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New Wonder Drug Successful in Treating COVID-19

A new Covid-19 drug has been found to prevent 100 per cent of symptomatic infections during trials on the NHS.

The promising results suggest that the experimental antibody cocktail, developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, could be used as a “passive vaccine” to block coronavirus.

Patients who took part in the trial, run with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), were injected with the antibody cocktail, called REGEN-COV, which is made up of lab-enhanced antibodies that are designed to mimic how the body would respond to an invading virus.

The drug was administered to people who had been exposed to coronavirus from someone in their household, with the trial showing that the antibodies stopped symptomatic cases entirely.

Results also found that the drug reduced overall infections by 50 per cent in the first week after exposure, while scientists also reported that it significantly reduced the length of illness in infected people.

Phase three results from the trial are expected early in the second quarter of this year.

George D Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer at Regeneron, said: “Even with the emerging availability of active vaccines, we continue to see hundreds of thousands of people infected daily, actively spreading the virus to their close contacts.

“The REGEN-COV antibody cocktail may be able to help break this chain by providing immediate passive immunity to those at high risk of infection, in contrast to active vaccines which take weeks to provide protection.”

Dr Penny Ward, chair of the Education and Standards Committee of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, explained that while vaccinations will prevent disease, they take around 14 to 21 days to take effect.

She said: “In an immediate contact situation, this is too long to prevent illness which may, in an individual at high risk, be fatal.

“This approach could protect patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer, enable control and prevention of outbreaks in an institutional setting, and reduce pressure on health services.”

Further treatments in development

The results of the trial come as another clinical study is being launched to see whether two Covid-19 antibody treatments could be combined to improve patient outcomes.

British drugs firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and clinical-stage immunology company Vir Biotechnology’s treatment, known as VIR-7831, will be given to low-risk patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 alongside bamlanivimab, developed by US pharmaceutical company Lilly.

Both VIR-7831 and bamlanivimab are monoclonal antibodies – man-made proteins that act like natural human antibodies in the immune system.

The researchers will also examine whether the combined treatment can increase a patient’s resistance to existing and new variants.

Bamlanivimab is already approved for emergency use in the treatment of Covid-19 in the US, while VIR-7831 is in phase 3 clinical studies with initial results expected in the first quarter of 2021.

Trials for the combination therapy are due to take place in the US and Puerto Rico.

Dr Hal Barron, chief scientific officer at GSK, said: “Despite the significant progress on vaccines, there remains an urgent patient need for multiple therapeutic approaches to help prevent the severe consequences of Covid-19.

“Partnering with Lilly to study VIR-7831 with bamlanivimab will provide the scientific community with further data on the important role these therapies could play in reducing the impact of this devastating pandemic.”

The study comes as NHS England boss Sir Simon Stevens told MPs on Tuesday (26 January) that he believes coronavirus could become a “much more treatable disease” over the course of the next six to 18 months as more Covid-19 treatments become available.

The post New Wonder Drug Successful in Treating COVID-19 appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Scientific Report: SKN Has Beaten Coronavirus

LONDON, Jan. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis has largely tamed the spread of COVID-19, notes a data-tracking site assembled of over 4,000 scientists.

The report provides guidelines and recommendations for policymakers, businesses and individuals and has been in operation since February 29, 2020. The team includes New England Complex Systems Institute, Harvard, UCLA and MIT epidemiologists, clinicians, technology creators and data analysts. To date, the Federation has recorded only 35 cases and zero deaths.

The site rates countries as either ‘winning’, ‘nearly there’ or ‘needs action’, depending on the seven-day rolling average of their new confirmed cases. St Kitts and Nevis ranks under the ‘winning’ list and is classified in the ‘green zone’. This means the country has had no new local transmission for 14 consecutive days, any new cases are imported and isolated upon entering the zone, and the region does not share a land border with a red zone.

The site states: “Green countries are either at that point [zero new cases] or very close to it. Yellow countries are those which could reach that point within a reasonable time frame. They still have to get lower to be green. Red countries are either going the wrong way, staying constant, or going down very slowly.”

Also making the list of ‘winners’ were countries like Australia, Iceland, Vietnam and New Zealand. From the Caribbean, Dominica and the Bahamas are mentioned to be doing well in controlling new cases of the virus.

Aside from St Kitts and Nevis’ immediate action to close borders, limit gatherings and equip hospitals with state-of-the-art amenities to deal with COVID-19 patients, Prime Minister Timothy Harris’ government also allocated Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme funds to help the economy during the lockdown. CBI funded the Poverty Alleviation Programme, which provided low-income households with a monthly stipend.

During a webinar, the Prime Minister said, “it is the resources […] from the CBI Programme that allowed us to respond so early and properly.”

“St Kitts and Nevis is one of the safest places to be. [It] has the least number of confirmed COVID-19 cases of all sovereign states in the [Caribbean]. That is a remarkable record as we speak. We have not one death associated,” said Les Khan, the head of the nation’s CBI Unit in another webinar. “We acted quickly and decisively with regard to the science and the experiences of other countries to put St Kitts and Nevis in a strong place,” he added.

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Doomsday Clock Remains at 100 Seconds to Armageddon

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists kept its “Doomsday Clock” at 100 seconds to midnight, describing the COVID-19 pandemic as a “wakeup call” that governments are unprepared to handle grave threats facing the world.

The Chicago-based group chose to keep the clock — which symbolically reflects how close the world is to destruction — at 11:58 p.m., and 20 seconds, saying the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic indicates a lack of the structures necessary to combat other grave threats.

“The hands of the Doomsday Clock remain at 100 seconds to midnight, as close to midnight as ever,” said Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, in a statement. “The lethal and fear-inspiring COVID-19 pandemic serves as a historic ‘wake-up call,’ a vivid illustration that national governments and international organizations are unprepared to manage the truly civilization-ending threats of nuclear weapons and climate change.”

Since the start of the pandemic, 100.7 million people have been infected and 2.17 million have died worldwide, including 25.57 million cases and 428,015 deaths in the United States, according to data gathered by Johns Hopkins University.

“Though lethal on a massive scale, this particular pandemic is not an existential threat. Its consequences are grave and will be lasting. But COVID-19 will not obliterate civilization, and we expect the disease will recede eventually,” the group said.

The group also warned of the threat of nuclear conflict, particularly between the United States and Russia, calling on the two countries to extend the New START treaty for as long as possible.

“The U.S., Russia and the world’s nuclear powers must stop shouting at each other,” said former California Gov. Jerry Brown, the group’s executive chair. “It’s time to eliminate nuclear weapons, not build more of them.”

The scientists also expressed the need for the United States to to address the issue of climate change by rejoining the Paris Agreement and reducing the use of fossil fuels. U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order last week to re-enter the pact.

“Over the coming decade, fossil fuel use needs to decline precipitously if the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided,” said Susan Solomon, member of the group’s science and security board.

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists first began the tradition in 1947 as a way to gauge the world’s proximity to nuclear holocaust. In 2007 the group added climate change as a factor in the clock’s setting.

The furthest the clock has ever been from midnight was set in 1991, at 11:43, or 17 minutes from “doomsday,” after the United States signed the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the Soviet Union dissolved.

Prior to 2020, 2 minutes to midnight had been the closest the clock had ever been set, reaching that point both during the Cold War and following the first U.S. test of a thermonuclear weapon.

Jan. 27 (UPI) — The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists on Wednesday chose to keep its “Doomsday Clock” at 100 seconds before midnight, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of nuclear war and climate change.The Chicago-based group chose to keep the clock — which symbolically reflects how close the world is to destruction — at 11:58 p.m., and 20 seconds, saying the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic indicates a lack of the structures necessary to combat other grave threats.

The post Doomsday Clock Remains at 100 Seconds to Armageddon appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Calls for calm after violent youth gang attack on Perth beach

New footage has merged of the youth gang violence that left two teens in hospital and several others injured in Scarborough, Perth.

An Australia Day beach party turned to bloodshed after a group of teenagers were ambushed by a violent mob at Perth's City Beach.

The group of party-goers were repeatedly hit, kicked and stomped on between 9pm and 10pm on January 26, leaving two hospitalised and five injured, Perth Police said.

The attackers were heard chanting "BTK", an initialisation of "Born To Kill", which 9News has been told is the call sign of a notorious youth gang in the city.

Premier Mark McGowan called the incident "disgraceful" and "disgusting".

Party-goers said it was the second attack in as many weeks from the group, which is targeting wealthier suburbs for theft.

Perth's African community has called for calm.

"It's heartbreaking. This vision does not represent our community," spokesman Joe Tuazama said.

"Some of these young people are going through cultural shock, some of these young people are here all by themselves, some of them are going through peer pressure."

But it wasn't just African teens involved, with alleged attackers from other groups also taking part, including — allegedly — a white Western Suburbs student.

Community leaders say they would like to be out with troubled youths on Friday and Saturday nights, offering them a free ride-home service to reduce violence.

However, they say they can't without government help.

"What you do has implications on the entire African race here, and we are getting tired of it," Mr Tuazama said.

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Climate Change: Biden Accelerates US Move to Clean Energy

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the most ambitious U.S. effort to stave off the worst of climate change, President Joe Biden signed executive orders to transform the nation’s heavily fossil-fuel powered economy into a clean-burning one, pausing oil and gas leasing on federal land and targeting subsidies for those industries.

The directives aim to conserve 30 percent of the country’s lands and waters in the next 10 years, double the nation’s offshore wind energy, and move to an all-electric federal vehicle fleet, among other changes. Biden’s sweeping plan is aimed at staving off the worst of global warming caused by burning fossil fuels.

But his effort it also carries political risk for the president and Democrats as oil- and coal-producing states face job losses from moves to sharply increase U.S. reliance on clean energy such as wind and solar power.

“We can’t wait any longer″ to address the climate crisis, Biden said Wednesday at the White House. ”We see with our own eyes. We know it in our bones. It is time to act.″

He said his orders will “supercharge our administration’s ambitious plan to confront the existential threat of climate change.”

Biden has set a goal of eliminating pollution from fossil fuel in the power sector by 2035 and from the U.S. economy overall by 2050, speeding what is already a market-driven growth of solar and wind energy and lessening the country’s dependence on oil and gas. The aggressive plan is aimed at slowing human-caused global warming that is magnifying extreme weather events such as deadly wildfires in the West and drenching rains and hurricanes in the East.

Biden acknowledged the political risk, repeatedly stating his approach would create jobs in the renewable energy and automotive sectors to offset any losses in oil, coal or natural gas.

“When I think of climate change and the answers to it, I think of jobs,″ Biden said. “These aren’t pie-in-the-sky dreams. These are concrete actionable solutions. And we know how to do this.″

In a change from previous administrations of both parties, Biden also is directing agencies to focus help and investment on the low-income and minority communities that live closest to polluting refineries and other hazards, and the oil- and coal-patch towns that face job losses as the U.S. moves to sharply increase its reliance on wind, solar and other other energy sources that do not emit climate-warming greenhouse gases.

Biden pledged to create “millions of good-paying, union jobs” building electric cars, installing solar panels and wind turbines, and performing specialized work to cap abandoned wells, restore mine-scarred land and turn old industrial sites “into the new hubs of economic growth.″

Even so, Republicans immediately criticized the plan as a job killer.

“Pie-in-the-sky government mandates and directives that restrict our mining, oil, and gas industries adversely impact our energy security and independence,″ said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Biden also is elevating the warming climate to a national security priority, directing intelligence agencies, the military and others to do more to prepare for the heightened risks. The conservation plan would set aside millions of acres for recreation, wildlife and climate efforts by 2030 as part of Biden’s campaign pledge for a $2 trillion program to slow global warming.

President Donald Trump, who ridiculed the science of climate change, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris global climate accord, opened more public lands to coal, gas and oil production and weakened regulation on fossil fuel emissions. Experts say these emissions are heating the Earth’s climate dangerously and worsening floods, droughts and other natural disasters.

Currently, 61% of the nation’s electric power comes from natural gas and coal, 20% from nuclear and 17% from wind, solar and other renewable energy, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says.

Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said that “if this Day 7 momentum is representative of this administration’s 4-year term, there is every reason to believe that we might achieve carbon neutrality sooner than 2050,” even as key roadblocks lie ahead.

Biden’s actions came as his nominee for energy secretary, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, faced deep skepticism from Republicans as she tried to pitch the president’s vision for a green economy.

“The last Democratic administration went on a regulatory rampage to slow or stop energy production,” said Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a leading Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “I’m not going to sit idly by … if the Biden administration enforces policies that threaten Wyoming’s economy.″

Granholm, whose state was devastated by the 2008 recession, promoted emerging clean energy technologies, such as battery manufacturing, as an answer for jobs that will be lost as the U.S. transitions away from fossil fuels.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry, now Biden’s climate envoy, said oil, gas and coal workers “have been fed a false narrative″ that ”somehow, dealing with climate is coming at their expense. No, it’s not. What’s happening to them is happening because of other market forces already taking place.″

Instead of possible black lung disease, a miner would have a brighter future as a solar power technician, Kerry said. “The same people can do those jobs, but the choice of doing the solar power one now is a better choice.″

The oil industry said curtailing domestic production will lead to an increase in imported oil.

“I don’t think any American wants to go back to the days of being held hostage to foreign entities that don’t have America’s best interest at heart as we lose American energy leadership,” said Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute.

Sommers and other industry leaders warned that states could lose hundreds of thousands of jobs and critical funding. Nearly one-third of New Mexico’s state budget comes from oil and gas, said Ryan Flynn, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

Biden’s directive to double energy production from offshore wind comes after the Trump administration slowed permit review of some giant offshore wind turbine projects. Significantly, he is directing agencies to eliminate spending that acts as subsidies for fossil fuel industries.

The pause in onshore leasing is limited to federal lands and does not affect drilling on private lands, which is largely regulated by states. It also will not affect existing leases and could be further blunted by companies that stockpiled enough drilling permits in Trump’s final months to allow them to keep pumping oil and gas for years.

The order exempts tribal lands, mainly in the West, that are used for energy production.

Biden also directed U.S. agencies to use science and evidence-based decision-making in federal rules and announced a U.S.-hosted climate leaders summit on Earth Day, April 22.

___

Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe and Brian Slodysko in Washington and Cathy Bussewitz in New York contributed to this report.

The post Climate Change: Biden Accelerates US Move to Clean Energy appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Man charged for murder after body found in wheelie bin in Perth dam

Western Australia police have charged a man with the murder of Dinh Lam Nguyen, whose body was found floating in a wheelie bin in Glen Brook Dam in Perth's east on Tuesday.

The 51-year-old father-of-two was allegedly stabbed to death by his business partner Todd Nathan Kieran, 28, police said.

They were long time business associates in Perth's drug trade, detectives alleging the pair were fighting over money in the hours before the murder.

READ MORE: Body found in a wheelie bin in a dam east of Perth identified

Kieran's alleged victim, Mr Nguyen, had a police history, sentenced to three years prison for drug trafficking in 2017.

Kiernan is now behind bars, after living with his parents at Mahogany Creek for little over two months.

But police found no bloodied rooms as investigations continued today.

Police say the key piece of evidence is a white ute which officers seized from the property last night.

Detectives are analysing the vehicle for human DNA as they believe it was used to transport the victim's body to Glen Brook Dam.

Investigations come after members of the public discovered Mr Nguyen's remains on Tuesday afternoon when they noticed a bad smell coming from the bin.

Inside the bin they discovered a large object wrapped in pink plastic and upon closer inspection noticed a human body part. They then called police.

Mr Nguyen was last seen leaving his Dallington Crescent home in Balga on Monday — the same day police believe he was killed.

His blue Mazda has been located, found burnt out in Chidlow.

Witnesses can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au.

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Car located after terrifying Bourke Street Mall pedestrians

Police are on the hunt for a driver who sped erratically down Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall, terrifying pedestrians nearby.

Officers attempted to stop a green Mitsubishi Lancer just before 5pm on Swanston Street, over a traffic related incident.

The driver sped north and turned onto Bourke Street Mall where eye witnesses reported seeing bystanders jump for cover as the car flew along the tram tracks and crashed into a bollard.

Police approached with their guns drawn, but a passenger ran from the car towards Elizabeth Street before the driver did a u-turn and took off again.

The Police Air Wing was called in and the Mitsubishi was located on Ashworth Street in Albert Park about 6.40pm with its number plates missing.

One witness said the scene on Bourke Street Mall was shocking.

"Crash – bang, bang! It hit the bollard," the witness said.

"Someone was sitting here … The bollard was lucky to be there."

Car speeds down Melbourne's Bourke Street mall

There were no injuries reported and police don't believe the driver was intentionally trying to target pedestrians.

Police are taking witness accounts and ask anyone who saw the incident or has vision to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

In January 2017 a car was deliberately driven into pedestrians at the same location, killing six and injuring a further 27 people.

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Missing teenager with non-verbal autism found alive

A missing teenager with non-verbal autism has been found 50 metres offshore on a houseboat.

More than 150 local volunteers joined the full-scale search for Leif Courtney, 13, after he disappeared from his house on the Pacific Highway in Mooney Mooney, NSW, last night.

Leif was found this afternoon after nearly 20 hours away from his family.

Leif Courtney was found 50 metres off shore on a house boat.Missing teenager Leif Courtney has been found safe and well.

Leif's mother Leonie Morris said "there are not any words" for the relief she feels seeing her son again.

"(He is) relieved to be back," Ms Morris said.

"I heard he was crying on the boat, so he is much more relieved."

His carer Lisa Bradley said she thinks he swam out to the boat and spent the night there.

It is thought Leif slipped out a normally locked back door and slid down a palm tree trunk from the second storey of his house.

Missing teen with autism found on house boat Brett Hogbin helped find the teenager.

Brett Hogbin was part of the search party and found the teenager after someone else spotted him.

"He was on the houseboat and he's seen us, he was happy to see us," Mr Hogbin told 9News.

"He was really happy, and he's with his mum now.

"His mum wouldn't believe it until she spoke to me," he added.

Earlier, NSW Police released information to try and help find him.

"He likes apples, his favourite song is Fireflies and (he) loves chickens," Acting Supt Kylie Phillips said.

"Yell out apples. His family have advised he likes apples and that is something that is known."

As locals turned out to help in the search, they blasted his favourite song from their cars today in hopes of capturing his attention.

"He's non-verbal but he's not afraid of crowds," his father Allen Courtney said as he spent the last 24 hours worried for Leif's wellbeing.

"Please approach him if you see him and just do your best."

A 13-year-old boy has gone missing from his home in Mooney Mooney.

Police said they had used "all available resources" to find the teen, including members from Rural Fire Service, SES, sniffer dogs and a rescue helicopter to find the boy.

The search encompassed Mooney Mooney, Kangaroo Point and Brooklyn, with police searching nearby tunnels, caves and re-canvassing earlier search areas.

Train lines between Gosford to Cowan were suspended in case he was on the tracks.

"The family are obviously very distraught but appreciate all the community assistance," Ms Phillips said.

Leif's mother urged people to call him "Leify", and to say, "It's sleepy time, head on your pillow, clean your teeth".

Leif is pronounced as "Layfe".