Another Jamaican has made it to the upper echelons of the political ladder in the United States. The Rev Dr Karen Green has been appointed one of four vice-chairs of the Florida Democratic Party.
Green most recently served as the Florida Democratic Party’s chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is also a humanitarian ambassador-at-large for the United Nations.
An alumna of St Hugh’s High School in Jamaica, she has served as the Caribbean Coalition director for a number of presidential campaigns, including Hillary Clinton’s. She is also a presidential campaign liaison for Democrats abroad and has served as advance speaker to former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Green was appointed to her new political position by the chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, Manny Diaz.
The new vice-chairs will join existing executive members to comprise the Florida Democratic Party’s statewide leadership team.
In an interview with The Gleaner on her new appointment, Green emphasised that her priority will be to expand the message of the Democratic Party in Florida, as well as bring various communities into the fold.
Noting that the Democratic Party did not do as well in the 2020 elections as had been expected, she said that the party did not sufficiently counter the message promulgated by Republicans in the state.
“This (position) provides me with the opportunity to apply my experiences, knowledge, and successes to bring inclusion into the democratic process. My outreach will be to women who are critical pieces of the Democratic Party, if we are to make significant strides in Florida,” she said.
Green will be looking to replicate the best practices of the outreach programme utilised by Stacey Abrams in Georgia, which led to Joe Biden winning an overwhelming Republican state and securing victories for two Democratic Senate candidates.
A former student of the University of Technology and The University of the West Indies before going off to London, England, to study, Green had her first foray into politics in Jamaica as a young intern in the Ministry of Youth.
From there, she reported having organised and registered many youth voters in Portmore, St Catherine.
Her entry into US politics came after migrating in 1990 and was inspired by Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic Party Convention in support of the candidacy of John Kerry.
“I supported Kerry’s presidential campaign and later worked with the Obama coalition,” she pointed out.
But she sees her new role as another challenge on the political journey.
“We have to select the right candidates for statewide offices in Florida – candidates who bring diversity and have a winning message,” she said.
Green said that immigration, education, healthcare, minimum wage, small businesses, economic empowerment, agricultural and industrial partnerships, and reaching beyond the traditional Democratic lines to woo new members would be critical to effectively competing in Florida.
“We have to find a way to educate and build alliances. We have to find issues that will make voters see us as more electable,” she said.
Green also believes that faith-based outreach must be part of the Democratic Party’s strategy.
A respected political strategist, social justice advocate, mediator, and humanitarian, Green brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to her new task as she seeks to transform the Florida political landscape into Democratic territory.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced that all travelers entering Jamaica, both Jamaicans and non-nationals, will now have to present a negative COVID-19 test to enter the country.
The test must be conducted within 72 hours prior to the date of travel.
This was among the series of new measures announced by the Prime Minister at a digital press conference on Sunday, February 28. The new testing requirement will take effect on Thursday, March 4.
Prior to this, only citizens of specific countries Jamaica had classified as high-risk were required to provide a negative test. These countries were the United States, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama.
But on Sunday, Holness announced that all tourists and Jamaican nationals will now be required to present a negative test, given the recent spike in COVID-19 positive cases in the country.
“We had great faith that our Jamaicans coming home would have this very high sense of patriotism and understand the pressure that our system would be under, if they were to behave in deviant ways from what we recommend as socially responsible in the pandemic. It has not always been the case that our travelling Jamaicans do this – certainly in the maintenance of the quarantine and it is having an impact on the numbers,” he said.
The Prime Minister pointed that when the Government first began its controlled re-entry programme for non-Jamaicans where pre-testing was required, it had been contemplated at that time to also test Jamaicans, but they had been exempted due to certain considerations.
“We studied it very carefully and we thought that based upon everything – the legal considerations, the stress it would place on our travelling population – that we would not require them to test,” he said.
He noted however that “given where we are where, it is now a threat to lives…with this new spike…. we think it is now justified in these circumstances to require Jamaicans coming home to present a negative COVID-19 test.”
Turning to business travellers who were always required to present a COVID-negative test, then tested again upon arrival in Jamaica, the Prime Minister informed that they will now be required to pay for that test.
“The Government has to shift this burden because obviously the limited budget that we have, in every area we have to try and save. So, we will shift the burden of the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test unto the business traveller,” Mr. Holness explained.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister informed that the Government is continuing to restrict flights coming directly from the United Kingdom (UK), “and this will continue until the 22nd of March 2021.”
Propelled by a burgeoning sense of doom and fears of a reinstatement of a dictatorship, thousands of Haitians peacefully waved tree branches and Haitian flags through the capital and several major cities in Haiti Sunday to protest a growing wave of for-ransom kidnappings, and again called for the departure of President Jovenel Moïse.
In what was deemed the largest demonstration since anti-government protests resumed earlier this year, protesters accused Moïse, who has been ruling by presidential decree for over a year, of trying to become a dictator and overstaying his time in the National Palace. Opposition leaders contend that Moïse’s time in office ended Feb. 7. Moïse disagrees, saying he has another year as president.
People protest to demand the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. The opposition is disputing the mandate of President Moise whose term they claim ended on Feb. 7, but the president and his supporters say his five-year term only expires in 2022. Dieu Nalio Chery AP
The constitutional crisis has plunged Haiti deeper into turmoil, and has triggered a series of protests, some of which have turned violent, on the streets. Moïse’s detractors have gone as far as installing their own interim president — Judge Joseph Mecene Jean-Louis, 72, who was later removed from the Supreme Court by Moïse — and on Sunday, called on the United Nations, United States and Organization of American States to cease their support for him.
As they chanted, “Down with the dictatorship” and denounced Moïse’s rule, they also targeted the head of the U.N.’s Integrated Office in Port-au-Prince, Helen La Lime, saying the protest was also a show of force to her.
On Monday, La Lime told the U.N. Security Council that after months of failed street mobilization efforts by Haiti’s opposition, recent actions by Moïse, including the issuing of decrees and the removal of three Supreme Court judges, had led 3,000 Haitians to peacefully demonstrate against him on Feb. 14 “to denounce what they deem to be a looming risk of return to authoritarian rule.” The figure has been widely disputed by civic and opposition groups, who accused La Lime of not knowing how to count. The U.N. has said it stands by the accounting, which does not contradict other assessments performed by reliable organizations.
“We have to teach her how to count,” said a protesting Sen. Patrice Dumont, one of only 11 elected lawmakers in all of Haiti.
There were no readily available official figures for Sunday’s protest, which was organized by some of the country’s most prominent Protestant pastors and supported by various civic groups, political organizations and unions. Along with Port-au-Prince, marches took place in six other cities.
Moïse’s only comment about the protest was a tweet about an accident at the end of the protest involving a sound truck where two people were injured. He was informed of the accident, he said, and deplored the tragedy.
Largely free from the tear gas and violent clashes that have characterized previous demonstrations, Sunday’s effort was also one of the more diverse: pastors were joined by Catholic priests, as well as poor Haitians, high-profile businessmen and journalists, former lawmakers, human rights activists and political militants.
“Today is a day that Haitian youths have to show they are ready to cut ties with a dictatorship,” said Jonas Dorfeuille, 30, who is studying finance and law. “We want the country to enter into an era where corruption is less; people can eat and people have rights; where the youth of this country don’t have to leave in search of a better life and where our future can be guaranteed. For this to happen, you have to have a government that’s credible and based on the development of the country.”
Haiti is currently embroiled in a worsening political crisis that has led to the United States to demand that Moïse schedule legislative elections as quickly as technically feasible in order to end his one-man rule. Moïse has said elections will take place this year, but only after he holds a referendum for a new constitution, now set for June. Though the referendum has the support of the U.N., which believes the country’s 1987 post-dictatorship constitution is the root of its turmoil, Haitian legal scholars, civic groups and the opposition have denounced the move as illegal because of a prohibition against referendums in the magna carta.
Meanwhile, the controversy over the end of Moïse’s presidential term and the protracted political crisis have been made worse by a wave of kidnappings and increased criminality by armed gangs.
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/article249589003.html#storylink=cpy
Air ambulance provider AeroMD has expanded its ICU-level capability as the coronavirus continues to put pressure on healthcare systems
AeroMD recently added a Cessna Citation Bravo jet to its US Virgin Islands-based medical evacuation fleet. In conjunction with strategic aviation partner Bohlke International Airways, the jet was selected for exceptional safety and its spacious cabin to accommodate a patient stretcher and extensive medical equipment. Strategically enhancing the fleet amid Covid-19 allows AeroMD to accommodate both patients testing positive and those displaced by secondary effects of the disease.
“This new asset adds redundancy and depth to the fleet, allowing us to help more patients simultaneously and reliably,” said AeroMD President and Chief Medical Officer, Dr Brendan Anzalone. “Particularly in this time of need during the coronavirus pandemic, we are pleased to be able to enhance the fleet.”
Right aircraft for air medical transfers
The new aircraft, a Cessna 550B Citation Bravo, has a maximum range of 1,720 miles with a top speed of 459 miles per hour. The St Croix-based Tradewinds Flight Center team is certified to perform maintenance on this airframe so that downtime will be minimal. A cabin volume of 278 cubic feet readily fits a patient stretcher with seating for a patient companion and medical team members, including a flight nurse, respiratory practitioner, or flight paramedic. A full complement of medical equipment is easily accommodated onboard within the aircraft’s dedicated medevac configuration, including a Carefusion EnVe® critical care ventilator and a Zoll X-series cardiac monitor/defibrillator. Also allowing space for a portable laboratory and onboard critical care pharmacy, the plane is essentially a flying intensive care unit.
Air medical resources boosted in the Caribbean
“Bespoke to the 1,700 Caribbean missions we have flown since 2015, the addition of this Citation Bravo provides additional resources capable of serving the growing needs of residents and tourists throughout the Caribbean Basin and beyond. The proven safety record and characteristics of this Cessna aircraft, along with our geographic expertise, allow our team to respond at any hour to assist patients and families in crisis,” said Allan Adler, Vice-President of AeroMD.
The leadership of AeroMD proactively invested in specialized medical equipment at the onset of the pandemic, including extensive personal protective equipment and negative pressure isolation patient transport pods. Undertaking pandemic-specific training, the medical team dedicates daily continuing education sessions preparing to help Covid-19-positive patients.
Beginning next week, we offer something new: As dawn approaches in the United States, some of The Associated Press top journalists across Europe will be alternating each weekday to create your Morning Wire. They’ll scour our global news report for the most significant and most relevant stories and imagery – and a few unexpected things as well.
Until then, please enjoy this selection of stories from the AP’s global news report. And thank you for reading.
PARIS (AP) — In an industrial neighborhood on the outskirts of Bangladesh’s largest city lies a factory with gleaming new equipment imported from Germany, its immaculate hallways lined with……Read More
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo acknowledged for the first time Sunday that some of his behavior with women “may have been insensitive or too personal,” and said he would cooper…Read More
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Police in Myanmar’s biggest city on Monday fired tear gas at defiant crowds who returned to the streets to protest the military’s seizure of power a month ago, despite…..Read More
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Taking the stage for the first time since leaving office, former President Donald Trump called for GOP unity, even as he exacerbated intraparty divisions by attacking fell…Read More
In the opening moments of a Golden Globes night even more chaotic and confounding than usual, co-host Tina Fey raised a theoretical question: “Could this whole night have been an email?” Only …Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of attacking an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week. Netanyahu spoke to Is…Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — China appears to be moving faster toward a capability to launch its newer nuclear missiles from underground silos, possibly to improve its ability to r…Read More
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Brian Delaney checked his ticket, found his seats and then sat down for a minute in the sunshine. It wasn’t a typical late February day in Arizo…Read More
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prince Harry says the process of separating from royal life has been very difficult for him and his wife, Meghan. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, …Read More
Not only was the show—which saw co-hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler return for a fourth round after a five-year break—produced under the most unique of circumstances, thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but it was a night of true firsts.
From members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association taking the stage at their big show to admit they have work to do in terms of true diversity among their ranks following the revelation that there are zero Black members currently serving to a whole host of winners who made history as they took home their hardware, the 78th annual ceremony was one we won’t soon forget.
And that’s not just because we’re still sobbing over the late Chadwick Boseman‘s wife Taylor Simone Ledward, who accepted an award on her husband’s behalf. But, if we’re being honest, that was one acceptance speech that we have a feeling will be talked about for years to come.
Take a look at everyone who made history on the HFPA’s big night!
NBC
The Hosts
For the first time in its 78 year history, the Golden Globes aired with hosts on opposite ends of the country. With Tina Fey operating out of the Rainbow Room in New York City and Amy Poehler at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, the BFFs were spliced together on screen via technology. Though, as you can see above, not all the effects were quite so seamless.
NBC
The Crowd
In another first, owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the audience present in both locations wasn’t made up of the usual stars getting toasty off the bottomless champagne. Instead, a sparse grouping of masked first responders and essential workers were invited to laugh at the jokes and shift awkwardly in their seats when the virtual speeches went wonky.
NBC
Daniel Kaluuya
Winning Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his work as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah, Kaluuya became the first British-born Black actor to win a Golden Globe for a film.
NBC
John Boyega
Similarly, with his Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film win for his work in Small Axe, Boyega became the first British-born Black actor to earn the trophy.
Georgie Eisdell/Instagram
Anya Taylor-Joy
With her Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film win for her work in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, Taylor-Joy became the first woman of Latin descent to win the category. (Her father is Argentinian.)
David Lee/NETFLIX
Chadwick Boseman
Winning Best Actor in a Drama for his work in Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the late Black Panther star became the first Black actor to win posthumously in Golden Globes history. He’s only the second actor ever in this particular category, following Peter Finch‘s 1976 win for Network. Boseman is also the first winner in this category whose film debuted on a streaming service.
NBC
Kemp Powers
As the co-director of Soul, winner of Best Animated Feature Film, the playwright became the first Black filmmaker to win a Golden Globe for his debut film. Interestingly, The Hollywood Reporter notes that he and Pixar only found out he was eligible to receive the award the day of the telecast.
NBC
Sacha Baron Cohen
Taking home the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his work in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Baron Cohen became the first actor to win the same category for playing the same character in both an original film and its sequel. He previously won playing Borat in 2006.
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Winning Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy, the Amazon Original was the first film in either category to come out on top after debuting on a streaming service. It also marks the first live-action sequel to win the category in Globes history.
NBC
Chloé Zhao
Winning Best Director for Nomadland, which she also wrote and produced, Zhao became the first woman of color to ever earn the trophy and only the second woman ever. The first? Barbra Streisand for Yentl in 1983.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Nomadland
With her film winning Best Motion Picture—Drama, Zhao became the first Asian woman to produce a winning film in the category. It also marks the first time a film directed by a woman has ever won the category.
=================================================
Full list of the Golden Globes winners
Best Motion Picture – Drama – Nomadland
Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Pictur e – Drama- Andra Day (The United States Vs. Billie Holiday)
Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Drama – Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)
Best Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy
Rosamund Pike (I Care A Lot)
Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy – Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)
Best Motion Picture – Animated – Soul
Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language – Minari
Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role In Any Motion Picture – Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian)
Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In Any Motion Picture – Daniel Kaluuya (Judas And The Black Messiah)
Best Director – Chloe Zhao (Nomadland)
Best Screenplay – Aaron Sorkin (The Trial Of The Chicago 7)
Best Original Score – Soul
Best Original Song – Lo Si (Seen) (The Life Ahead)
Best Television Series – Drama – The Crown
Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series – Drama – Emma Corrin (The Crown)
Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Drama – Josh O’Connor
(The Crown)
Best Television Series – Musical Or Comedy – Schitt’s Creek
Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series – Musical Or Comedy – Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)
Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Musical Or Comedy – Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)
Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television – The Queen’s Gambit
Best Performance By An Actress In A Limited Series, Anthology Series Or A Motion Picture Made For Television – Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)
Best Performance By An Actor In A Limited Series, Anthology Series Or A Motion Picture Made For Television – Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True)
Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Supporting Role – Gillian Anderson (The Crown)
Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Supporting Role – John Boyega
9News has obtained exclusive CCTV footage of the moment a Land Cruiser ploughed into a Darwin bar, sending a man flying through a glass door.
The stunning vision also appears to show the accused driver being assaulted in a violent street brawl prior to him allegedly getting behind the wheel.
Dale Talbot, 38, is allegedly chased down in the December footage, dropping onto the road in a foetal position before allegedly being punched, dragged and stomped on.
Joey Hazlebane, 25, Wade Hunter, 32, and Karlla Garling, 30, have been charged over the assault.
Today their lawyer, Peter Maley, told a court they will be pleading guilty to engaging in violent conduct and fighting in a public place. However, Ms Garling will be contesting her aggravated assault charge.
Mr Talbot's family says it is the alleged assault that drove him over the edge.
He is accused of getting into the Land Cruiser and driving it into the front of the Mitchell Street venue where the trio was reportedly standing.
The CCTV footage appears to show one man sent flying through the glass door as a woman and man throw punches through the driver's window.
The man that was sent flying allegedly comes back to the scuffle and police arrive shortly after to arrest the driver.
Mr Talbot is still in custody following the events.
The UK government is facing urgent calls for tougher border measures after officials said they were searching for one of six people infected with the highly transmissible Brazilian coronavirus variant.
Public Health England said on Sunday that three cases of the variant had been detected in England and three in Scotland, but that the identity of one of those carrying the virus was unknown as they had not provided their contact details.
The P1 variant, also known as the B1128 variant, shares some of the same mutations as the highly transmissible South African variant and was first identified in Manaus, Brazil, in January. It is thought that it could respond less well to current vaccines.
Two of the English cases are from a single household in south Gloucestershire, a member of whom returned from Brazil a month after the variant was first identified and five days before the hotel quarantine policy came into force.
One individual in the household is understood to have developed symptoms before getting a test. Their contacts have been identified and retested, but surge testing is being rolled out in the Bradley Stoke, Patchway and Little Stoke areas as a precaution.
PHE and NHS test and trace are also following up with all passengers who arrived on the same Swiss Air Lines flight, LX318, which travelled from São Paulo via Zurich and landed at London Heathrow on 10 February.
However, a third, currently unlinked individual is still being sought whose identity is unknown because they did not complete the registration card that came with their Covid-19 testing kit.
Officials said their test was processed on 14 February, so it is likely they took it a day or two earlier. The person is unlikely to have taken their test at one of the regional test sites, where staff can check if contact details have been provided, but it could have been a home test or from local surge testing.
“We are therefore asking for anyone who undertook a test on 12 or 13 February and hasn’t received their result or has an uncompleted test registration card, to call 119 in England or 0300 303 2713 in Scotland for assistance as soon as possible,” PHE said.
It is also urging anyone on the Swiss Air Lines flight who has not been contacted to call 01174 503 174 to arrange a test.
The quarantine hotel policy, aimed at protecting the UK against new variants came into force on 15 February after much delay. In Scotland all international arrivals must go into hotel quarantine for 10 days, while in England the rules only apply to arrivals from 33 “red list” countries.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said: “It is deeply concerning that the Brazil Covid variant has been found in this country.
“It is now vital that we do everything we can to contain it. But this is further proof that the delay in introducing a hotel quarantine was reckless and the continuing refusal to put in place a comprehensive system leaves us exposed to mutations coming from overseas.
Three people living in north-east Scotland have also tested positive for the P1 variant after returning from Brazil via Paris and London. They were identified while self-quarantining and have since completed their full 10-day isolation period. Other passengers on their flight, which landed in Aberdeen in early February, are being contacted as a precaution.
This is the first time the P1 variant has been detected in the UK, although another Brazilian variant called P2 has previously been detected. Although it is currently being investigated, the early signs are that the P2 variant is not more transmissible.
A report from Brazilian researchers said the P1 variant was “potentially associated with an increase in transmissibility or propensity for reinfection of individuals”. It is also possible the variant may respond less well to current vaccines, but experts say more work is needed to understand this.
Dr Susan Hopkins, the PHE strategic response director for Covid-19 and NHS test and trace medical adviser, said: “We have identified these cases thanks to the UK’s advanced sequencing capabilities which means we are finding more variants and mutations than many other countries and are therefore able to take action quickly.
Public Health England’s Dr Susan Hopkins. Photograph: Reuters
“We ask that individuals come forward for testing through the symptomatic and asymptomatic test sites across the countries in order to continue to drive down cases in the community.”
The Scottish health secretary, Jeane Freeman, said: “This new variant demonstrates how serious Covid is and reinforces the need to minimise the spread of the virus. We would encourage everyone across the country to adhere to the necessary public health restrictions by staying at home except for essential purposes as this is the single best way of staying safe and stopping the spread of this virus. It is now also illegal for anyone to travel to or from Scotland unless it is for an essential reason.”
The chair of the Commons home affairs committee, the Labour MP Yvette Cooper, said the development showed the weaknesses in the government’s Covid border measures.
“The Brazil variant was first identified a month before one of these cases was brought in on 10 February and many weeks after the prime minister was warned that indirect flights were a problem, yet the government delayed putting stronger measures in place.”
US regulators have formally approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson (J&J) coronavirus vaccine, the third jab to be authorised in the country.
The vaccine is set to be a cost-effective alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and can be stored in a refrigerator instead of a freezer.
Trials found it prevented serious illness but was 66% effective overall when moderate cases were included.
The vaccine was developed mainly by J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceutica division.
The company has agreed to provide the US with 100 million doses by the end of June. The first doses could be available to the US public as early as next week.
The UK, EU and Canada have also ordered doses, and 500 million doses have also been ordered through the Covax scheme to supply poorer nations.
The European Medicines Agency could approve the drug for the EU in early March, with a speedy rollout to follow, French Industry Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said on Sunday.
‘All three are good’
President Joe Biden hailed it as “exciting news for all Americans, and an encouraging development”, but warned that the “fight is far from over”.
“Though we celebrate today’s news, I urge all Americans – keep washing your hands, stay socially distanced, and keep wearing masks,” he said in a statement.
“As I have said many times, things are still likely to get worse again as new variants spread, and the current improvement could reverse.”
Mr Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, on Sunday advised people to take the Johnson & Johnson shot, when asked about its effectiveness compared with the other two approved vaccines.
Dr Fauci told NBC: “All three of them are really quite good, and people should take the one that’s most available to them. If you go to a place and you have J&J, and that’s the one that’s available now, I would take it.”
Dr Fauci, 80, won’t need the J&J as he had his second dose of Moderna last week.
IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTES
Dr Fauci gets his first dose of Moderna in December – he had the second last week
Results from trials conducted in the US, South Africa and Brazil showed it was more than 85% effective at preventing serious illness, and 66% effective overall when moderate cases were included.
The efficacy rate was lower than two doses of Pfizer or Moderna, but the trials were organised differently and the J&J tests came at a time when new variants were in circulation, making comparisons difficult.
Notably, there were no deaths among participants who had received the J&J vaccine and no hospital admissions after 28 days post-vaccine.
Overall protection was lower in South Africa and Brazil, where virus variants have become dominant, but defence against severe or critical illness was “similarly high”.
A nurse fills a syringe with the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Seoul. Photograph: Song Kyung-Seok/AP
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine may be less effective in people with obesity, data suggests.
Italian researchers have discovered that healthcare workers with obesity produced only about half the amount of antibodies in response to a second dose of the jab compared with healthy people. Although it is too soon to know what this means for the efficacy of the vaccine, it might imply that people with obesity need an additional booster dose to ensure they are adequately protected against coronavirus.
Previous research has suggested that obesity – which is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) over 30 – increases the risk of dying of Covid-19 by nearly 50%, as well as increasing the risk of ending up in hospital by 113%.
Some of this may be because people with obesity often have other underlying medical conditions, such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes, that increase their risk from the coronavirus, but excess body fat can also cause metabolic changes, such as insulin resistance and inflammation, which make it harder for the body to fight off infections.
This constant state of low-grade inflammation can also weaken certain immune responses, including those launched by the B and T cells that trigger a protective response following vaccination. Separate research has shown that the flu vaccine is only half as effective in people with obesity compared to those who are a healthy weight.
The new study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, provides the first direct evidence to suggest a similar problem might occur with Covid-19 vaccines.
Aldo Venuti, of the Istituti Fisioterapici Ospitalieri in Rome, and his colleagues assessed the antibody response following two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in 248 healthcare workers. Seven days after receiving the second dose, 99.5% of them had developed an antibody response, and this response was greater than that recorded in people who had recovered from Covid-19. However, the response was blunted in people who were overweight and obese.
“Since obesity is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality for patients with Covid-19, it is mandatory to plan an efficient vaccination programme in this subgroup,” Aldo and his colleagues wrote. “Although further studies are needed, this data may have important implications to the development of vaccination strategies for Covid-19, particularly in obese people. If our data was to be confirmed by larger studies, giving obese people an extra dose of the vaccine or a higher dose could be options to be evaluated in this population.”
In the stifling heat of Buenaventura, Feliciana Hurtado walks around with a big smile on her face in the neighbourhood where she has delivered many babies over the last 30 years.
The 68-year-old greets the mothers whom she has helped, and their children.
Ms Hurtado lives in a relatively safe area of the mainly Afro-Colombian port city on Colombia’s impoverished and conflict-ridden western coast, but her work as a midwife often takes her to dangerous and troubled neighbourhoods.
Some of the babies Feliciana Hurtado helped deliver are now teenagers
Buenaventura has a long history of violent conflict, which led to it being dubbed Colombia’s “capital of horror”.
Since 1988, armed gangs have battled for territorial control of drug routes out of the port and carried out gruesome dismemberments in “casas de pique” (Spanish for chop houses).
In 2014, the Colombian military intervened in Buenaventura to regain control from the gangs.
The intervention provided short-term stability, but Buenaventura is now suffering a new wave of violence, and midwives like Ms Hurtado put themselves at risk by confronting armed fighters to help women living in violent areas deliver babies.
Ms Hurtado recalls armed fighters stopping her while entering dangerous neighbourhoods in the city to work.
“Why are you here? Who sent you? Whose house were you in?,” they would question her. “I’d tell them I was there to help a pregnant woman and would say which house I needed to go to. Then they would go and verify. Had there been no pregnant woman, I would have been in trouble.”
Mutual support
This traditional type of Afro-Colombian midwifery has been around for centuries on Colombia’s Pacific coast. In 2017, the Colombian government declared it as a national heritage practice in an effort to recognise and preserve the women’s ancestral knowledge.
In Buenaventura alone, there are at least 40 traditional Afro-Colombian midwives. In 1988, the women joined together to form the Association of United Midwives of the Pacific (Asoparupa) under the leadership of Rosmilda Quiñones.
Slightly torn photo shows Rosmilda Quiñones with one of the expectant mothers
The association supports over 250 midwives all over the Colombian Pacific region who attend to between 4,500 and 5,000 births annually.
Known as “las parteras” (Spanish for midwives), they use traditional techniques and remedies in their work, such as administering tomaseca, a potent alcoholic analgesic made with medicinal plants to prevent cramping.
image copyrightSteven Grattan
Ms Hurtado makes an analgesic out of medicinal plants
Many Afro-Colombian women say they prefer the services of the parteras to going to local clinics.
image copyrightSteven Grattan
Helen González gave birth to her child with the help of Feliciana Hurtado
Helen González, a 22-year-old who gave birth to a son nine months ago with Ms Hurtado’s help, says: “As soon as the contractions start, the parteras provide support. One doesn’t feel alone. I wasn’t interested in going to a hospital because I would have felt isolated.”
Authority in gang-controlled areas
For other women who live in conflict zones and therefore cannot safely leave their neighbourhoods, there is no choice.
Colombian gender equality activist Alejandra Coll explains that the parteras often act as a go-between to help women deliver in neighbourhoods controlled by armed gangs.
“When a pregnant woman needs a check-up or is ready to deliver, the parteras intervene on her behalf with the armed fighters,” she says. “They often even have some authority over the fighters because they helped their mothers give birth to them.”
image copyrightSteven Grattan
Many a baby in Buenaventura has been helped by a partera
Ms Hurtado, who is one of 14 siblings, has years of experience in dealing with gang members. “I show up and I say hello to them. I ask them how they are doing and I tell them I’m there to work.” She emphasizes she is courteous and friendly and that the armed men respond in kind.
Although local armed groups appear to respect the midwives for the most part, Asoparupa said that some of the women had experienced threats from armed gangs while working in dangerous neighbourhoods.
They have also been trapped in the crossfire as the gangs battle for territory. “There was one occasion when I wasn’t able to leave because there was a shoot-out,” says Ms Hurtado of a particularly difficult trip to see a pregnant woman in an area where armed gangs were active.
Sitting under a flickering light in her home as her neighbours blast reggaeton music from giant speakers, Ms Hurtado quietly organises her birthing tools on a low table. Rubber gloves, a stethoscope and scissors for cutting the umbilical cord are carefully laid out and ready for when she has to rush to a delivery.
image copyrightSteven Grattan
Feliciana Hurtado always has all her tools at the ready
The parteras are passionate about their work, and for many midwifery runs in the family.
Graciela Murillo, 60, explains that her mother was a partera. She grew up watching her work and wanted to follow in her footsteps from the age of eight. Ms Murillo’s granddaughter now wants to go into the ancestral line of work as well.
Midwifery runs in Graciela Murillo’s family – her aunt (in the photo on the wall) was a midwife and her mother, too
The midwives say their pay varies, and in some cases their patients cannot afford to pay at all. They will still see to them, though. “In some cases, we have to reach into our own pockets,” says Ms Murillo, who has continued to attend to and support pregnant women even during the coronavirus pandemic.
But despite the risks in a city as dangerous as Buenaventura, midwives like Ms Murillo and Ms Hurtado remain devoted to their work.
“It’s part of me. When I hear someone’s in labour, I’m there,” Ms Hurtado laughs. “I don’t care about the risk or the time of day.”
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