Category: Health Maintenance

VIEANNA — Austria is placing millions of people not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in lockdown as of Monday to deal with a surge in infections to record levels, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said on Sunday.

Europe has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic again, prompting some governments to consider re-imposing unpopular lockdowns.

Roughly 65% of Austria’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is one of the lowest rates in western Europe. Many Austrians are skeptical about vaccines, a view encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, the third biggest in parliament.

While the Netherlands is dealing with its surge in infections by imposing a partial lockdown that applies to all, Austria’s conservative-led government says it wants to avoid imposing further restrictions on those who are fully vaccinated.

“We must raise the vaccination rate. It is shamefully low,” Schallenberg told a news conference announcing the new measure after a video call with the governors of Austria’s nine provinces.

Those aged 12 and under will be exempt from the lockdown, under which the unvaccinated can only leave their homes for a limited number of reasons like going to work or shopping for essentials, Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein told the news conference, adding that it would initially last 10 days.

Many officials, including within Schallenberg’s conservative party and the police, have expressed doubts such a lockdown can be properly enforced since it applies to only part of the population. Schallenberg and Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said, however, that there will be thorough checks by the police.

Source: Voice of America

Vienna, Austrian residents not vaccinated against the coronavirus will have to enter a lockdown, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and the heads of the state governments agreed on Sunday.

The measures will apply from Monday.

Citizens who are not vaccinated will only be permitted to leave their homes to shop for essential needs, go to work or visit a doctor. They will also be allowed to go outside for fresh air at any time for the benefit of their physical and mental health.

There will be random checks to ensure compliance, according to the decision from a meeting of Schallenberg and the heads of the country’s state governments.

Violations of the lockdown are punishable with fines of up to 1,450 euros (1,660 dollars). There will be an exception for schools and pupils, dpa reported.

The chancellor also noted that individual states are free to introduce even tougher guidelines if they wish.

Records are being set almost daily for infections in Austria. On Saturday, the authorities registered more than 13,000 infections.

Schallenberg said the decision was “not taken light-heartedly.”

“With the vaccination rates as they are, we will stay stuck in a vicious cycle” of coronavirus infections, he said. The “shamefully low” uptake in vaccination had to be forced upwards, he said. To date, only about 65 percent of people in Austria are vaccinated.

The lockdown measures will be in force for an initial period of 10 days, and would affect some 2 million people. Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein said the goal is to encourage willingness to get vaccinations and to reduce social contacts by about 30 percent.

There are already major restrictions for the unvaccinated. For example, they need to show a negative coronavirus test to go to work, and cannot take part in many aspects of public life.

The seven-day incidence of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants rose to 814.6. Looking only at the unvaccinated, the seven-day incidence rises to more than 1,700 per 100,000, noted Schallenberg.

The government had initially only planned to go ahead with its lockdown plan once the country’s hospitals counted 600 intensive care beds occupied by coronavirus patients. Currently, that number is 433. But case counts are rising so fast that the government was prompted into quicker action.

Health care experts still want more, arguing that the lockdown should be extended to everyone. The government has resisted this argument, out of fears it would lead to a drop-off in willingness to get vaccinated.

On the other side of the debate, the far-right FPOe expressed outrage at the lockdown for the unvaccinated and party leader Herbert Kickl called a protest for next Saturday in the capital Vienna.

The country was introducing a “corona apartheid system,” Kickl wrote on Facebook. He also announced that he would issue a complaint with the Constitutional Court claiming the injury of basic freedoms.

The FPOe has long railed against restrictions meant to curb coronavirus infections and has criticized the vaccination drive.

Kickl has spoken of “experimental vaccines” and recommended the use of an anti-parasitic medication to treat Covid-19.

His party stands at around 20 percent in national opinion polls.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Brazzaville – The sharp increase in the number of diabetes cases in Africa comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic and poor access to vaccines. Death rate from COVID-19 infections in Africa is significantly higher among people with diabetes, according to preliminary analysis presented today by the World Health Organization (WHO) ahead of World Day of diabetes on November 14th.

“COVID-19 sends a clear message: Tackling the diabetes epidemic in Africa is in many ways just as crucial as tackling the current pandemic,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “The COVID-19 pandemic will eventually subside, but Africa is expected to experience the largest increase in the incidence of diabetes in the world in the next few years. We must act now to prevent new cases, vaccinate people with diabetes against COVID-19 and, no less important, identify and support the millions of Africans who are unaware they are affected by this silent killer. “

Diabetes affects the body’s ability to make or use insulin, a substance that is essential for preventing dangerous increases in blood sugar levels. The disease causes inflammation and poor blood circulation, both of which increase the risk of complications from COVID-19, including the risk of death.

A recent WHO analysis assessed data from 13 countries looking at underlying conditions or co-morbidities in Africans who tested positive for COVID-19. It emerges from this analysis that the case fatality rate of COVID-19 is 10.2% in diabetic patients, against 2.5% for all patients with COVID-19. The case fatality rate from COVID-19 in people with diabetes was also twice as high as in patients with any other comorbidity. Besides diabetes, the three underlying conditions associated with the highest case fatality rates from COVID-19 include HIV and hypertension.

The countries providing data for this analysis were Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Guinea, Namibia, Niger, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sao Tome and Principe and Chad.

About 24 million people are living with diabetes in Africa in 2021, according to the International Diabetes Federation, and the continent is expected to experience the largest increase in the number of diabetes cases in the world. Indeed, the number of Africans suffering from this disease is expected to reach 55 million by 2045, an increase of 134% compared to the data available in 2021. Africa is the continent with the largest number of people who do not know their status for diabetes. It is estimated that 70% of people with diabetes do not know they are affected by this disease.

“Health officials in Africa should take advantage of the growing availability of low-cost rapid diagnostic tests to routinely test patients in diabetes care centers to ensure early detection of this disease and appropriate care Said Dr Benido Impouma, Director of the Universal Health Coverage / Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases Cluster at the WHO Regional Office for Africa. “These centers can also be key sites for vaccination,” he added.

From the early days of the pandemic, people with diabetes were prioritized in all countries around the world to receive doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Africa has found it difficult to apply this strategy.

Access to vaccines remains limited. So far, only 6.6% of Africa’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to a global average of around 40%. Data from 37 countries indicate that, since March 2021, more than 6.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given to Africans with co-morbidities, or 14% of all doses given to date. . Efforts to prioritize people with co-morbidities like diabetes are accelerating, with nearly half of those 6.5 million doses administered in the past two months. However, much remains to be done to ensure that people at high risk actually receive the vaccines they need.

“Nine months after the start of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Africa, we are still far from the goal we have set for the protection of our most vulnerable groups,” said Dr. Moeti. “There is an urgent need to scale up immunization and other essential services for people at high risk, including those with diabetes. “

There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes is caused early in life by a condition that damages the pancreas and affects the production of insulin; type 2 diabetes is linked to poor diet, obesity and lack of exercise, and results from the body’s poor use of insulin. Almost 90% of people with diabetes globally, and the vast majority in Africa, have type 2 diabetes, and the rising incidence rates of diabetes in Africa are attributed to the same poor diet and the same sedentary lifestyles that are causing a rise in the number of cases of type 2 diabetes worldwide. Besides the risks associated with COVID-19, diabetes can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure,

“All Africans exposed to diabetes must have access to screening,” said Dr. Moeti. “We can also prevent more diabetes from taking its toll by promoting healthy, affordable diets and regular physical activity. “

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to diabetes care has been seriously disrupted in the African Region. Lockdowns imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19, for example, have hampered access to health care and basic elements of good management of diabetic patients, such as routine blood sugar monitoring and a healthy diet.

In order to improve equitable access to quality care for diabetics, the WHO launched the Global Compact against Diabetes in April 2021. This initiative builds on the work undertaken in recent years to deploy all of WHO’s interventions to combat non-communicable diseases (WHO PEN) within the framework of primary health care in low-resource settings. To date, 21 African countries have started using this set of tools. Benin, Eritrea, Eswatini, Lesotho and Togo have successfully transposed these services nationwide, ensuring coverage of all primary health care facilities.

WHO today held a press conference, hosted by APO Group. Dr Impouma was accompanied by Professor Maïmouna Ndour Mbaye, head of the internal medicine unit at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar and director of the National Center for the fight against diabetes in Senegal, as well as by Mr. Greg Tracz, Managing Director of Diabetes Africa.

Also present to answer questions were Dr Phionah Atuhebwe, New Vaccine Introduction Officer at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, Dr Thierno Baldé, COVID-19 Response Operations Manager at the Office WHO Regional Office for Africa, and Dr Jean-Marie Dangou, Noncommunicable Disease Program Coordinator, WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Source: World Health Organization

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is contending it has the legal authority to mandate that large U.S. employers force their 84 million workers get vaccinated against the coronavirus by January 4, or else wear face masks in the workplace and submit to weekly testing.

A U.S. appellate court last week temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s mandate, pending further court action, with a nationwide stay of his directive he says is aimed at curbing the ongoing pandemic that has killed more than 750,000 people in the U.S. The death toll is more than in any other country.

Numerous Republican state governors have voiced their opposition to the Democratic president’s order. The governors and some employers filed suit to block it, claiming the vaccination and masking mandate exceeds the government’s authority.

But in a 28-page filing Monday at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Justice Department contended that keeping the mandate from being imposed “would likely cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day, in addition to large numbers of hospitalizations, other serious health effects, and tremendous costs. That is a confluence of harms of the highest order.”

The government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), under Biden’s directive, issued the mandate last week, forcing companies with at least 100 employees to require unvaccinated workers to wear masks indoors starting December 5 and to get vaccinated by a month later or to undergo weekly testing at work.

The White House said Monday that legal challenges to White House orders are commonplace and urged employers not to wait for a final legal decision before requiring their workers to get vaccinated, as several prominent companies have already done.

A federal judge in Texas ruled Monday that United Airlines, one of the biggest U.S. air carriers, can put its unvaccinated workers on unpaid leave, even if the airline had already granted them medical or religious exemptions. About 2,000 United workers are affected by the ruling, but the airline said 99.7% of its employees are fully vaccinated.

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas, rejected claims that the airline’s strict vaccination mandate put workers in an “impossible position” by forcing them to choose between getting inoculated or being placed on unpaid leave. He said human resource policies are up to the company.

The coalition of opponents to Biden’s mandate has argued that it is an unlawful overreach that exceeds OSHA’s authority. The opponents contend that Congress intended for OSHA to be an agency with limited jurisdiction, to protect workers from dangerous workplace substances like asbestos — “not a public health agency with wide-ranging authority to address communicable diseases through regulation.”

On Sunday, Ron Klain, Biden’s White House chief of staff, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” show, “I’m quite confident that when this finally gets fully adjudicated, not just a temporary order, the validity of this requirement will be upheld.”

Klain characterized the Biden vaccination order as “common sense” to help end the pandemic in the United States.

He said if OSHA “can tell people to wear a hard hat on the job, to be careful on chemicals, it can … put in place these simple measures to keep our workers safe.”

The U.S. Supreme Court last month approved a vaccination mandate covering health care workers in the northeastern state of Maine but has yet to consider a broad national mandate such as Biden’s order affecting private businesses or his order requiring 4 million federal employees and contractors working for the federal government to get vaccinated by November 22.

Numerous Republican state governors opposed to the Democratic president’s national mandate, along with some government employee unions and individual workers, have filed lawsuits in an effort to block Biden’s orders, all claiming they are an overreach of his authority.

In filing a lawsuit against the Biden order affecting workers at private businesses, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the vaccine mandate “a breathtaking abuse of federal power” that is “flatly unconstitutional.” He contended that the mandate goes beyond OSHA’s “limited power and specific responsibilities.”

On Saturday, the conservative-dominated Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the Biden mandate for private businesses, saying there were “grave statutory and constitutional” issues concerning the rule.

White House aide Cedric Richmond defended the use of the OSHA authority to mandate the vaccinations, telling the “Fox News Sunday” show, “OSHA’s job is to protect workers. If it means doing something tough, that’s what this president does.”

“We think we’re on solid ground,” Richmond said.

It appears that hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been vaccinated ahead of the deadline in two weeks, but opposition to the shots has emerged at some agencies, especially those related to law enforcement and intelligence.

Other lawsuits filed by workers unions and individuals that contest Biden’s mandate remain to be adjudicated. There is no testing option available for government employees as there would be for workers in the private sector.

The number of new coronavirus cases has been diminishing for several weeks in the U.S., but even so about 70,000 additional cases are being recorded every day.

More than 194 million people in the U.S. out of its population of 333 million have been fully vaccinated. But millions of adults have for various reasons refused inoculations, curbing Biden’s effort to fully control the pandemic.

Source: Voice of America

WASHINGTON — The White House said Sunday it is confident that the courts will eventually approve President Joe Biden’s mandate that U.S. businesses with 100 workers or more insist their workers either be vaccinated against the coronavirus or be frequently tested despite an initial court ruling halting the vaccination requirement.

White House chief of staff Ron Klain told NBC’s “Meet the Press” show, “I’m quite confident that when this finally gets fully adjudicated, not just a temporary order, the validity of this requirement will be upheld.”

Klain characterized the Biden vaccination order, which affects 84 million private sector workers and is set to take effect January 4, as “common sense” to help end the pandemic in the United States.

He said if the government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) “can tell people to wear a hard hat on the job, to be careful on chemicals, it can … put in place these simple measures to keep our workers safe.”

The U.S. Supreme Court last month approved a vaccination mandate covering health care workers in the northeastern state of Maine but has yet to consider a broad national mandate such as Biden’s order affecting private businesses or his order requiring 4 million federal employees and contractors working for the federal government to get vaccinated by November 22.

Numerous Republican state governors opposed to the Democratic president’s national mandate, along with some government employee unions and individual workers, have filed lawsuits in an effort to block Biden’s orders, all claiming they are an overreach of his authority.

In filing a lawsuit against the Biden order affecting workers at private businesses, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtoncalled the vaccine mandate “a breathtaking abuse of federal power” that is “flatly unconstitutional.” He contended that the mandate goes beyond OSHA’s “limited power and specific responsibilities.”

On Saturday, the conservative-dominated 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases in the adjoining Southern states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, temporarily blocked the Biden mandate for private businesses, saying there were “grave statutory and constitutional” issues concerning the rule. It ordered Biden administration lawyers to voice their opposition to a permanent injunction by late Monday, pending further court action. It is unclear if the appeals court’s decision applies outside those states.

White House aide Cedric Richmond defended the use of the OSHA authority to mandate the vaccinations, telling the “Fox News Sunday” show, “OSHA’s job is to protect workers. If it means doing something tough, that’s what this president does.”

“We think we’re on solid ground,” Richmond said.

It appears that hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been vaccinated ahead of the deadline in two weeks, but opposition to the shots has emerged at some agencies, especially those related to law enforcement and intelligence. Other lawsuits filed by workers unions and individuals that contest Biden’s mandate remain to be adjudicated. There is no testing option available for government employees as there would be for workers in the private sector.

The number of new coronavirus cases has been diminishing for several weeks in the U.S., but even so about 70,000 additional cases are being recorded every day.

More than 193 million people in the U.S. out of its population of 333 million have been fully vaccinated. But millions of adults have for various reasons refused inoculations, curbing Biden’s effort to fully control the pandemic.

More than 750,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, more than in any other country, according to the government’s U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: Voice of America

NIAMEY, NIGER — Eleven soldiers were killed and nine reported missing on Friday following a jihadi attack on an army position in Dagne in western Niger, days after 69 civilians died in an ambush, the government said.

The attack by “a column of heavily armed terrorists in several vehicles and dozens of motorcycles” killed 11 soldiers, and left one injured, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense read on public television.

“After fierce fighting, the enemy column was forced to retreat with its dead and wounded,” added the statement, which said “air and ground reinforcements dispatched to the area continue to sweep” the locality.

The soldiers targeted had been deployed to ensure the safety of the thousands of villagers who had returned to their communities after the earlier killings.

At least 69 people, including a local mayor, died earlier this week in an attack in the country’s volatile tri-border zone with Burkina Faso and Mali.

The assault took place on Tuesday at Adab-Dab, a village about 55 kilometers (32 miles) from Banibangou in the western region of Tillaberi, but was only confirmed by the government on Thursday.

The government declared two days of national morning starting Friday.

Local sources said a motorcycle-borne defense force was attacked by “heavily armed members of the ISGS (Islamic State in the Greater Sahara),” who were also on motorbikes.

Another source said the target of the attack on Tuesday was a local anti-jihadi defense force called the Vigilance Committees, which was headed by the mayor of Banibangou district.

The defense force had recently been set up by local people following a string of attacks on farm workers in remote fields by highly mobile jihadists, a former mayor said.

The world’s poorest country by the benchmark of the U.N.’s Human Development Index (HDI), Niger is facing jihadist insurgencies on its western border with Mali and Burkina Faso and on its southeastern frontier with Nigeria.

The western insurgency began with incursions in 2015. The bloodshed escalated in 2017, with massacres carried out by groups affiliated to al-Qaida and Islamic State.

Human Rights Watch estimated in August that more than 420 civilians had been killed since the start of the year in western Niger.

Source: Voice of America