As India's coronavirus epidemic continues to worsen, with nearly 4,000 deathsand 412,000 new infections recorded in a single day, emergency medical aid shipments, including oxygen and oxygen-making equipment and respirators, continue to pour in from across the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. "Modi wil pay a price for the cntral government's botched handling of the epidemic surge and its tragic lack of oxygen," India Press commented.
Meanwhile, fires are burning in Nepal. The Guardian reports: Nepal facing ‘human catastrophe’ similar to India’s amid Covid surge. The vaccine is in short supply, with a positive rate of 47%.
When will the world's pandemic reach a turning point? Can humanity emerge from the epidemic in short time? The unknown answer afects people mood. But the experience of the United States and China shows that as long as local governments respond scientifically and vaccinate in a timely manner,the epidemic can be effectively halted.
Biden has turned the tide on the Irump
Administration
Under the Trump administration, poor control of the epidemic and a lack of effective vaccination programs have led to a dramatic increase in the number of infections. The US vaccine rolout is a'dismal failure' under Trump, BBC analysis says.One was that the target of 1 milion doses per day was not met.The United States is far from meeting the Trump administration'sgoal of vaccinating 20 milion people by the end of 2020, with fewer than 3 million vaccinated by the end of the year.The second is the slow start.The U.S. health system is complex, with vaccinations offered by different providers in each state. Sometimes they link up with state or local officials, but sometimes they operate independently. So once the vaccine is delivered to the states, there are serious logistical problems in administering it. "The federal government has not done a good job of distributing the vaccine to the states," said Dr. Ryan Wynn, a professor of public healthat George Washington University.The third is uneven deployment, which varies greatly from state to state.As of Jan.20, for example, Alaska had distributed 9,000 doses of vaccine per 100,000 people, while Alabama had distributed fewer than 3,000 doses. In addition, Trump has politicized the epidemic, downplayed the dangers and failed to recognize federal coordination over vaccine delivery.
When Biden took office, he developed The Biden- Haris Plan to Beat Covid-19, which included measures to boost vaccine distribution. This ISN't ABOUT POLITICS. It's ABOUT SAVING LIVES. Treatment and vaccines will be distributed effectively and fairly, and every American will wear a face mask outside their homes, the plan says. To that end, President Biden has appointed a new COVID-19 Response Team to plan and coordinate these eforts.
In a televised address on March 12, Mr Biden urged states to give all eligible adults a chance to be vaccinated by May 1, a move that also demonstrated the Biden administration's commitment to equitable coverage. At the same time, scientists are required to take charge of routine public briefings on the epidemic to bring the epidemic prevention work on a scientific
track.
Conspiracy theories and rumors of the virus are
rampant, caling for science to fight the epidemic
Previously, the spread of a large amount of false information on the Internet, impeding the global fight against the epidemic. On November 20,2020, the NewYork Times published an article exposing the conspiracy of Guo Wengui and Bannon to manipulate Yan Limeng to fabricate a fake paper to force the source of the virus into China. The article argued that Ms.Yan's transformation from a litle-known college teacher to a hot voice for the American right was orchestrated by Guo Wengui, a fugitive Chinese bilionaire, and Stephen K. Bannon, a former adviser to Mr.Trump.Ms.Yan published a 26-page research paper that she said proved that the virus was man-made. But the paper was not peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal. Instead, it was published in an online open access library. Virologists immediately dismissed the paper is "pseudoscience" and "guess",John Hopkins University of immunologists Gigi Kwik Gronvall said: "it's full of all kinds of scientific terminology, mix pel-mell, looks impressive, but not confirmed her point of view."
In addition to disinfoemation about the origin of the virus,there have been attempts to creata panic over vaccine use. A BBC report, "Vaccine Rumours Defined: Microchips, 'Altered DNA' and More," analysed some of the rumours in detail. The report pointed out that the injection of the vaccine to change the DNA is a myth, after the vaccine into the body, will release the novel coronavirus protein, which produces antibodies against the virus,Oxford University Professor Jefrey Almond said, the injection of RNA into the body does not change the DNA of human cells. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,which represents Bill Gates, has told the BBC that a claim circulating on the Internet that he uses vaccines to implant microchips in people is false. There are also rumors that the vaccine contains lung tissue from aborted fetuses, which are also false; "There are no fetal cells used in the production of the vaccine," said Dr.Michael Head of the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.
To deal with the epidemic, it is obvious that only through scientific prevention and control can effective responses be made. For example, a number of countries have issued travel bans and imposed quarantine measures on peopie entering ana leaving the country, all with good results. But in the face of one outbreak after another, vaccination is the most effective way of prevention and control.
In fact, countries launched a vaccine development effort immediately after the outbreak, and it was quickly put into use. On December 2, 2020, the United Kingdom approved the use of the new coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer of the United States and Biontech of Germany. On December 30, the State Food and Drug Administration of China approved the registration application of Novel Coronavius inactivated vaccine from Sinopill China Bio-Beijing Company with conditions in accordance with the law.
Vaccine supply is a huge challenge
As of May 8, 2021, more than 1.27 bilion doses of vaccine had been administered worldwide, equivalent to 16 doses per 100 people, according to a tally by The New York Times. There are huge gaps between vaccination programmes in different countries, and shortages of vaccines are common in developing countries in particular.
Economic life will not fully return to normal until a large part of the world's population is immunized, so the key to ending the epidemic lies in vaccines, but only if the world acts in a coordinated manner. Covax is a global initiative launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and two other vaccine promotion groups in April 2020. Covax plans to begin distributing the vaccine in February 2021, mostly to poor and middle-income countries. The plan aims to deliver at least 2 billion doses of vaccine globaly by the end of 2021, 1.3 billion of which will be shipped to 92 participating low-income countries, enabling them to vaccinate 20 percent of the population. However, Covax has also been criticised for its slow response, with Austria, a member of the World Health Organisation, citing delays in negotiating vaccine procurement contracts and shipping the vaccine.
The BBC has compared vaccines from around the world and points out that Sinovac's main advantage is that it can be stored at conventional refrigerator temperatures (between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius). Modena's vaccine must be stored at minus 20 degrees Celsius, while Pfizer's must be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius. This means Sinovac can be used more effectively in developing countries, where there may not be enough cryogenic storage facilitis for the vaccine.
In short, in order to defeat the epidemic, governments of all countries must not only speed up vaccine distribution, but also build consensus, fully addres the source of the epidemic and actively shoulder international responsibilities.Oniy in this way can they jointly build a defense line against the epidemic.
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