indian capital where the anguished, many too weak to leave their cars, receive a trickle of oxygen.

As loved-ones fan the sick in the stifling heat, they're at least given a moment of reprieve. For some, it may be their last.

In COVID-stricken India, even the healthy must show extraordinary patience. In countless lines across India's cities, people are fighting for their survival, waiting for their shot of a vaccine.

At one facility in the capital, CBS News met desperate people whose patience was running out, along with the shots available for the day.

Despite being one of the biggest vaccine producers in the world, India has only inoculated about 3% of its population, according to epidemiologist Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan.

"As a proportion of India's population, it is miniscule," Laxminarayan told CBS News. "We need to increase vaccine supply by five-times where it is right now. That's a tall order... But unless we start working on that right now, it won't happen."

And it's not just Indian lives at stake.

"As long as there is a possibility of new variants that can get past the vaccine, we are all at risk," he said.

The government said on Friday that it had administered nearly 2 million doses over the past 24 hours. But epidemiologists say it will take a lot more than that to reach the country's immense population of almost 1.4 billion people.

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Indians spend days in line for COVID vaccines and oxygen as coronavirus infections set another record - CBS News

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Coronavirus: The Hill and the Headlines, May 2021 # 2 | Hogan Lovells - JDSupra - JD Supra

When the coronavirus pandemic took hold, it affected nearly every industry as countries around the world closed their borders to prevent the spread of the virus.

Businesses shuttered, domestic and international travel came to a halt, and commuters became infrequent as most people began to work or learn from home. These sudden stops caused a decrease in economic activity and fossil fuel consumption.

Thats why a reader asked Curious Texas: With the world having now been significantly shut down for more than a year, how has the climate been affected?

According to the International Energy Agency, global CO2 emissions fell by 5.8% in 2020 about two gigatons due to a sharp decrease in demand for carbon-intensive fuels like coal and oil.

It was five times greater than the 2009 decline that followed the global economic crisis, and it is the largest decline reported by the agency. And as demand for oil and coal decreased, renewable energy use increased 3%, the agency reported.

However, as vaccines began to roll out and restrictions were lifted, CO2 emissions started to rebound late last year and into 2021. The agency projects that global carbon emissions will grow by 4.8% this year as demand for coal and oil grows.

This is a dire warning that the economic recovery from the COVID crisis is currently anything but sustainable for our climate, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement. Unless governments around the world move rapidly to start cutting emissions, we are likely to face an even worse situation in 2022.

The agency said that while there is a rebound, U.S. CO2 emissions in 2021 are expected to stay below 2019 levels.

Luke Metzger is executive director of Environment Texas, an organization that campaigns for policies that benefit the environment. Metzger said the 2020 decline in emissions had a minor impact on the climate, but not enough to reduce pollution as a whole.

In order to avoid the worst effects of global warming including more frequent and severe extreme weather Metzger said an overarching goal for many countries and organizations is to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050.

We didnt take advantage of the opportunity to kind of implement the policies and make the investments that would lead us to sustained reductions in emissions, he said.

Those policies include investing in wind and solar power, bolstering transportation with electric cars and moving toward energy-efficient homes, Metzger said.

In May 2020, the Dallas City Council approved the Comprehensive Environmental & Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the effects of climate change. The plan has more than 90 action items to address issues such as renewable energy, green spaces and transportation.

Katy Evans, a climate coordinator for the citys Comprehensive Environmental & Climate Action Plan, said the team has made progress on 48 action items in the last year. Though the pandemic made some action items like community events more difficult, Evans said none of the goals have changed.

We received additional money in the budget for CECAP initiatives, she said. CECAP has largely been unaffected by overall budget constraints. Its just kind of shifted the order of operations in terms of implementation, just a little bit.

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How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the climate? Curious Texas investigates - The Dallas Morning News