In Vietnam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested to resolutely and effectively implement the vaccine strategy, which accelerates access to purchase and import of Covid-19 vaccine sources for Vietnam, including through COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Program (COVAX). UNICEF and WHO representatives in Vietnam welcomed the first batch of Covid-19 vaccine including 811,200 doses in COVAX’s commitment to support Vietnam. (Source: UNICEF) From defense to attack According to the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang, following the Prime Minister’s direction with the spirit of “fighting the epidemic like fighting the enemy”, right from the time the Covid-19 epidemic broke out and countries conducted research and production, Successfully testing a vaccine against the disease, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad have made efforts to find, approach and negotiate with partners to provide vaccines against Covid-19 to soon import vaccines using vaccines. used in the country. In the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the COVAX mechanism is one of the best solutions to ensure the rapid and equitable deployment of safe and effective vaccines to all countries around the world. COVAX is coordinated by three organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) and the Coalition for Epidemic Response Innovations (CEPI), with distribution partners being United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). With the policy of joining COVAX early, in December 2020, Vietnam submitted a dossier to this mechanism to propose vaccine support. On that basis, COVAX has allocated vaccines and committed to provide Vietnam with a vaccine quantity guaranteed to immunize 20% of the population, equivalent to nearly 39 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine. Up to now, Vietnam has received more than 2.5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine under the COVAX mechanism. This is part of a total of 4.1 million doses of vaccine, worth up to $17 million, committed to Vietnam by COVAX in the first six months of 2021. The remaining batches will arrive in Vietnam by the end of this year and early 2022. All vaccines are provided free of charge by COVAX through UNICEF. Thus, up to now, this is the largest amount of vaccines Vietnam has received. According to Mr. Do Hung Viet, Director of the Department of International Organizations (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), participating in Vietnam’s COVAX program is about finding “the right person at the right time”. COVAX has promptly provided the first two batches of vaccines so that Vietnam can deploy its vaccination strategy, especially for the frontline forces against the epidemic, contributing to helping us begin to change the state of epidemic prevention from defense to prevention. translation attack. In ASEAN, before Vietnam, two countries have committed to contribute to COVAX: Singapore ($5 million) and the Philippines ($100,000). Spread the spirit of solidarity Up to now, COVAX has received funding from more than 40 countries and partners, mainly from the US, European Union (EU), Japan, Australia, UK… AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, distributed under the COVAX mechanism, has been vaccinated in Vietnam since early March. For COVAX’s goal of providing 2 billion doses of vaccine to developing countries, middle and low-income countries, the amount of money that COVAX needs to continue to mobilize is still very large. In addition, the global Covid-19 vaccine supply chain is being disrupted and disrupted by the resurgence of the pandemic in many places, especially in India – a large vaccine production “factory”. best of the world. In that context, the COVAX mechanism must be flexible and adjusted to meet more urgent needs in places where the epidemic situation is severe. The supply is low, many places have severe outbreaks of the disease, greatly affecting the vaccine supply schedule of COVAX. As a major beneficiary of the COVAX program, Vietnam is determined to join hands with the international community to respond to the pandemic. This is also the policy that Vietnam is strongly promoting in recent years. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Vietnam has stepped up to strengthen international cooperation and solidarity to cope with the epidemic, because Vietnam understands that no country will be safe when the world is still not safe. With that policy and spirit, Vietnam has decided to contribute $500,000 to the COVAX initiative. Thus, Vietnam is classified as one of the few developing countries contributing to COVAX. Mr. Do Hung Viet emphasized that the contribution to COVAX demonstrates Vietnam’s sense of responsibility in global efforts, strengthens multilateral cooperation, thereby enhancing Vietnam’s image and position in the eyes of foreign partners. international organizations as well as international friends. As soon as Vietnam announced its contribution to COVAX, many international organizations, including GAVI, UNICEF, WHO… gave thanks and appreciated this decision. “Through this contribution, Vietnam hopes to have a synergistic effect, spreading the spirit of international solidarity so that governments of other countries and other partners can take necessary actions to increase support for the country. COVAX”, shared Mr. Do Hung Viet. The frontline against epidemics abroad The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is tasked by the Government with the Ministry of Health as the main agency in finding and accessing vaccine sources. With a network of more than 90 Vietnamese representative offices abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has coordinated to drastically implement this task. Thereby, Vietnam has access to a number of vaccine sources of countries and international organizations to contribute to Vietnam’s vaccination strategy. Currently, on a global scale, vaccines are not only a medical issue but also contain many political factors. The decision of countries to support each other with vaccines depends a lot on bilateral relations in many fields. Therefore, the Vietnamese representative missions abroad and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have conducted hundreds of contacts and mobilized access to vaccine sources in countries and international organizations. This tireless effort has yielded practical results such as the recent commitments to provide Covid-19 vaccines from COVAX and the US, Russia, Japan, China… to Vietnam. UNICEF has also expressed its willingness to support our country in accessing and purchasing a vaccine against Covid-19. As the world’s largest vaccine “buyer” with longstanding relationships with leading pharmaceutical companies, UNICEF has the ability to assist Vietnam in connecting and negotiating contract terms, prices and timeframes. vaccine supply time. Mr. Do Hung Viet said that this is an effective channel to access and buy vaccines that Vietnam needs to take advantage of. In addition to accessing vaccine sources of countries, international organizations, and Vietnamese representative missions abroad, they also make efforts to connect with state and provincial governments in some countries, taking advantage of the relationship. Twinning relationship with localities to mobilize vaccine support. Obviously, dealing with the epidemic requires the cooperation of the whole community. While doctors and medical staff are on the frontline against the epidemic at home, diplomats are also soldiers on the front lines abroad to “fight” to collect vaccine sources to increase vaccination coverage. vaccination for Vietnamese people, contributing to early fight against the pandemic. COVAX’s initial goal is to purchase and mobilize 2 billion doses of vaccine by the end of 2021, enough to protect high-risk, vulnerable people and frontline healthcare workers worldwide, half of which were shipped to 92 low- and middle-income countries to vaccinate about 20% of the population of these countries. However, because the amount of COVAX vaccine received was much short of the set target, by May 24, 2021, COVAX had only distributed 72 million doses of the vaccine to 125 countries and economies.

The WHO Independent Panel of Experts recommends the use of Sinovac vaccine for people over 18 years of age. The evaluation data show that this vaccine is effective in protection in the elderly. Sinovac is the second Chinese vaccine approved by WHO for emergency use. (Photo: Reuters) WHO’s decision was made based on a review of the latest clinical data on the safety and efficacy of Sinovac’s vaccine as well as the company’s manufacturing practices. On May 5, the WHO technical advisory group met, reviewed and evaluated the Sinovac vaccine. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Sinovac vaccine is safe and effective, emphasizing that it does not require a high level of vaccine preservation, suitable for low-income countries. “Now it’s important to get these life-saving tools quickly into the hands of those who need them.” , the head of WHO said. Sinovac is the second Chinese vaccine approved by WHO for emergency use. On May 7, the Sinopharm vaccine became the first vaccine not from a Western pharmaceutical company to be approved by the WHO. Meanwhile, China’s third vaccine, manufactured by CanSino Biologics, has also submitted clinical trial data. However, WHO has not yet scheduled an assessment. As of the end of May, Sinovac pharmaceutical company has supplied more than 600 million doses inside and outside China, of which more than 430 million doses have been used.

In the statement, the WHO’s independent expert panel recommended that Sinovac be given to adults over 18 years of age, with a second dose initiated every 2-4 weeks. There is no age limit for this vaccine, as data shows it is likely to protect older adults. This is the second Chinese vaccine approved by the WHO for emergency use – after the Sinopharm vaccine approved in early May. Covid-19 vaccine box manufactured by Sinovac pharmaceutical company. Photo: Anadolu Agency. A third Chinese vaccine, manufactured by CanSino Biologics, has submitted clinical trial data, but WHO has not scheduled a review. Sinovac said it had delivered more than 600 million doses of the vaccine at home and abroad as of the end of May, of which more than 430 million had been administered. In addition, China has deployed hundreds of millions of doses of its own vaccines – including Sinopharm and Sinovac – to many countries, especially in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Many of these countries have difficulty finding a vaccine developed by the West.

“The new naming does not replace the scientific names of the variants, but can aid in public discussion,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical team leader on Covid-19. Other SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest will be labeled with the words “Epsiloon”, “Zeta”, “Eta”, “Theta” and “Iota”. (Artwork: BBC) Under the new system, the British variant (B.1.1.7) is called “Alpha”, the South African variant (B.1.351) is “Beta”, the Brazilian variant (P1) is “Gamma”. The Indian variant B.1.617 is divided into sub-lineages, where the B.1.617.2 variant is called “Delta” and the B.1.617.1 variant is called “Kappa”. Names such as variant B.1.1.7.2 will continue to be used in scientific circles, because of the mutational information their names convey. “Despite their advantages, scientific names can be difficult to say and remember, and easily misinterpreted. As a result, people often refer to variants by the places where they were first discovered, causing stigma and discrimination,” according to the WHO statement. “To avoid this and simplify mass communication, WHO encourages authorities, national media and everyone else to use these new names,” the WHO said. The Greek alphabet has 24 letters and WHO has not yet planned what to do next if all 24 letters are used. According to AFP, “Epsilon”, “Zeta”, “Eta”, “Theta” and “Iota” are names for variants of interest.

WHO technical team leader on Covid-19 Maria Van Kerkhove. Photo: AFP According to the new announcement, WHO will use Greek letters to refer to variants that were first detected in countries such as the UK, South Africa and India. For example, the variant in the UK is called Alpha, in South Africa it is Beta, and in India it is Delta. The full list of names has been published on the WHO website. The Government of India earlier this month criticized the naming of variant B.1.617.2 – first detected in the country last October – as “Indian variant”, despite WHO never officially called it that. “No country should be discriminated against in detecting and reporting variants,” said WHO’s Covid-19 technical team leader Maria Van Kerkhove, “we don’t want to replace scientific names.” available, but only to assist in the transmission of certain information to the general public” If more than 24 variants are officially identified, meaning the system will run out of Greek letters, WHO will announce the new designation. Ms. Van Kerkhove on May 31 also called for close monitoring of variants and sharing of scientific data to help prevent the spread. Over the weekend, Vietnamese health officials warned of a new virus variant, which is believed to be a dangerous combination of two Alpha and Delta variants. While a scientific adviser to the British Government on May 31 said that the country is in the early stages of a third wave of Covid-19 infections, partly due to the Delta variant.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Photo: Reuters As suggested by WHO, the COVID-19 mutation is called “British strain” or B.1.1.7 should be called “Alpha”, while the common mutant strain in South Africa is renamed “Beta” . The two Brazilian strains, called P.1 and P.2, became Gamma and Zeta, respectively, while the two subtypes of the “Indian variant”, B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2, were called “Kappa” and “Delta”. Two other strains, first reported by the US in March of this year, were assigned the most difficult names to remember, “Epsilon” and “Iota”. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s COVID-19 expert team, stressed that the new names will not replace the scientific name of the strain, because the scientific name is a complex combination of letters and numbers. Instead, the new name will make it easier for people to name variables in public discussions. At the same time, this will help remove the stigma against the country that first discovered the mutation. “No country should be discriminated against for detecting and reporting mutations,” and Van Kerkhove said. WHO List of VOCs of concern. List of Variants of Interest (VOI). In which, the first column is the new name proposed by WHO. The WHO’s new move comes in the context of India’s growing anger when the media calls the B.1.617 virus strain an “Indian variant”. India’s Health Ministry argued last month that the name freely used in the media was “misleading” because it was not a name designated by the WHO. Earlier, in February, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, then co-chair of South Africa’s Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19, told CNN in an interview to stop calling the virus spreading. in his country is the “South African variant.” Instead, call it by its scientific name: 501Y.V2. The politically correct idea of ​​WHO is supported by many countries. But it also confuses many people. Some observers argue that Greek letters are actually not that easy to remember. While others point out that the WHO is in danger of “running out of names” at some point, since the Greek alphabet has only 24 letters.

Countries are looking for ways to encourage people to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Photo: Getty Starting May 27, the first two million Californians to get vaccinated will each receive $50 in cash or a gift card. California Governor Gavin Newsom said this is part of an effort to promote vaccination as the state prepares to fully reopen the economy on June 15. “I announce the application of incentive cards. Two million cards will be applied on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re 12 or older, you can get a credit card or $50 cash,” Newsom said. 10 Californians vaccinated before June 15 also have a chance to win a $1.5 million lottery prize. States and private organizations across the country also offer a variety of incentives to convince people to get vaccinated, from free baseball tickets and beer, to college scholarships and cash. Meanwhile in Iraq, the private sector is also launching initiatives to support the government’s vaccination program. A cafe in the capital Baghdad announced free service to customers who have been vaccinated. You just need to show the vaccination certificate, you will be served free delicious coffee in the shop. Shop owner Yasser Alaa said the initiative was meant to emphasize the importance of vaccination. “I think we should expand the initiatives. Life is returning to normal thanks to vaccines. We have no weapons other than vaccines in this battle. We want to urge people to understand the importance of vaccines,” Alaa said. In Chile, if you get the vaccine, you will receive a “travel pass”, which allows you to move freely within the country. “This helps to make it easier for people who have had enough vaccinations to meet and have more contact with their loved ones,” said Chile’s health minister. However, there are limits to who can receive the card. They are not allowed to travel during the curfew, respecting public health regulations. Other measures including wearing masks and social distancing must still be observed. Freedom of movement does not include travel abroad, and the “Travel Pass” will use a QR code, allowing the government to change people’s status instantly if they become infected. The European Union’s “digital certification of Covid-19”, which requires users to have a Covid-19 vaccine, is expected to take effect from July 1, is also a motivation for people to European countries speed up vaccine coverage. There is still a fear of vaccination not only in Africa but also in developed countries such as Europe or the US. Practically any vaccine has an adverse reaction. This is true for every drug, pharmaceutical, and even food. However, according to the assessment of the World Health Organization, the risks posed by vaccines are much lower than the benefits. The incidence of adverse reactions is very low. Therefore, we should not be too concerned to ignore a powerful weapon in the fight against this dangerous virus.

The COVID-19 pandemic first broke out in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China. Photo: Getty Images The United States and several countries are closer than ever to defeating COVID-19 thanks to progress in vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But the world still does not know how this deadly virus appeared, and there is a growing opinion from the scientific community that it does not happen naturally. The US is stepping up calls for more research and warning about the risks of future pandemics. Washington is also more open to weighing the theory that a mistake or failure in a Chinese laboratory caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the Chinese Government completely rejected this hypothesis and said that the dossier to trace the origin of the COVID-19 epidemic was closed. What’s new? According to CNN, a recent US intelligence report found that several researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill in November 2019 and were hospitalized – a new detail on the severity of the symptoms. disease in these scientists. It is not clear whether the researchers at that time had COVID-19 but the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) vehemently rejected the report, considering it a lie to promote the hypothesis that the virus leaked from the laboratory. . Scientists who worked for the WIV previously said the institute had nothing to do with COVID-19 disease until December 30, 2021. On May 24, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denied the information that three Wuhan researchers were hospitalized before the outbreak of COVID-19 and affirmed that this information was “completely untrue”. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian confirmed that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was not exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus before December 30, 2019, and its staff so far have not been infected. Scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Photo: AFP Meanwhile, on May 25, speaking at the US Congress, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that the failure to fund previous research on Corona virus in bats in China. Quoc is a “negligence of duty”. According to Fauci, the US should have pursued to the place where the contact between animals and humans could lead to the spread of the virus between species. Dr. Fauci himself, the leading infectious disease expert in the US, said this week he did not believe the COVID-19 outbreak occurred spontaneously and prompted further investigation. A World Health Organization (WHO) adviser, Jamie Metzl, also said the leak hypothesis is possible, while scientists are “groping, creating and studying” the virus with the aim of vaccine development. “So I believe what could have happened was a leak, followed by a cover-up,” said Metzl, who served at the US State Department and the Atlantic Council during the US presidency. President Bill Clinton said. The conclusion is that further investigation is needed An in-depth study conducted by WHO in collaboration with the Government of China, published in March, explored the different possible origins of the COVID-19 epidemic and came to the conclusion that: although still It is not yet known how the disease originated, but it is likely that it spread to humans, either directly from bats, or more likely from an intermediate species that caught the virus from bats and then spread to humans. for human. Bats can be an intermediary that spreads the SARS-CoV-2 virus to humans. Photo: NPR The WHO report called the laboratory leak theory “extremely unlikely”, citing the fact that no laboratory staff in Wuhan were infected before December 2020 as an argument against this hypothesis. After the WHO report was published, its officials still called for an additional and public investigation from the Chinese side. Meanwhile, a newly released US intelligence report shows that laboratory workers of the Wuhan Institute of Virology have been sick since before December. According to WHO adviser Jamie Metzl, in the early stages of the outbreak of the disease. when China did not warn the world appropriately, Chinese officials blamed the transmission on an initial hotspot, a seafood market in Wuhan, which at this point was essentially Is not right. This expert said that there is a lot of evidence that the Chinese government initially tried to cover up the existence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “Whatever the origin of the pandemic, the first month, when China was spending all its energy trying to cover things up rather than fixing the problem, allowed the fire in the furnace to cause a fire in the kitchen.” into a house fire and a worldwide fire,” said Metzl. The Wuhan Institute of Virology became the center of doubts about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Photo: Getty Images A group of well-known and experienced scientists also criticized the WHO report for not taking seriously the hypothesis that the virus leaked from the laboratory. According to them, this hypothesis was refuted within just a few pages of a hundred-page report published by WHO. The scientists wrote in the journal Science: “We must seriously consider the contagion hypotheses in the wild and in the laboratory until we have enough data.” Fear of a recurrence of a pandemic These “closed doors” have also helped conspiracy theories expand. Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton has promoted the idea that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was purposefully created as a biological weapon. But there’s no concrete evidence to back up that claim, and experts still say it’s unlikely. Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, told CNN it’s unlikely the Wuhan lab manipulated the virus to make it more contagious. but “we have to find out” the truth. Dr. Offit said that the world needs to do something to prevent another pandemic. “What I know is that they [Trung Quốc] must allow this [điều tra mở về nguồn gốc dịch]“This is now the third pandemic to emerge in the past 20 years,” said Mr. Offit. First there was SARS 1, then there was MERS. I think we can assume we’re not done with this yet.”

“Logically, minimizing exposure will help reduce harm.” To date, health authorities have argued that the FDA’s decision only allows the product to be designated “reduced exposure”, but that does not prove that heated tobacco products reduce the risk of disease to the health of the user. use. In addition, there have also been some medical experts who have made statements that contradict the FDA’s decision, saying that the product is not different from cigarettes. According to official information from the FDA, studies on heated tobacco have demonstrated that the aerosols produced by these products still contain high levels of harmful and potentially harmful ingredients, including: formaldehyde, acrolein, carbon monoxide; NNN and NNK (substances related to diseases caused by tobacco smoke) but significantly lower than the currently circulating combustible cigarettes. Specifically, depending on the type of substance, the average concentration in aerosol gas will be reduced from 55% to 99% compared to the smoke of cigarettes. The FDA declares a heated tobacco product to be marketed in the United States as a risk-modified tobacco product. At the same time, the FDA also said that in the process of reviewing the records, FDA has consulted users. The results showed that users also found that the risk of using these products was lower than that of smoking cigarettes. However, they are also fully aware that using this heated tobacco product carries a higher risk than quitting smoking or using nicotine replacement products. PGS.TS.BS. Tran Van Ngoc – Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Respiratory Association said that, logically, minimizing exposure will help reduce harm. Assoc. Dr. Le Van Quang, Director of Central K Hospital also stated: “From the oncologist’s perspective, when a patient smokes, the greater the amount of carcinogens exposed, the higher the cancer risk. And for cigarettes, one thing is important: nicotine is not the cause of cancer caused by smoking, but the cause of cancer is the molecules in the smoke created by the combustion of cigarettes. leaves”. Heated cigarettes: Young people are many times harder to access than cigarettes The US FDA is a reputable health authority in the US as well as globally. Accordingly, protecting the young generation and people’s health is the top goal of FDA. Therefore, allowing a single heated tobacco product to be allowed access to the US market shows that they have done thorough research and considered carefully before making a decision. Not only in the US, but in countries where this product is allowed to be sold, it is almost impossible for young people to access the product. In order to make a purchase, the buyer must go through a background check to ensure that the buyer is a smoker and is of legal age of majority in the country of origin. At the same time, although allowing this tobacco product to be commercialized, FDA also requires manufacturers to regularly update their sales and trade processes to ensure control of young people’s access to the product. This product is at its lowest. Meanwhile, compared to heated cigarettes, young people can easily buy cigarettes anywhere with as cheap as giving. FDA representative, Dr. Priscilla Callahan-Lyon, confirmed that the FDA has carefully studied the issue of the product’s impact on young people. Accordingly, in terms of appearance, a heated cigarette is a rather large set of equipment, difficult to conceal and is not cheap, must be used with its own custom cigarette, and this product also does not contain attractive aromas. young. Not only in the US, but in countries that allow the circulation of heated cigarettes, the level of impact of this product on young people or new users is almost under control. Despite accounting for 85% of global sales of heated cigarettes, only 0.1% of middle and high school students in Japan use heated cigarettes daily, which is only one-fifth of the total. percentage of students smoking burned cigarettes. It is worth noting that the number of students using heated cigarettes is the same group of students who have used cigarettes before. According to an independent study of 7,000 teenagers in Germany, the number of people aged 12-17 who used a heated tobacco product in the 30 days before the survey was almost zero. One study Another independent study of more than 11,000 teenagers aged 11-15 years old in Switzerland also found that less than 2% had ever used heated tobacco, while the number of people who smoked lit cigarettes in this same age range increased. to over 33%. Regulating heated tobacco: No violation of the FCTC . Framework Convention In a seminar held recently, Ms. Tran Thi Trang, Deputy Director of the Legal Department, Ministry of Health said: “The Ministry of Health proposes not to allow the import and sale of e-cigarette products, heated cigarettes because these products are addictive, harmful to health, and cannot be piloted for people’s health.” If according to the above argument, invisibly, cigarettes – the product with the highest level of addiction and harm to the health of users and the community – becomes a product that is protected exclusively and consumers. no longer have the right to choose harm reduction products. “Smokers don’t deserve to die just because they don’t know about less harmful nicotine products,” said Cliff Douglas, director of the University of Michigan’s Tobacco Research Network and former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. American Cancer Society (ACS) Tobacco Control Policy, former Advisory Counsel on Tobacco Control Policy to the US Surgeon General. Meanwhile, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) also recognizes heated tobacco as a tobacco product. Therefore, if Vietnam manages heated tobacco like the current tobacco control law in the host country, it is also completely consistent with what the Framework Convention has stipulated. Lawyer Phan Hoang Lam, Law Firm DT LAW. On the other hand, Lawyer (LS) Phan Hoang Lam, DT LAW Law Firm said that: The Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms 2012 defines “tobacco is a product produced from all or part of tobacco ingredients, processed in the form of cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, pipe tobacco or other forms”. On this basis, heated tobacco is considered “tobacco” because it contains tobacco leaf ingredients, consistent with the concept of “tobacco” under the current legal provisions of Vietnam. Therefore, this drug should absolutely be regulated by Vietnam’s Drug Prevention and Control Law. According to LS Lam, in order to manage smokeless tobacco products more effectively, Vietnam needs to consider international scientific bases to evaluate and compare the level of harm to health of tobacco. smokeless compared to burned cigarettes. At the same time, with the function of State management, in order to create free and fair competition among manufacturers and products and protect the interests of consumers, protect public health, regulatory agencies The state should immediately come up with a plan to build a legal corridor for the production, circulation and control of these products.

Accordingly, heated tobacco products are designated as tobacco products that reduce exposure to harmful substances to the body compared to cigarettes. This decision of the FDA is also a response to some concerns of governments around the world about the ability of products to reduce harm. In addition, other concerns were also answered by experts. The risk is lower than with cigarettes, higher than that of quitting To date, health authorities are concerned that the FDA’s decision to only allow products to be designated “reduced exposure” does not prove that heated tobacco products reduce the risk of disease to human health. use. In addition, some medical experts have made statements that contradict the FDA’s decision, saying that the product is not different from cigarettes. According to official information from the FDA, studies on heated tobacco have demonstrated that the aerosols produced by these products still contain high levels of harmful and potentially harmful ingredients, including formaldehyde. , acrolein, carbon monoxide; NNN and NNK (substances related to diseases caused by tobacco smoke) but significantly lower than the currently circulating combustible cigarettes. Specifically, depending on the type of substance, the average concentration in aerosol gas will be reduced from 55% to 99% compared to the smoke of cigarettes. At the same time, the FDA said that in the process of reviewing the records, FDA has consulted users. The results showed that users found that the risk of using these products was lower than that of smoking cigarettes. However, they are also fully aware that using this heated tobacco product carries a higher risk than quitting smoking or using nicotine replacement products. PGS.TS.BS. Tran Van Ngoc – Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Respiratory Association said that in logic, minimizing exposure will help reduce harm. Assoc.Prof.Dr. Le Van Quang, Director of the Central Hospital for Cancer, also stated: “From the perspective of an oncologist, when a patient smokes, the greater the amount of carcinogens exposed, the higher the cancer risk. And for cigarettes, one thing is important: nicotine is not the cause of cancer caused by smoking, but the cause of cancer is the molecules in the smoke created by the combustion of cigarettes. leaves”. Low accessibility to young people The US FDA is a reputable health authority in the US as well as globally. Accordingly, protecting the young generation and people’s health is the top goal of FDA. Therefore, allowing a single heated tobacco product to be allowed access to the US market shows that they have done thorough research and considered carefully before making a decision. FDA Representative, Dr. Priscilla Callahan-Lyon affirmed that the FDA has carefully studied the issue of the product’s impact on young people. Accordingly, in terms of appearance, a heated cigarette is a rather large set of equipment, difficult to conceal and is not cheap, must be used with its own custom cigarette, and this product also does not contain attractive aromas. young. Not only in the US, in countries where this product is allowed to be sold, it is almost impossible for young people to access the product. In order to make a purchase, the buyer must go through a background check to ensure that the buyer is a smoker and is of legal age of majority in the country of origin. At the same time, although allowing this tobacco product to be commercialized, FDA also requires manufacturers to regularly update their sales and trade processes to ensure control of young people’s access to the product. This product is at its lowest. Meanwhile, compared to heated cigarettes, young people can easily buy cigarettes anywhere with as cheap as giving. On the other hand, in countries that allow the circulation of heated tobacco, the impact of this product on young people or new users is almost under control. Despite accounting for 85% of global sales of heated cigarettes, only 0.1% of middle and high school students in Japan use heated cigarettes daily, which is only one-fifth of the total. percentage of students smoking burned cigarettes. It is worth noting that the number of students using heated cigarettes is the same group of students who have used cigarettes before. According to an independent study of 7,000 teenagers in Germany, the number of people aged 12-17 who used a heated tobacco product in the 30 days before the survey was almost zero. One study Another independent study of more than 11,000 teenagers aged 11-15 years old in Switzerland also found that less than 2% had ever used heated tobacco, while the number of people who smoked lit cigarettes in this same age range increased. to over 33%. Need a plan to build a legal corridor According to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization (WHO), which Vietnam has acceded to and entered into force in March 2005, in the definition under article 1, item (f) published on the website of the Foundation for Prevention of Tobacco Harms (Vinacosh) also clearly states: “tobacco products” means products which are wholly or partly derived from tobacco materials manufactured to for sucking, sucking, chewing or inhaling. The 8th Conference of the Parties (COP8) held by WHO at the end of 2018 also once again reiterated that heated tobacco is recognized as a tobacco product. From this definition and the COP8 guidelines, it can be seen that whether according to the definition of the 2012 Law on Drugs and Prevention of Vietnam, or within the definition of the WHO Framework Convention on FCTC 2005, heated tobacco is a products must be subject to the control of the current Law on Drug Prevention and Control. Lawyer Phan Hoang Lam, Law Firm DT LAW On the other hand, lawyer Phan Hoang Lam, DT LAW Law Firm, said that the Law on Prevention of Tobacco Harms 2012 defines “Tobacco is a product manufactured from all or part of medicinal ingredients. leaves, processed in the form of cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, pipe tobacco or other forms”. On this basis, heated tobacco is considered “tobacco” because it contains tobacco leaf ingredients, consistent with the concept of “tobacco” under the current legal provisions of Vietnam. Therefore, this drug is completely regulated by the National Drug Prevention and Control Law. According to Lawyer Lam, in order to manage smokeless tobacco products more effectively, Vietnam needs to consider international scientific bases to evaluate and compare the level of harm to the health of the drug. smokeless leaves compared to burned cigarettes. At the same time, with the function of State management, in order to create free and fair competition among manufacturers and products and protect the interests of consumers, protect public health, regulatory agencies The state should immediately come up with a plan to build a legal corridor for the production, circulation and control of these products.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Photo: Reuters At a press conference on the same day, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus affirmed that global inequality in access to vaccines remains one of the biggest risks to efforts to end the pandemic. According to WHO data, high- and middle-income countries that account for 53% of the world’s total population have received 83% of global vaccines. In contrast, low- and middle-income countries that account for 47 percent of the world’s population received only 17 percent of vaccines. Therefore, the head of the global health agency believes that cooperation is the only choice for the world to achieve the above goal. “We cannot defeat this pandemic through competition. If competition for resources or geopolitical advantage, the virus will prevail,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Previously, on May 7, WHO approved the BBIBP-CorV Covid-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm pharmaceutical company for use in emergencies. China has decided to provide 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to WHO’s COVAX global vaccine access mechanism, to meet the needs of developing countries. This move will help alleviate vaccine shortages globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Step 1: Visit https://www.bluezone.gov.vn or download directly at App Store or CH Play. Step 2: Once downloaded, the application will ask for permission to use Bluetooth to record contact with other Bluezone installed users. If Bluetooth is not open, drag the status bar and turn on Bluetooth; or go to Settings, select Bluetooth and turn it on. Step 3: Once the installation is done, click Scan Around. If someone near you less than 2m has used Bluezone, the application will automatically identify these users and put them in the contact list.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the largest immunization campaign in human history with the aim of distributing vaccine doses to 190 countries and limiting the risk of dangerous mutations. However, this project is currently racing against time. The man trying to save the world now stands in a Connecticut kindergarten, USA. He puts his laptop in front of him and sunlight is shining through the window into a crib. Benjamin Schreiber is barefoot and his hair is messy. The 46-year-old seems to have just woken up, but almost every day, he gets up from sunrise. His job is one of the most important and difficult in the world. As the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Deputy Head of Immunization Team (UNICEF), Schreiber is responsible for ensuring that 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine reach people in the poorest countries, the most distant. In an online meeting with colleagues in Germany, Panama and Haiti, Schreiber discussed his “headache” for the day: The situation is stagnant in two countries. Countries that buy the most Covid-19 vaccine. Photo: Duke Global Health Innovation Center Referring to a country where outsiders are difficult to reach, Schreiber said: “It is not clear how things are going”. In the remaining country – Haiti, the first potential vaccine shipment has been delayed. The vaccination team appears to be ready, but political and social issues are hindering shipping. Fuel in Haiti is expensive, roads are poor, budgets are miscalculated. Many people do not believe in Western aid, others do not understand Covid-19. There are discussions like this every day Schreiber. On a small scale, it often involves questions about the proper way to cool vaccines, about ingenuity in dealing with governments. However, at the core of the matter has always been global justice. The new strain corona virus has spread to every continent and infected at least 128 million people. It has ruined economies and destroyed families. Up to now, a global medical emergency has been in effect for more than a year. Citizens in some developed countries have been protected from the corona virus and many others in Africa, Asia and Latin America are still waiting to be vaccinated. Carrying vaccines to remote areas in Nepal. Photo: SPIEGEL To date, nearly 600 million doses of the vaccine have been used around the world. However, nearly two-thirds of them are used in six countries. About 60% of Israelis, less than half of Britons and one-tenth of Germans have been vaccinated at least once. In Namibia, where a population of more than 2 million people, less than 1,500 people have been vaccinated. In some other countries, no one has been vaccinated yet. Earlier this year, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of a “moral disaster”. An effort has been made to prevent that disaster. A global mechanism, called COVAX, was born to support the equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines to countries. WHO launched the initiative a year ago and a vaccine consortium called GAVI and the Alliance for Pandemic Readiness Innovation (CEPI) also joined. Almost every country in the world participates in COVAX. Many countries and regions have attempted to smooth the infection curve of Covid-19. Photo: John Hopkins University COVAX’s goal is that 92 of the poorest member countries get vaccines as fast as 98 rich countries. The rich countries pay more for the initiative and the poorest countries get discounts or free vaccinations, with each country vaccinating a fifth of its population by the end of the year. It is UNICEF’s responsibility to ensure that vaccines reach their destination. The new strain corona virus is constantly changing. Most changes do not affect the degree of danger posed by the virus, but some mutations, like the strains that occurred in Brazil and the US, do. And the more the number of countries experiencing uncontrolled outbreaks, the more likely the world will have to deal with the next mutation. So how do you vaccinate those most threatened, such as the elderly, the sick, and health care workers around the world? How can COVAX achieve its ambitious goals? Graph of increasing Covid-19 cases among countries. Photo: Bloomberg A group of German magazine Der Spiegel reporters have followed the vaccine around the world. They went to vaccine factories in India, to warehouses in Copenhagen, Denmark. It all goes to the end: The vaccine is delivered to health workers in Malawi, who received their first shot in March. The reporters also witnessed a German at a kindergarten. in the US to plan vaccine distribution. Schreiber has been with UNICEF for 8 years. His biggest challenge last year, he said, was preparing nations for a short period of time. COVAX’s goal is to ship about 2 billion doses of vaccine by the end of this year, corresponding to about 850 tons of vaccine per month and 1 billion syringes. Thousands of cooling boxes have to be transported to the most remote corners of the world by jeeps, boats, drones and even donkeys. Even in normal years, UNICEF vaccinates nearly every child around the world. However, UNICEF has never faced a global pandemic. The Republic of Seychelles is currently leading the world because there are enough vaccines for 63.1% of the population. Photo: Bloomberg. Immunization campaigns are usually planned many years in advance, but this time only a few months. Vaccine recipients are diverse, some have been successful, some have failed, some have only a few hundred thousand people, some have more than a billion. Countries were asked by UNICEF to explain in writing how they intend to manage the logistics of vaccinations. Schreiber read over 100 of these lengthy plans, mostly twice. He corrects and makes suggestions for improvements. Most of the time, things go well, but sometimes it doesn’t. The governments of Tanzania, Eritrea and Madagascar are still debating that Covid-19 is a dangerous disease. However, the effort paid off. On February 24, the first shipment of COVAX landed in Ghana. The first shipment to Haiti is also planned. By the end of March, UNICEF had distributed 20 million doses of the vaccine to 47 countries.

The porter is sending the boxes of vaccines to Jumla (Nepal). Photo source: UNICEF The corona virus has spread to every continent, now infecting at least 128 million people worldwide. How widespread the epidemic was, devastating economies there. Many people in Africa, Asia and Latin America are waiting to be vaccinated. So far, nearly 600 million doses of the vaccine have been used around the world, but two-thirds of them are in just six countries. About 60% of Israelis have been vaccinated once, 50% of Britons have been vaccinated, and 1 out of 10 Germans get it. In Namibia, where a population of more than 2 million people, less than 1500 people are vaccinated. Aside from Namibia, no African country has received the vaccine. To prevent that, the COVAX project was born. WHO started COVAX a year ago, and the Vaccine Coalition (GAVI) and the Alliance for Epidemic Preparation Innovation (CEPI) are participating in nearly every country in the world. The goal is to have the 92 poorest members receive as many vaccines as the 98 richest members. It is expected that by the end of 2021, each country will receive the vaccine for 1/5 of the population. UNICEF wants vaccines to reach their destination, making them available to people regardless of race or wealth. So how can COVAX achieve its ambitious goals? Project 2 billion doses of vaccine to reach poor countries Mr. Benjamin Schreiber, COVAX Coordinator in Connecticut (USA) affirmed that the biggest challenge for countries is “preparing to vaccinate in a short time”. COVAX’s stated goal is to ship 2 billion doses of vaccine by the end of 2021, equivalent to 850 tons of vaccine / month and 1 billion syringes. Thousands of vaccine containers will reach the remotest corners of the earth by means of vehicles: Jeeps, boats, drones, and rickshaws. Countries receiving vaccine aid are diverse, some with developing economies, some with underdevelopment. Mr. Benjamin Schreiber, COVAX Coordinator in Connecticut (USA). Photo source: Katharina Poblotzki / Der Spiegel. Countries were required to send documents to UNICEF on how they plan to manage vaccine aid logistics: Which part of the population needs the vaccine most; Vaccine distribution plans from the airport to the rest of the country. On February 24, 2021, the first COVAX shipment landed in Ghana. By the end of March 2021, UNICEF had shipped 20 million doses of the vaccine to 47 countries. The strength of manufacturers The Indian Serum Institute (SII) is headquartered in Pune (West India), the world’s largest vaccine factory with 2.4 million doses of vaccine per day. SII is the creation of the vaccine that is being used to reach many parts of the world and its cost cannot be replicated right now. Of the more than 39 million doses of vaccine shipped by COVAX to date, 28 million have come from the Pune laboratories. India is a major supplier of COVAX. Currently, the country mainly produces vaccine AstraZeneca. But at the end of March 2021, the Indian government decided to stop the export of vaccines to a minimum when the number of new corona virus infections increased rapidly in this country. The New Delhi government’s decision to stockpile vaccines means COVAX will delay delivery of 90 million doses of vaccine to 63 receiving countries. There is currently no alternative manufacturing solution outside of India. The plane was carrying carton boxes containing COVID-19 vaccine at Mumbai airport in Maharashtra state (India) on 24 February 2021. Photo source: UNICEF / UN 0421823 / COVAX. Mr. Mounir Bouazar (head of the logistics division of COVAX in Copenhagen) has been preparing for 3-4 months for the first shipments of vaccines. By the end of 2020, Bouazar is certain that half a billion syringes will be distributed to four UNICEF warehouses in Copenhagen, Dubai, Panama and Shanghai. Now COVAX will deliver thousands of vaccines to their destination every day. But a pandemic makes it more difficult, with few or no flights due to limited travel. No flights to East Timor or the Pacific island nation have been requested by UNICEF. Vaccines and syringes moved to Yemen had to go to Nairobi, where Bouazar rented a small plane to carry vaccines and syringes. Bouazar hopes to ship more vaccines by mid-2021. There is an idea to make Bouazar’s work smoother right now: Suspend intellectual property rights to vaccines in a limited way during a pandemic. India and South Africa have filed requests to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to suspend the COVID-19 vaccine and drug patents, which are supported by 100 countries. Then other companies can also make vaccines. COVAX coordinator Benjamin Schreiber is deploying COVID-19 vaccine to the poorest and most isolated countries in the world. Connecting with him are 2 colleagues of UNICEF branches in Panama and Haiti – 2 countries with immunization delays. In Haiti, the vaccination team is ready, but problems are hampering vaccine shipments. Fuel in Haiti is quite expensive, roads are poor … Schreiber persistently connects with people in Haiti every day. Nguyen Thanh Hai ( (According to spiegel, April 24, 2021) )

Even though there is news of reduced CO2 emissions into the atmosphere in the early stages of a pandemic, the risk of climate change remains evident. New research has shown that, even after a year of decommissioning and production cessation, global greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase at an unceasing rate. To mitigate the worst effects of climate change, the researchers note, humanity needs to focus purposefully on reducing fossil fuel emissions to close to zero, but even less. In that case, humans also need to find ways to further remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Covid-19 is believed to have contributed to change in planetary climate; Source: topnewsrussia.ru The rapidly changing climate is caused by human activities and this is a scientific conclusion. Back in 1988, scientists put the issue of global warming on the agenda, emphasizing that humanity is facing a “climate emergency”. In 2020, 11,000 scientists around the world released a statement with the same name, calling for immediate action. According to the scientific community, our failure to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere will turn unusually hot waves, storms, wildfires and melting glaciers “a daily thing” and could “make the a large area of ​​uninhabitable Earth ”. Researchers noted that the world leaders’ actions against climate change cannot be called enough and effective. At the same time, the media’s response to the Covid-19 epidemic, such as the use of masks and social isolation, illustrated a useful, effective model of action. People should do the same with climate change. Since CO2 has remained in the atmosphere for decades, the longer humans wait for decisive action, the more extreme the weather, and the more likely it is to pass points of no return or out of control. Covid-19 pandemic and global warming A pandemic may have little effect on climate change, but Covid-19 can certainly teach us a lot about the global threats that exist. Recently, researchers from King’s College London have concluded that countries that are better prepared for a climate emergency have much more advantages in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. More importantly, the scientists also concluded that countries should treat the climate crisis as a pandemic. Research taking data from 110 countries shows that societies “in which people care about each other” cope better with pandemics. The work highlights the urgent need to invest in both climate action and public health infrastructure so countries can better prepare for similar disasters in the future, as Sciencealert writes. By looking at the social, economic and health measures each country is proposing to deal with the pandemic, the King University researchers found a lack of “social cohesion” in America. and Western Europe led to an increase in Covid-19 mortality. More than 71% of emissions since 1988 are believed to have been generated by 100 of the world’s super corporations; Source: topnewsrussia.ru Last year, the economic slowdown caused by the global pandemic cut CO2 emissions by about 7%, which according to some studies, only 10% of this initial sharp drop was due to air travel. reduction. Another study shows that the Covid-19 pandemic will only cool the planet by about 0.01 ° C by 2030. This is a small difference, but the good news is that if combined, then cut. By investing in fossil fuels, we can avoid warming of 0.3 ° C in the future by 2050. “Increased fossil fuel emissions may not be entirely the cause of the increase in methane concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere, but a reduction in fossil fuel emissions,” says chemist Ed Dlugokenski. is an important step to climate change mitigation. Reality shows that, even if people around the world decide to stay home, travel less, fly less and consume less, it’s still not a solution, because 71% more emissions since 1988 have been generated by only 100 of the world’s super companies. These are companies and the systems related to these companies need to be changed. Therefore, it will take more than one global pandemic to address the climate crisis.

The findings are largely as expected but still have many unanswered questions. This report has provided more in-depth details on the explanation behind the team’s conclusions. The report’s authors also propose further research on this except for the laboratory leak theory. The publication of the WHO report on the origin of the COVID-19 epidemic has been repeatedly delayed and raises questions about whether the Chinese side is falsifying the conclusion, to avoid accepting accusations that China is the place the origin of the pandemic. An official from the World Health Organization said over the weekend that the report is expected to be released “within the next few days”. The AP news agency said it had received what appeared to be the final version on March 29 from a WHO diplomat. It is not clear if the report will still be changed prior to publication. The diplomat does not want to be identified because they are not allowed to release the report before the final release is made public. The publication of a joint report between WHO and China on the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic has been repeatedly delayed. Photo: Reuters Researchers have listed four possible scenarios for the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Topping the list is transmission by an animal, which is most likely to occur. Researchers believe that the possibility of transmission through “frozen” food is also possible, but not high. The closest animal found to carry the corona virus, believed to be the source of COVID-19, is the bat. However, the report said, “the evolutionary gap between bat viruses and SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to be several decades, which suggests an uncertain association.” Viruses are also found in pangolins, the report says, and animals like weasels and cats are also susceptible to COVID-19. This shows that all of the above animals can be carriers. This report is based on the visit of an international team of WHO experts to the city of Wuhan, China where COVID-19 was first discovered. The group has worked from late mid-January to mid-February. Mr. Peter Ben Embarek, WHO expert who led the investigation team in Wuhan, said the report has been finalized and is being checked and translated. “I hope that in the next few days, the whole process will be completed and we can make this report publicly available,” said Peter Ben Embarek. The draft of the report does not conclude that the outbreak began at a seafood market in Wuhan – where the first outbreak was discovered in December 2019. Previous discovery of other infections has suggested that epidemics could have started elsewhere. The report notes that there can be milder cases that go undetected. As the pandemic spread globally, China found virus samples on frozen food packages introduced into the country, and it tracked the link between single outbreaks and these products. Frozen foods can be the cause of cross-border spread of viruses, the report confirms, but are unlikely to cause an outbreak, much less contagious than through transmission. Human-to-human respiration. “Although there is some evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be revived through contaminated frozen products imported into China since the beginning of the pandemic, this would be very unreasonable. usually in 2019 because then the virus is not widely circulated, ”the study said. sea ​​oats ( According to AP )

On March 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) and China released a joint report on the results of investigating the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing pandemic COVID-19, radio ABC (USA) reported. The report summarizes the results of the survey from January 14 to February 10 by the WHO expert group in China – an effort seen as the first step in the work that could take many years to find the source. COVID-19. Some members of the WHO investigation team (sitting in the car) surveyed at the Wuhan Virus Research Institute on February 3. Photo: REUTERS The report repeated many of the conclusions discussed by the expert group at the end of the mission in China and drew a clearer picture of the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. Four hypotheses about the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to humans ABC has pointed out four hypotheses about the source of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection to humans are mentioned in a report published by WHO and China on March 30. 1. Is the virus transmitted directly from animals to humans? According to the WHO report, the SARS-CoV-2 virus can or is highly likely to have been transmitted directly from animals (most likely from bats) to humans through farming, hunting or close contact. difference between human and animal. 2. Is the virus transmitted to humans through an vector of an vector? According to WHO, there is a very high possibility that the SARS-CoV-2 virus from the original pathogen (bat) has been transmitted through mediators such as weasels, pangolins, rabbits … and humans are infected by exposure to secondary pathogens. this level. 3. Can people get a virus through frozen food products? According to WHO, this could happen. This means that people can become infected when they come into contact with frozen food contaminated with the bio-waste of animals infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus (without the need to come into contact with the original pathogen). 4. Is there a virus leak from the lab? This so-called “highly political” hypothesis has been repeatedly rejected by experts from China and the WHO. According to the latest WHO report, it is extremely unlikely that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a product from a certain laboratory in China. Although assessing the SARS-CoV-2 virus leak hypothesis from the laboratory as unlikely, WHO Director-General Tedros noted that the experts have considered all the hypotheses and need further research to bring to make more certain conclusions. Hoa Nam Seafood Market is the “super infectious” nest, not the place where the epidemic begins According to WHO data, the first case of COVID-19 infection has been linked to the Hainan Seafood Market in Wuhan City, Hubei Province (China). WHO experts have taken large-scale samples at the Hoa Nam market – including samples from the environment, food and animals in the market. A total of 718 environmental samples were collected at Hoa Nam market and 14 samples were collected from warehouses related to Hoa Nam market. Some samples from the environment showed traces of the nucleic acid of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and some even showed virus isolation results. However, no trace of SARS-CoV-2 virus was found in market animals. Some members of the WHO investigation team came to investigate at Hoa Nam market in late January. Photo: REUTERS Meanwhile, the genomic sequences of several (human) cases related to the region are identical, leading scientists to speculate that the Hoa Nam market is a “super infectious” nest. Along with some analysis of the distribution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants, experts are continuing to examine the possibility that the SARS-CoV-2 virus appeared in the Hoa Nam market due to frozen products. The way to find the origin of COVID-19 is still very long WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that “this report is a very important start but it is not the end point”. “We have yet to find the origin of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) and we must continue to follow the scientific recommendations and find out all possibilities as we are doing,” Tedros said in press conference on 30-3. Although many argue that the WHO March 30 report is nothing new, Dr. Ian Lipkin – Director of the Center for Infections and Immunology at Columbia University (USA) – describes it as a “extreme report. detailed and complete period “. Mr. Lipkin noted that what the scientists are trying to do is “re-enact events from a year and a half without the complete data and biological samples” so it could take years, or even never before. Now, find the exact conclusion. However, Mr. Lipkin reiterated that before the WHO expert group came to China, several routes of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus were envisioned and the WHO report provided possible data. prove those hypotheses. Meanwhile, Professor Vincent Racaniello – an expert in microbiology and immunology also at Columbia University – said that scientists were “lucky” to find clues about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Mr. Racaniello reiterated that after many years, scientists have yet to find the origin of the Ebola virus.

Wuhan Institute of Virology – which is hypothesized to be the source of Covid-19 infection. (Source: Reuters) According to a report published on 30/3, a joint investigation by the World Health Organization (WHO) and China conducted on the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing acute respiratory infections (Covid- 19) concluded that it was “extremely unlikely” that the virus had escaped a laboratory in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is still questionable The report concludes that the virus is most likely transmitted to humans from an unknown animal, while contradicting the theory made by former US President Donald Trump that the Chinese lab may be the birthplace. virus. While China praised the report, 14 countries including Japan, the US, Australia, the UK, Canada and South Korea have expressed “common concern” about the study and claim that the investigation has was “delayed a long time and lacked access to complete data and originals”, and called for “a fast, efficient, transparent, science-based and independent process” to produce international assessments in case of future outbreaks. WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said: “All theories are still being discussed. Although the team has concluded that the laboratory leak is the least likely hypothesis, it requires requiring further investigation, it is likely that additional missions including many experts will have to be deployed. According to WHO Director-General, the inspection team should have access to full data including biological samples from at least September 2019. He asserted that this report is a very important beginning and not the end. “We have not found the origin of the virus yet, and must continue to follow the science without missing any details”, Mr. Tedros Ghebreyesus stressed. While the majority of the report focuses on molecular studies, viral evolution, and potentially host animals, the report on potential laboratory leaks does. Very sketchy presentation. Although the host origin of SARS-CoV-2 is widely recognized, some scientists still maintain the view that this virus may have been collected and stored in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, despite the fact that Chinese scientists have rejected this claim. Viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2 were reported to have been found in bats and pangolins, but an intermediate host for transmission to humans has yet to be identified. This report is based on a study conducted by an international team of experts that mink and cats, which are known to be susceptible animals, may be one of the potential hosts. Need more information The Trump administration once hypothesized that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could have come from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and claimed that some researchers there had already had Covid-19-like symptoms in the fall. year 2019. However, the team said they found no evidence to support this claim during a January-February 2021 field trip to Wuhan City to investigate the source of the virus. The Chinese authorities have stated that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could have been introduced into the country through imported frozen food. Such transmission is possible but cannot be verified as imported frozen products are not considered a potential path of infection during early spread, the team report said. viruses and there were no tests for them at the time. Matthew Kavanagh, a researcher at Georgetown University, said the report said more in-depth information about the origin of the virus, but more information is needed. “Obviously, the Chinese government does not provide all the necessary data, and until they do this, the conclusions will be very difficult,” said researcher Matthew Kavanagh. The reporting team included experts from many different countries and officials from WHO, World Veterinary Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The team, after being quarantined for two weeks in Wuhan in mid-January 2021, inspected the research institute and other places believed to be related to the virus such as seafood markets. They also had discussions with Chinese experts. Representatives of the WHO and China expert group at a joint press conference in Wuhan on February 9. (Source: Reuters) “Opposite” views Jesse Bloom, an expert on evolutionary biology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle (USA), said he does not believe that a lab leak is unlikely. The expert agrees that the virus naturally evolved to spread to humans, but he did not see any explanation in the report disproving the possibility that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could catch. source from a laboratory. Meanwhile, Mr. Peter Daszak, a member of the WHO expert group, a British ecologist in infectious diseases, and the executive director of the Ecological Health Coalition – a disease prevention organization in New York. , has voiced opposition to the flow of comments criticizing the research results and the degree of cooperation of China. Mr. Peter Daszak said that the lab leak hypothesis “has political purposes from the very beginning”. Dr. Daszak added that the WHO team of experts was not prohibited from participating in interviews with scientists who were on the ground during the early stages of the pandemic. Mr. Daszak himself has also been accused of a conflict of interest due to collaborating research on the virus with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which he thinks an infectious disease ecologist should do. “We were in the right place because we knew there was a risk of disease outbreaks. We were working there with this exact team and it happened,” said Dr Daszak. A group of scientists not affiliated with WHO is calling for a new investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. They argue that such an investigation needs to consider the possibility of the virus spreading from a laboratory in Wuhan or infecting people inside it. (synthetic)

The WHO report on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic is still not clear enough. (Source: You Gov) The report was made by a group of 34 people made up of Chinese scientists and international experts who were sent to Wuhan, China to investigate a series of politically controversial questions, such as whether the virus could unintentionally emerge from a Chinese laboratory or not. Here are the key takeaways from this report. The results are not satisfactory However, the results of the report do not seem to satisfy much of the world, raising even more doubts. First, there is concern among experts about China refusing to share original data about the first Covid-19 cases. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged those concerns when he released the report on March 30. Mr. Tedros also criticized China for not releasing sufficient data to international experts. Second, for experts, this survey is still limited and has not yielded results that make them satisfied. WHO working group leader to Wuhan, PhD. The experts have only just touched the surface of things and will need a lot more research, says Ben Embarek. This expert noted, the time of discovery of the first cases in December 2019 with all cases worsening. As a result, cases of mild or asymptomatic symptoms may have already appeared in the community. According to Mr. Embarek, Wuhan is one of the central cities of China with direct flights to almost all parts of the world. As a result, the virus could have been quietly moving around the world a few months earlier. Mr. Tedros himself hopes that future studies will be “shared more in a timely and comprehensive manner.” The Wuhan Virus Research Institute, which allegedly leaked the SARS-CoV-2 virus to the world. (Source: AFP) Rebuttal of the laboratory hypothesis For months, scientists, politicians and people outside of China have hypothesized that the virus could have been an accident from a laboratory in China. While there are conflicting opinions on the above hypothesis, they still urge WHO to strictly investigate this possibility. The report has completely rejected the theory of the virus being leaked from the lab and argues that this is “very unlikely”. Experts are mainly based on conversations with scientists in Wuhan. But the WHO Director-General unexpectedly aroused skepticism, saying that this theory needed further investigation and that he was ready to deploy more experts to do so. “I do not believe this assessment is wide enough. We will need more data and more research to come to more certain conclusions” – Mr. Tedros said at the press conference on 30/3. Experts at the Wuhan Virus Research Institute say they have not dealt with any viruses that are closely related to the corona virus that caused this pandemic and say that the staff has been trained on how to ensure that safety. Some critics claim that the WHO investigation team is “controlled” by China and has undergone an investigation of the laboratory in Wuhan. Raina MacIntyre, head of the biosecurity program at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales, Australia, expressed skepticism about the results of the investigation: “There is definitely a possibility of an accident in the laboratory. ” The role of Wuhan Seafood Market The team concluded that the corona virus could appear in bats before being spread to humans through an intermediate animal. But the team said there was not enough evidence to determine the spread of the virus from animals. In the early part of the pandemic, Chinese officials theorized that the corona virus outbreak could have originated in the South China seafood market. It was reported more than a year later that the role of animal markets in the story of the pandemic remains unclear. The team of experts, after studying the reports of the vendors at this market, found that many initial infections had absolutely no clear association with Hoa Nam market. A market in Wuhan city. (Source: New York Times) According to the report, of the initial confirmed cases, about 28% were linked to the Huanan market and 23% were linked to other markets in Wuhan, while 45% had no further history. contact with markets. “There are no definitive conclusions about Hoa Nam’s role in the cause of the outbreak, or the cause of the spread of the virus in the markets,” the report said. The report also points out that more in-depth studies on Chinese farms and wildlife are needed, as the truth about the role of markets during the pandemic may be unraveled. Depends on China The team of experts made a long list of recommendations for additional research such as: more testing on wildlife and domestic animals in China and Southeast Asia; further study of the first Covid-19 infections; and continues to hunt down all routes of infection from farms to markets in Wuhan. But it is not clear whether China, which has repeatedly obstructed the WHO investigation, will continue to cooperate. Chinese officials have sought to divert attention to another matter, suggesting that the virus may have appeared in the US or in other countries. The delay in the investigation has affected its ability to prevent further pandemics from happening in the future, experts say. Michael Baker, professor of public health at the University of Otago in New Zealand, said: “This delay has clearly damaged the investigation’s ability to recreate the origins of Covid-19 and identifying ways to reduce future risk of infection. (According to the New York Times)

Mr. Zhao also emphasized that “the ocean is not the trash of Japan”. The same message he posted on Twitter personally.

Zhao’s statement came after the Japanese government approved a project to discharge 1.25 million tons of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.

Earlier, on April 13, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said in a press conference that “there will be no harm” when drinking treated water, and he said that Japan should drain water sooner. .

Foreign Ministry spokesman Trieu Lap Kien. Photo: Twitter.

The Chinese spokesman also mentioned Minamata disease, saying Japan “should not forget the historic tragedy” and urged Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga not to discharge wastewater into the sea without the consent of other countries.

Miamata disease is a neurological disease that has killed nearly 2,000 Japanese people, and is caused by a Japanese company discharging methyl mercury waste into the environment.

According to the plan, Japan will discharge wastewater into the sea within the next two years. The government said wastewater was treated and diluted to meet World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standards. However, treatment cannot remove tritium – a radioactive isotope of hydrogen.

Although Japan’s decision to discharge wastewater was approved by the United States and the IAEA, it faced opposition from the country’s fishing industry and neighboring countries. The Chinese spokesperson stated that Japan must reach a consensus of all concerned before proceeding with the discharge.

Mr. Zhao also warned: “China has the right to make follow-up reactions.”

Artwork: Reuters

WHO spokesperson Fadela Chaib said: “There is a rather serious problem that an urgent need to enact an emergency measure to stop the sale of wildlife living in traditional food markets, as a preventive measure. prevent. We need to know that most emerging infectious diseases originate from wild animals. Stopping the sale of live animals that are unsafe for food will reduce the risk of future transmission of the virus. This is not a new recommendation, but the Covid-19 translation has brought new attention to this threat with its enormous consequences. ”

In addition, WHO is also urging governments to close markets selling wild mammals if they are not fully implemented.

By the end of 2019, the first cases related to the Covid-19 epidemic had been recorded in Wuhan, China, and quickly broke out into a pandemic around the world. Although no official conclusions are available, preliminary research results show that SARS-CoV-2 virus was first detected at wildlife markets in Wuhan. This virus spreads to humans through intermediates, possibly pangolins. Earlier last year, the International Fund for the Protection of Nature in the Asia-Pacific also called for an end to wildlife trade and consumption in the region.