International
Don’t vaccinate kids, but give doses to Covax: WHO chief
AFP/Editor
The WHO urged wealthy countries Friday to stop vaccinating children against Covid-19 and instead donate doses to poorer nations, while warning that the pandemic’s second year looked set to be more deadly.
World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus voiced outrage that a number of rich countries were now vaccinating children and teenagers, while poorer states had barely begun vaccinating health workers and the most vulnerable groups.
Instead of offering jabs to young and healthy people, he called on countries to give their doses to the Covax global vaccine-sharing scheme and thereby ensure that those most in need in all countries receive protection.
“In January, I spoke about the potential unfolding of a moral catastrophe,” he told a press conference.
“Unfortunately, we’re now witnessing this play out. In a handful of rich countries, which bought up the majority of the supply, lower-risk groups are now being vaccinated.
“I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and adolescents, but right now I urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to Covax.
“Because in low and lower-middle income countries, Covid-19 vaccine supply has not been enough to even immunise healthcare workers, and hospitals are being inundated with people that need lifesaving care urgently.”
Nearly 1.4 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been injected in at least 210 territories around the world, according to an AFP count.
Some 44 percent of the doses have been administered in high-income countries accounting for 16 percent of the global population.
Just 0.3 percent have been administered in the 29 lowest-income countries, home to nine percent of the world’s population.
– ‘Bittersweet’ –
In the face of this inequity in access, Tedros warned that the world would likely see more deaths this year than last, despite the arrival of vaccines.
“We’re on track for the second year of this pandemic to be far more deadly than the first,” he said.
“Saving lives and livelihoods with a combination of public health measures and vaccination — not one or the other — is the only way out.”
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 3.3 million people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.
Tedros, 56, meanwhile said that he had been vaccinated against Covid-19 earlier this week in Geneva, the Swiss city where the WHO is based.
“It was a bittersweet moment,” he said, explaining that his thoughts were with health workers around the world who had been battling the pandemic.
“The fact that so many are still not protected is a sad reflection on the gross distortion in access to vaccines across the globe,” Tedros said.
International
Dominican ‘False Hero’ Arrested for Faking Role in Nightclub Collapse That Killed 231
A man identified as Rafael Rosario Mota falsely claimed to have rescued 12 people from the collapse of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo—a tragedy that left 231 people dead—but he was never at the scene.
Intelligence agents in the Dominican Republic arrested the 32-year-old man for pretending to be a hero who saved lives during the catastrophic incident, authorities announced.
Rosario Mota had been charging for media interviews in which he falsely claimed to have pulled survivors from the rubble after the nightclub’s roof collapsed in the early hours of April 8, during a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among those killed.
“He was never at the scene of the tragedy,” the police stated. The arrest took place just after he finished another interview on a digital platform, where he repeated his fabricated story in exchange for money as part of a “media tour” filled with manipulated information and invented testimonies.
“False hero!” read a message shared on the police force’s Instagram account alongside a short video of the suspect, in which he apologized: “I did it because I was paid. I ask forgiveness from the public and the authorities.”
Central America
Nicaraguan Exiles to Mark 7th Anniversary of 2018 Protests with Global Commemorations
The Nicaraguan opposition in exile announced on Thursday that it will commemorate the seventh anniversary of the April 2018 protests against the government of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, with events in Costa Rica, the United States, and several European countries.
The commemorative activities—which will call for justice for the victims, as well as freedom and democracy for Nicaragua—will include religious services, public forums, cultural fairs, and other public gatherings, according to official announcements.
In April 2018, thousands of Nicaraguans took to the streets to protest controversial reforms to the social security system. The government’s violent response quickly turned the demonstrations into a broader call for the resignation of President Ortega, who is now 79 and has been in power since 2007.
The protests resulted in at least 355 deaths, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), although Nicaraguan organizations claim the toll is as high as 684. Ortega has acknowledged “more than 300” deaths and maintains the unrest was an attempted coup d’état.
International
Arsenal stun Real Madrid at the Bernabéu to reach Champions League semifinals
Arsenal enjoyed a “historic night” on Wednesday after defeating Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, knocking them out of the Champions League quarterfinals, midfielder Declan Rice said.
“It’s such a special night for this club, a historic night for this club,” said Rice, who scored twice in the first leg in London, speaking to TNT Sports.
The English international was named Man of the Match in both legs — the 3-0 win in London and the second leg in Madrid.
“It’s amazing. I knew we were on an upward trajectory and we’ve done incredibly well in this competition. We deserve it and we have full confidence in our coach. Reaching the semifinals is unbelievable,” Rice added.
Dominican ‘False Hero’ Arrested for Faking Role in Nightclub Collapse That Killed 231
Nicaraguan Exiles to Mark 7th Anniversary of 2018 Protests with Global Commemorations
Arsenal stun Real Madrid at the Bernabéu to reach Champions League semifinals
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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