Tag: Issues

Categories
Health

She Suffered Stability Points for Years. Was It a Mind Tumor?

She Suffered Balance Issues for Years. Was It a Brain Tumor?

But when he saw the dental CT, he immediately ordered a conventional CT of her head. The dental scan is designed to get a three dimensional image of the jaw and teeth so it cannot be expected to show the entire skull. Full CT confirmed that there was a small mass in the left sinus. Based on her appearance, her doctor suspected it was a remnant of an infection from the years before. But on the right side was something else: a mass the size of a strawberry had destroyed much of the mastoid bone just behind her ear. It was in the same location as the much smaller abnormality seen in the first few years of MRI. Now it was big enough to compress one of the vessels that led to the jugular vein. The radiologist said it looked like an infection. Or possibly a rare type of bone cancer.

Since cancer was possible, the patient decided she needed a second opinion. She reached out to the Mayo Clinic’s Arizona office in Phoenix, and two weeks later she was supposed to be Dr. Visit Peter Weisskopf. Weisskopf listened as the patient described the dizziness, tinnitus, and hearing loss, as well as debilitating fatigue and the terrible feeling of impending doom. “I’m not sure this mass could be causing all of this,” he said, but he agreed that an MRI would provide important diagnostic information. He suspected that she had something known as a cholesteatoma. These are benign cell growths that become trapped in the ear – or rarely, as in this patient’s case – in the brain and begin to grow. Sometimes these cells are imported into the ear after a chronic infection, but most of the time they stay there during the development of the fetus.

Weisskopf checked the MRI. As expected, the brain tissue showed up as light and dark gray stripes, surrounded by fluid that appears black. But just behind this patient’s ear, embedded in the lower edge of the mastoid bone of the skull, was a large bright white cloud. Because of this appearance, Weisskopf knew what she had. It was a cholesteatoma. Although this is not a cancer, these types of tumors need to be removed. If they stay in place, they will continue to enlarge until they cause real problems. The patient really wanted to have the thing removed. She was sure that it must be behind the symptoms she had been living with over the years.

Removing the bulk required two surgeries, the second late last spring. But it was worth it, the patient told me. The worst symptoms have completely disappeared. Her tiredness and feelings of oppression and doom disappeared after the first operation. But even after the second she still has the tinnitus, which is sometimes very loud. She still has problems with her balance. Your hearing is not as good as it used to be.

Weisskopf does not believe that the mass caused the patient’s symptoms. The patient respectfully disagrees; Where it really matters, with her mood, her well-being, she feels back to something like her old self. And while her doctor can’t make the connection, she’s sure it all came from this growth, which she thought might not have been quite as harmless as her doctors and textbooks say.

Lisa Sanders, MD is a contributing writer for the magazine. Her latest book is Diagnosis: Solving the Most Confusing Medical Mysteries. When you have a resolved case you like Dr. To tell Sanders, write to Lisa at .Sandersmd @ gmail.com.

Categories
Health

Biden speaks on U.S. vaccination plan after CDC chief points dire warning

Biden speaks on U.S. vaccination plan after CDC chief issues dire warning

[The stream is slated to start at 2:10 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]

President Joe Biden made a comment on Monday on the government’s Covid-19 measures and vaccination efforts across the country.

Biden’s remarks come just hours after the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Walensky had given reporters a grim warning. She said she was concerned that the US was facing “impending doom” as daily Covid-19 cases rise again and threaten to send more people to hospital even as vaccinations increase across the country.

U.S. health officials are urging Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible while following pandemic safety measures.

A CDC study of health care workers and other key workers published Monday found that Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines were 80% effective against coronavirus infections two weeks after a single dose. Two doses were better than one, with vaccines effectiveness increasing to 90% two weeks after the second dose, the agency found.

Categories
Health

All the problems and issues the shot has confronted

All the issues and problems the shot has faced

The Covid vaccine Petra Moinar prepares syringes with the AstraZeneca vaccine before it is administered on March 8, 2021 at the Battersea Arts Center in London, England.

Chris J Ratcliffe | Getty Images News | Getty Images

AstraZeneca’s Covid shot, dubbed the “Vaccine for the World”, has had high hopes since its inception. However, unlike other coronavirus vaccines, the shot developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has been plagued from problem to problem.

AstraZeneca’s problems began almost as soon as preliminary trial data was released and have continued ever since.

The drug maker “seems to be having a real PR problem in the US and Europe,” Sunaina Sinha Haldea, managing partner of Cebile Capital, told CNBC on Thursday, warning that its “PR problem is raising confidence in the vaccine outdoors could undermine “the UK”

Here is a timeline of all the issues that AstraZeneca has encountered over the past year:

November 2020 – process data dispute

AstraZeneca released an interim clinical trial analysis showing that its Covid vaccine has an average of 70% effectiveness in protecting against the virus. The result was initially welcomed by the global community, which was already supported by positive results for the recordings by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.

Upon further examination, it became clear that the 70% figure came from the combination of the analyzes of two separate dosage regimens within the experiments. One dosing regimen showed 90% effectiveness when subjects received half a dose followed by a full dose at least a month apart. The other showed 62% effectiveness when given two full doses at least one month apart.

AstraZeneca admitted that the half-dose regimen was a mistake, but described it as a “useful mistake” and a “coincidence”. However, it has been criticized by US experts, and AstraZeneca’s chance announcement of the bug was arguably the start of its reputational problems.

January 2021 – delivery dispute

In early January, the UK began rolling out the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine. It had an added bonus for the country: the majority of its cans would be made in the UK.

It wasn’t long, however, before a dispute over supplies with the European Union began after reports that the drug maker was failing to make its contracted supplies to the bloc.

A very public dispute over contracts erupted, sparking a history of bitter relations between the EU and the UK and the Anglo-Swedish drug maker. The EU has made waves suggesting AstraZeneca is rerouting supplies from the UK to the block

January 2021 – Effectiveness in disputes over 65 years of age

90 year old Margaret Keenan is greeted by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first patient in the UK to receive the Pfizer / BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at the University Hospital Coventry, UK December 8, 2020.

Jacob King | Reuters

March 2021 – Dispute over blood clots

Late March 2021 – US data dispute

AstraZeneca worries continued this week – even though they started at a high level for the drug maker. On Monday, the results of a large U.S. study showed the vaccine was safe and highly effective, raising hopes that it could soon seek U.S. approval for the shot.

However, on Tuesday, a US health agency announced that AstraZeneca may have included “out of date” information in its study results, casting doubts about published efficacy rates.

AstraZeneca responded that the numbers released Monday were “based on a pre-determined interim analysis with a February 17th data deadline,” saying it would share its primary analysis within 48 hours of the most recent efficacy data.

On Wednesday, the company released updated Phase 3 trial data for its Covid-19 vaccine, showing that its vaccine is 76% effective – slightly lower than the 79% rate published on Monday.

What’s next for AstraZeneca?

The problems facing AstraZeneca could continue as EU leaders virtually meet on Thursday to discuss possible vaccine export bans that could hit the drug maker. However, the EU and the UK said on Wednesday that they wanted to find a “win-win” solution to the supply problem.

The negative coverage of AstraZeneca has led some viewers (and certainly the UK media) to point out that post-Brexit, the vaccine has become a target for negative sentiment in Europe directed against the UK. It has also been suggested that the shot could be the victim of vaccine nationalism in the US, where competing shots came from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech (although BioNTech is a German company).

Regardless of the underlying causes, AstraZeneca’s reputation has been badly damaged.

As Shore Capital health analysts said in a note Thursday, “Any confusion about results can quickly turn into concerns about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, even if those concerns are not based on solid evidence.”

The AstraZeneca vaccine was “particularly badly affected by confusion about the data reported. Importantly, this confusion can lead to an erosion of trust in vaccines, which are proven, life-saving drugs.”

Categories
World News

AstraZeneca points up to date part three trial knowledge

AstraZeneca issues updated phase three trial data

A healthcare worker prepares to inject a vaccine against AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Eloisa Lopez

AstraZeneca released updated Phase 3 trial data for its Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday after asking accuracy questions related to a preliminary report from its US study earlier this week.

The company now says its vaccine is 76% effective against symptomatic virus cases. A press release published on Monday reported a symptomatic efficacy rate of 79%. The updated report claims the shot is 100% effective against serious illness and hospital stays.

A group of US health officials criticized the company over the past few days for claiming that they are collecting data to make the results seem more favorable.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced Tuesday that the UK-based company may have included information from its US findings that provided an “incomplete view of efficacy data”.

AstraZeneca said at the time that the numbers were based on a “pre-determined interim analysis” and promised to share the updated analysis in the coming days.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Officer and White House Director at NIAID, described the situation as “unfortunate” and said it was likely that AstraZeneca would issue a modified statement.

“This is really what you call an easy mistake as it is most likely a very good vaccine,” Fauci told ABC’s Robin Roberts on Good Morning America Tuesday. “Something like that … really creates doubts about the vaccines and maybe adds to hesitation. It wasn’t necessary.”

The updated results include data from 190 symptomatic cases in more than 32,000 participants – an increase of around 50 symptomatic cases studied compared to the dataset published Monday.

The results suggest that the vaccine is more effective than previously thought in patients aged 65 and over, with a newly reported efficacy rate of 85% for this population versus 80% previously reported.

AstraZeneca reiterated Wednesday that the vaccine was “well tolerated” among participants and that no safety concerns were identified.

AstraZeneca has faced a separate backlash over the past few weeks due to reports of blood clotting related to its vaccine, which is already approved and used by dozen of countries around the world. Several European nations have suspended and then resumed use of the vaccine after independent safety reviews.

– CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Sam Meredith, and Steve Kopack contributed to this report.

Categories
Health

‘Fraught With Points’: Defective Software program Snarls Vaccine Signal-Ups

‘Fraught With Issues’: Faulty Software Snarls Vaccine Sign-Ups

When coronavirus vaccines first became available, Virginia health officials turned to software recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to schedule appointments. However, people complained that the software called VAMS was too confusing for older adults.

So the state switched to a different system, PrepMod – but that had problems too. Links sent to seniors for their appointments were reusable and found their way to Facebook, resulting in a vaccination event in Richmond with dozens of overbookings. Some of these people threatened health care workers when they were turned away.

“It was a nightmare scenario,” said Ruth Morrison, the political director of Richmond and Henrico County’s Health District. “People who show up confused and angry thinking they have an appointment.”

State and local health departments across the country continue to face delays in delivering shots, partly because appointment software tools such as those used in Richmond remain flawed. The problems threaten to slow the adoption of vaccines, even if shipments and distribution increase rapidly across the country.

Large software systems have often been problematic for companies and governments. HealthCare.gov, a website released after the Affordable Care Act, crashed early. However, the problems with the vaccination sites have an added sense of urgency as health officials try to vaccinate as many people as possible as soon as possible.

On Thursday, President Biden said his government would send technical teams to help states improve their websites. He also said that by May 1, the federal government would open a website that Americans could use to find out where the vaccine can be obtained.

Many state officials have switched software providers just to see little or no improvement. In California, technical glitches have allowed unauthorized individuals to make appointments. Massachusetts residents were hampered by website crashes. Some North Carolina residents eschew online registrations altogether and instead participate in a vaccine that’s free for everyone.

PrepMod is used by 28 states and municipalities after many states eschewed the $ 44 million VAMS tool developed by Deloitte. Salesforce and Microsoft have also developed vaccination software, and their customers are similarly frustrated. Smaller tech companies have also developed their own planning tools.

“It’s like a patchwork quilt,” said Ms. Morrison, who after the Failed PrepMod process decided her county would try something different. “Some of these systems have strengths, but all of them also have weaknesses.”

Other health officials have defended the appointment systems, and the developers behind the software said the complaints about their products were exaggerated.

Tiffany Tate, the creator of PrepMod and executive director of the Maryland Partnership for Prevention, said criticism of their system was largely due to healthcare providers’ lack of knowledge of how to use it or to the ever-changing needs of states.

“The pandemic is moving forward and we need to be able to keep up,” she said. “We just have to be a very flexible platform.”

Deloitte, whose software is used by nine states, said VAMS was originally intended for smaller groups in the early stages of vaccine adoption in the states. As a result, the company “responded quickly to changing requirements” and updated the system to handle a greater load.

Health experts say several factors made software rollout difficult. In some cases, developers condensed work that typically took years to weeks, resulting in glitches. In addition, the different approaches to determining eligibility in dozens of locations using the software made it difficult to develop a unified approach.

Some states use more than half a dozen scheduling systems, from tools used by federal, state, and local government agencies to software used by private hospitals and pharmacies to rudimentary solutions like SignUpGenius. Some websites do not support scheduling at all, but do allow users to search databases to find available vaccines or get on waiting lists. Often the systems cannot communicate with each other.

“You basically build and test data systems on the fly as millions of people try to find vaccines,” said Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, which works for government health departments.

Updated

March 12, 2021, 5:29 p.m. ET

Microsoft, which has sold vaccination software to multiple states and Washington, DC, frustrated New Jersey with its system, and in late February, after days of website crashes in the country’s capital, the company admitted it “fell short “was.

Microsoft said in a statement that it was “designed to help governments manage their Covid-19 vaccination programs as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible”.

PrepMod’s problems have resulted in delays in vaccine rollouts in countries like Washington State and Pennsylvania. When the Massachusetts vaccine appointments website went down for a few hours after a surge in demand, PrepMod took responsibility and apologized.

Andrew Therriault, a Boston-based data scientist, said he was “amazed” at the extent of PrepMod’s shortcomings. One problem he found was that the system didn’t reserve an appointment slot as people filled out their information so that they could be booted anytime someone else hit them on that particular slot.

“I’m trying to imagine someone doing this who isn’t that tech-savvy – it basically means they don’t have an opportunity to compete,” Therriault said.

Some of the login software have also caused a huge headache by not allowing unique registration links that expire after a single use.

The reusable connections have hampered vaccination efforts in places like California, where health departments use both PrepMod and a Salesforce-based system, MyTurn.

What you need to know about the vaccine rollout

In some cases, health officials who wanted to reach black and Latin American communities with low vaccination rates issued MyTurn nomination codes for those groups that ended up being widespread, including among more affluent white communities. Because the codes did not expire after a single use, these people could use them to get vaccinated before their turn.

Ms. Tate of PrepMod said health care workers and others who improperly shared the links were to blame.

“It’s not a problem with our system. That’s a problem with people who should be responsible, ”she said. The company added an option for unique links.

Salesforce declined to comment, but Darrel Ng, a California Department of Health spokesman, said MyTurn added unique links as well.

UC San Diego Health, which operates a drive-through bulk injection facility, is using its existing software in place of MyTurn because the two systems are incompatible, said Dr. Christopher Longhurst, UC San Diego Health’s chief information officer. Otherwise, those arriving in the hospital system for a second dose would have to be separated from those scheduled in MyTurn, he said.

“We’d have to use all of our second doses in some lanes while using new software in other lanes,” he said. It would be “incredibly inefficient”.

This week, the MyTurn system offered more appointments than a Scripps Health-operated vaccination site in San Diego had, causing the site to close for several days because doses were running low.

“There are problems with the MyTurn system,” said Dr. Ghazala Sharieff, Scripps Chief Medical Officer. “These challenges add another layer of unnecessary stress to our team.”

Health officials said reliance on the imperfect tools of outside companies underscores the need to invest in technology for public health departments, many of which still use paper and fax machines to keep records.

According to Mary Beth Kurilo, senior director at the American Immunization Registry Association, state registers that track residents’ vaccination history – called vaccination information systems – could be adjusted to schedule appointments. But the federal government never asked them, she said, and they needed more money and time to prepare.

Some regions have chosen to avoid technology entirely.

In Johnston County, NC, southeast of Raleigh, the Department of Health decided it would have been too taxing for staff to manage appointments online.

The policy has been efficient, said Health Department spokeswoman Lu Hickey, but it does mean the county – which also doesn’t require personal identification – doesn’t know if people are vaccinated in the correct order and are relying on the honor must be system.

In Richmond, Ms. Morrison said officials were looking for solutions and even considered trying VAMS again.

“We cobbled it together at the local level through a lot of manual work and workarounds that we put in place to set up band aids,” she said.

Categories
World News

U.S. companions in Asia might not wait round as Biden prioritizes home points

U.S. partners in Asia may not wait around as Biden prioritizes domestic issues

President Joe Biden speaks with State Department officials on his first visit to Washington, DC on February 4, 2021.

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s administration has indicated that trade talks are not high on the agenda right now – but that is exactly what the US might need to draw closer to its partners in the Asia-Pacific region, two former US trade officials said.

Trade is important to the Asia-Pacific region as many economies in the region are export dependent. Improving trade ties with these countries will be vital for the U.S. to build its standing in the region where China’s influence is growing, officials said during a panel discussion on Wednesday at The Economist’s Asia Trade Week event.

Over the past few years, Asia-Pacific countries have signed two mega-trade deals excluding the US – suggesting the region won’t wait for Washington, said Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator.

“Asia is just moving on with its trade deals,” said Cutler, who is now the vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute think tank.

“As Biden talks about improving and strengthening ties with allies and partners, and working in multilateral institutions, our trading partners in Asia are sure to be asking about trade issues,” she added.

The two mega-trade deals excluding the US are the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP) signed in 2018 and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) signed last year.

CPTPP is a renegotiated and renamed version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the Obama administration sought with 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. But former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal and let the remaining countries form the CPTPP.

RCEP is now the world’s largest trade agreement and includes China and 14 other economies in the Asia-Pacific region. The deal covers a market of 2.2 billion people and a production of $ 26.2 trillion – around 30% of the world’s population and economy.

Ironically, RCEP was “in a way” conceived as China’s response to the then-US-led TPP, said Charlene Barshefsky, who served as US trade agent under former President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.

We helped create this system in Asia, the fastest growing region in the world, the place of economic power from which we are excluding the US …

Charlene Barshefsky

Senior International Partner, WilmerHale

But the U.S. eventually shut itself out of the region when it pulled out of the TPP, said Barshefsky, who is now a Senior International Partner at the WilmerHale law firm.

“We helped create this system in Asia, the fastest growing region in the world, the place of economic power from which we exclude the US, not because Asia excludes us – we excluded ourselves,” she said.

What’s next for US-Asia relations?

The U.S.’s absence from deals like RCEP means it won’t be there when major Asia-Pacific economies meet, Cutler said.

She said that heads of state and government from TPP countries met at events such as the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). RCEP participants will instead be involved in such meetings, she said.

“We will not be there, we will not be invited. And you are not only talking about the agreement itself, you are also talking about new topics, you are talking about new challenges – and we are not going to be at the table for it,” said Cutler.

Some observers said the US could sign a new trade deal – or even join the CPTPP – with countries in the Asia-Pacific region to improve its position in the region. However, the Biden administration has stated on several occasions that it would like to invest in American workers and infrastructure as a priority before signing new trade deals.

Joining the CPTPP will also be politically difficult as the Americans have a “clouded view” of their predecessor, Barshefsky said. The TPP was widely criticized in the USA and never approved by Congress. Critics said the deal would hasten the demise of US manufacturing and hurt American workers.

However, the US may feel the urgency to participate if key partners like South Korea, UK and the European Union want to join the CPTPP, she added.

“That could mean a very significant jolt for the United States, positively losing ground to the countries they want to depend on. And I think that could change the equation,” Barshefsky said.

I don’t think the CPTPP is the only way for the US to get involved in the Asia-Pacific region.

Wendy Cutler

Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute

Until then, Biden could close closer deals that focus on specific sectors, Cutler said. In many cases, such deals may not require Congressional approval and could be easier to negotiate, she added.

“I don’t think the CPTPP is the only way for the US to get involved in the Asia-Pacific region,” Cutler said, adding that the Biden administration is initially focusing on issues such as climate change, digital commerce and improving security of supply chains.

“I think that’s how we should look at the region now because I think it’s a way to get us back there without trying to come up with a comprehensive deal that we’re not ready to do for domestic reasons,” she said .

Categories
Health

CDC revises faculty reopening steerage, warns that Covid variants might trigger points

CDC revises school reopening guidance, warns that Covid variants could cause issues

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented comprehensive new guidelines on Friday on how schools can be safely reopened for personal learning despite the spread of the coronavirus and highly contagious new variants.

The 35-page guide advises schools to implement their reopening plans based on the severity of the outbreak in their areas. It is recommended that schools adopt three “essential elements” for resuming personal learning, including wearing masks, exercising physical distancing, and monitoring the level of spread in the surrounding community.

According to the CDC, schools should also implement a testing program as an “additional layer” of Covid-19 prevention to identify and isolate infectious people and vaccinate teachers and staff “as soon as supplies allow”.

“Data suggests that it is possible for communities to eradicate cases of COVID-19 while keeping schools open for face-to-face classes,” the guidelines read. “In addition, models of consistent implementation of mitigation measures in schools have shown that it is effective in limiting outbreaks and infections in schools.”

However, the agency noted that the guidelines may need to be updated as new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus spread across the U.S.

“In the event of increased community transmission due to a variant of SARS-CoV-2, updates to these guidelines may be necessary,” said the agency.

The CDC said the first step in considering whether schools should reopen is to assess the rate of spread in the community. The agency recommended schools to monitor the total number of new cases per 100,000 residents in the community in the past seven days, as well as the percentage of positive tests in the past seven days, also known as the positivity rate.

According to the CDC, all schools can be safely reopened to full face-to-face learning if they follow appropriate protocols and are in communities that have reported fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days and have a positivity rate below 8% lies . It is possible for schools in communities with higher prevalence in some days or with limited attendance and stricter infection prevention measures to reopen to face-to-face learning, according to the CDC.

“If municipalities implement mitigation strategies and strictly adhere to them, the level of transmission by the municipalities will be slowed down,” the new guidelines say. “This in turn will allow schools that are open to face-to-face learning to stay open and schools that have not yet reopened will help them return to face-to-face teaching.”

The CDC found that younger children may be less prone to Covid-19 than older middle and senior school aged children. It said schools should give priority to bringing back elementary school students who are the least likely to get Covid-19 and who appear to be less likely to spread the virus than teenagers.

And the CDC urged school administrators and local officials to “provide fair access to a healthy educational environment for all students and staff.” White House Covid-19 response officials said justice is the “north star” for federal response to the pandemic.

“The lack of personal educational opportunities can put children of all origins at a disadvantage, especially children in communities with limited resources who may be at an educational disadvantage,” the new guidelines state. “On the other hand, certain racial and ethnic groups have borne a disproportionate burden of disease and grave consequences from COVID-19.”

The agency said school districts should take an active role in helping underserved families, “including parents / guardians of color students, low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, students with homelessness and students in foster care”.

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Donna Harris-Aikens, senior policy and planning advisor at the Department of Education, announced the new guidelines in a conference call with reporters.

The new guide comes after Walensky said last week that schools can safely reopen even if teachers haven’t been vaccinated. The White House quickly distanced itself from the comment. Press secretary Jen Psaki said it was not an “official guide” from the CDC.

President Joe Biden has made reopening the country’s schools for personal teaching a top priority. He promised in December that he would resume face-to-face tuition in most schools in the country for the first 100 days of taking office, but Biden did not define what it means for a school to “reopen”.

In January, he said the target only applies to schools teaching students through eighth grade. Earlier this week, the White House further clarified that schools are considered open as long as they teach in person at least one day a week. Psaki said Wednesday the target is part of the White House’s “bold, ambitious agenda”, adding that it is a floor the government hopes to cross.

“His goal is for the majority of schools, more than 50%, to be open by the 100th day of his presidency,” she said. “And that means some lessons in classrooms. So at least one day a week. Hopefully it’s more.”

In-person education came to an abrupt halt across the country in March as schools switched to distance learning to protect students, teachers and parents from the coronavirus. However, education experts and public health groups, including the World Health Organization, have warned of the permanent consequences of keeping students out of the classroom. Economists have also warned of the impact on working parents, especially mothers, who have lost record numbers of jobs during the pandemic.

Former President Donald Trump urged governors and local officials to reopen schools for personal learning, saying in July that closing schools will likely cause “more deaths”. However, under his administration, the CDC gave little guidance on how and when to safely reopen, saying instead that the decision should be made by local and state officials.

In the USA the problem is controversial. Some say the risk of the coronavirus for children is lower than the consequences of missing school. While children and young adults in general are less likely to get seriously ill and die of Covid-19, the risk is increased if the person has an underlying condition that affects their immune system. According to the CDC, more than 120 people under the age of 20 died of Covid-19 in September in the United States.

Instead of a previously clear federal approach, state, local and school officials have all set their own course on how and when schools should reopen. Data from Burbio, a service tracking school opening plans, recently reported that nearly 65% ​​of K-12 students are already learning some degree in person.

This story will be updated during the day.

Categories
World News

The U.S. should concentrate on three enduring points in China relationship

Biden may draw 'red lines' against Chinese authoritarianism

The heated global debate sparked this week by a thought-provoking paper – “The Longer Telegram: Towards a New American China Strategy” – has underscored the urgency and difficulty of finding a durable and actionable US approach to China To develop China when the country becomes more authoritarian, more self-confident and more globally assertive.

The 26,000-word paper, published simultaneously by the Atlantic Council and, in a shorter form, by Politico Magazine, served the expert community for China as a kind of Rorschach test. Responses ranged from critics who found the paper’s rules too provocative to supporters who praised its groundbreaking contributions.

Beijing was noted not least because of the author’s obvious familiarity with communist party politics and the focus on President Xi Jinping. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman accused the anonymous author of “dark motives and cowardice” for starting “a new Cold War”.

Former CIA China analyst Paul Heer, who wrote in the realistic, conservative National Interest, seemed to agree, exposing the singular Xi emphasis as “a deeply misguided, if not dangerous, approach.”

Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf agreed with Anonymous that China “is increasingly behaving like an emerging great power ruled by a ruthless and effective despot,” but criticized the author’s myriad goals because of economic performance and underutilization China’s potential are not achievable.

After digesting the liveliest debate sparked by one of the growing industrial strategy papers in China, I stand with Senator Dan Sullivan, Republican of Alaska, who praised the paper during an extraordinary speech in the Senate.

Sullivan’s credibility grows from his history as a marine veteran, former Alaska attorney general, former National Security Council officer, and senior State Department official involved in business and economics.

“’The longer telegram’ is not perfect,” he argued, standing alongside an enlarged reproduction of the easel-balanced cover of the paper as the United States must tackle this significant challenge that we will face for decades. “

“I hope my fellow Democrats and Republicans all have the opportunity to read and analyze this. Like Kennan’s strategy of containment, to be successful our China policy must be very bipartisan and ready to be operationalized for decades will. “”

The three elements of The Longer Telegram’s approach that should stand the test of time are:

  1. The urgent need to better understand China’s domestic politics and political dynamics in order to succeed.
  2. The reality that a declining US state cannot handle an emerging China regardless of its strategy.
  3. The focus on reviving and reinventing alliances, not out of nostalgia, but because no policy will be successful that does not motivate the partners in creative new ways.

Let’s take each of these priorities in turn.

First, The Longer Telegram’s most innovative and controversial idea is to focus on China’s leaders and behavior.

“US strategy must continue to focus on Xi, his inner circle and the Chinese political context in which they govern,” argued the paper. “In order to change their decision-making, you have to understand their political and strategic paradigm, act in it and change it.”

Most of the newspapers’ most virulent critics picked up on this Xi focus. Some argued that the author overestimated Xi’s role; others argued over the idea that if Xi were replaced over time, under more moderate leadership, China would become a more cooperative partner.

Others warned that China would view any US policy directed at Xi as a dangerously escalating effort in regime change.

These points, however, miss the author’s more significant and irrefutable point: No American strategy towards Beijing can succeed without a better understanding of how China’s decision-making is developing.

“The core wisdom of Kennan’s analysis of 1946 was his assessment of the internal functioning of the Soviet Union and the realization that a US strategy was to be developed that corresponds to the core of this complex political reality,” writes Anonymous. “The same must be done to address China.”

The author’s informed view is that Xi’s concentration of power, his campaign to eradicate political opponents, and his emerging cult of personality “have sparked simmering resentments among large sections of the Chinese Communist Party elite.”

Whether or not you agree with the author’s view that China failed to recognize political rifts and fragility, the real point is that the US needs to invest more in understanding these dynamics. One of Beijing’s competitive advantages is its insight into America’s painfully transparent political divisions and vulnerabilities.

On the second point, President Biden’s first foreign policy speech underlined his agreement with the author’s second important point. “The US strategy must begin by taking into account the country’s economic and institutional weaknesses,” writes the author.

“We will compete from a position of strength by doing better at home,” said President Biden.

Nothing will be more important.

Finally, and this was the gist of the Biden speech, the author argues that the US must bring allies together behind a more coherent and coherent approach. That will be difficult to achieve because so many US partners have China as their leading trading partner.

Forging a common cause among traditional US partners and allies will require an unprecedented level of global commitment and give and take – and an acceptance of the reality of China’s economic influence.

Critics selected other elements of the paper. For example, some identified the author’s appeal for “red lines” in relation to affairs from Taiwan to the South China Sea as particularly dangerous.

Others viewed the author’s call for greater efforts to pull Russia away from its deeper ties with China as folly.

However, both would only be a return to a solid strategic practice à la Henry Kissinger. Sharing red lines privately can lead to miscalculations. Its enforcement can be measured and proportionate.

You don’t have to love Vladimir Putin either to realize that Russia’s tightening strategic alignment, military cooperation, and sharing of information with Beijing have been a profound US foreign policy failure.

We published the Longer Telegram at the Atlantic Council, where I am President and CEO, and I admit that the value of the paper is biased in some ways. I’m glad it sparked a global discussion with criticism and positive suggestions.

How we approach China is a complex and critical challenge. There would be no better time for this debate.

Frederick Kempe is a best-selling author, award-winning journalist, and President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, one of the most influential US think tanks on global affairs. He worked for the Wall Street Journal for more than 25 years as a foreign correspondent, assistant editor-in-chief and senior editor for the European edition of the newspaper. His latest book – “Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place in the World” – was a New York Times bestseller and has been published in more than a dozen languages. Follow him on Twitter @FredKempe and subscribe here to Inflection Points, his view every Saturday of the top stories and trends of the past week.

More information from CNBC staff can be found here @ CNBCopinion on twitter.

Categories
Health

Extra Weight Throughout Being pregnant Tied to Fertility Points in Sons

Excess Weight During Pregnancy Tied to Fertility Issues in Sons

Overweight mothers may be more likely to have infertile sons, Danish researchers report.

Their study included 9,232 men and women aged 31 to 34 years. In this group, 10 percent of underweight mothers were born with a body mass index below 18.5. 77 percent of mothers of normal weight; and 13 percent for overweight or obese mothers with a pre-pregnancy BMI over 25.

When examining the records of the diagnosis and treatment of infertility, the researchers found that sons of overweight mothers were 40 percent more likely to be infertile than sons of mothers of normal weight. Sons with underweight mothers did not have increased infertility rates, and a mother’s weight did not affect her daughters’ fertility. The study, published in AOGS, controlled maternal age, smoking, alcohol consumption, socio-economic status, and other factors.

The reason for the association is unknown, but the authors suggest that obesity is an indication of a hormonal imbalance that could affect prenatal development of the male reproductive system.

The lead author, Dr. Linn H. Arendt, obstetrician at Aarhus University in Denmark, said that being overweight in pregnancy is unhealthy for several reasons, and that most women are aware that obesity is a risk. She said this is the first study to show an association between maternal BMI and infertility in adult sons, but that it would not warn women about the problem.

Categories
Business

FAA chief points stern warning to vacationers after politically motived flight disruptions

Flight attendant unions raise alarms about disruptive travelers after pro-Trump riots at Capitol

A flight attendant collects trash on a flight aboard a Boeing 737 Max from Dallas Fort Worth Airport to Tulsa, Oklahoma, December 2, 2020.

Carlo Allegri | Reuters

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday that travelers will face grave consequences for unruly behavior on airplanes. This is a stern warning following multiple incidents on board last week with pro-Trump chanting and passengers refusing to wear masks requesting to fly on U.S. airlines.

“The FAA will take tough enforcement action against anyone who threatens the safety of a flight. Penalties range from fines to imprisonment,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement.

Unruly passengers can face fines of up to $ 35,000.

Alaska Airlines said Friday it banned 14 passengers on a flight from Washington DC to Seattle. The travelers “were not mask-conforming, vocal, argumentative and harassed our crew members. Their behavior was unacceptable,” said Ray Lane, spokesman for Alaska Airlines. “We apologize to our other guests who felt uncomfortable on the flight.

Videos of multiple incidents were shared on social media. An American Airlines pilot on a Washington-to-Phoenix flight warned travelers that he would “park this plane and drop people off in the middle of Kansas” in order to convince passengers to “behave” on board.

“At American, we take our customers’ safety seriously and value the trust they place in our team to look after them throughout their journey,” American said in a statement. The pilot made an announcement emphasizing the importance of following the instructions of the crew members and complying with the mandatory guidelines on face covering. “

Earlier this week, some passengers sang “traitors” on a Delta Air Lines flight with Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah. Delta said his “crew got involved quickly and solved the problem”.

On another flight this week, American Airlines flight attendants turned on the lights and ordered passengers to take their seats after passengers yelled at and cursed each other. This comes from a video shared by Twitter user @MaranieRae who said she was on the flight.

“I expect all passengers to follow the instructions of the crew members for their safety and the safety of the flight,” said Dickson. “The FAA monitors and tracks all commercial passenger flights in real time, and there are reporting mechanisms in place for crew members to identify any number of safety concerns that may arise in flight.”

Dickson said unruly behavior could distract crews and compromise crew members’ ability to perform safety-related duties.

Dickson’s testimony comes after flight attendant unions this week raised safety concerns over politically motivated flight disruptions after a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol and demanded that the presidential election results be overturned.

“The mob mentality behavior that occurred on multiple flights to the DC area yesterday was unacceptable and threatened the safety of every single person on board,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents approximately 50,000 flight attendants United, Alaska and more than a dozen other airlines said Wednesday.

The airlines had taken precautions and moved crews to airport hotels after the politically motivated uprising in the Capitol. American Airlines has stopped serving alcohol on flights to Washington DC.

“We should work harder to keep problems on the ground,” the AFA told flight attendants after the FAA warned on Saturday. “Make sure you strictly adhere to the masks before pushing back. Work as a crew, communicate, and bring your concerns to the flight deck and supervisors.”