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Business News

UK economy showed resilience ahead of big lockdown easing

May 13, 2021

The British economy contracted by a quarterly rate of 1.5% in the first three months of 2021, a relatively modest contraction given that the country was in the midst of a strict lockdown to combat a second wave of the coronavirus. The Office for National Statistics also said Wednesday that the economy even managed to grow by a monthly rate of 2.1% in March when the country began easing some restrictions, notably by reopening schools.

Health & Wellness

Panel suggests WHO should have more power to stop pandemics

NewsPlexus Media

May 13, 2021

A panel of independent experts who reviewed the World Health Organization’s response to the coronavirus pandemic says the U.N. health agency should be granted “guaranteed rights of access” in countries to investigate emerging outbreaks, a contentious idea that would give it more powers and require member states to give up some of theirs.

Health & Wellness

Red Cross warns that coronavirus cases are exploding in Asia

NewsPlexus Media

May 13, 2021

Coronavirus cases are exploding in Asia and the Pacific with over 5.9 million new confirmed infections in the past two weeks, more than in all other regions combined, the International Federation of the Red Cross said Wednesday. It warned that the surge is pushing hospitals and health systems to the brink of collapse.

Health & Wellness

Scientists race to study variants in India as cases explode

NewsPlexus Media

May 13, 2021

A potentially worrisome variant of the coronavirus detected in India may spread more easily. But the country is behind in doing the kind of testing needed to track it and understand it better. On Monday, the World Health Organization designated the new version of the virus a “variant of concern" based on preliminary research, alongside those that were first detected in Britain, South Africa and Brazil but have spread to other countries.

Health & Wellness

Slovakia plans to keeping using AstraZeneca despite pause

NewsPlexus Media

May 13, 2021

Slovakia's health minister says he plans to keep AstraZeneca in the country's vaccine arsenal, speaking a day after the country suspended use of the shots after a recipient died. Slovakia on Tuesday halted use of the two-shot AstraZeneca vaccine after its State Institute for Drug Control concluded last week that the death of a 47-year-old woman who received the AstraZeneca was "likely" linked to the vaccine.

Health & Wellness

Younger adolescents get ready to receive COVID-19 vaccine

NewsPlexus Media

May 12, 2021

Parents, schools and vaccine clinics rushed to begin inoculating younger adolescents Tuesday after U.S. regulators endorsed Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 12, a decision seen as a breakthrough in allowing classroom instruction to resume safely around the country. A handful of cities started offering shots to children ages 12 to 15 less than a day after the Food and Drug Administration gave the vaccine emergency use authorization for that age group. Most communities were waiting for a federal advisory committee that meets Wednesday to sign off on the move, while anxious families called clinics and pharmacies to ask about the soonest appointments.

Health & Wellness

Beyond vaccines, UNESCO wants more global science shared

NewsPlexus Media

May 12, 2021

While the U.S. president is calling for suspending patents on COVID-19 vaccines, experts at UNESCO are quietly working on a more ambitious plan: a new global system for sharing scientific knowledge that would outlast the current pandemic. At a meeting that concluded Tuesday, diplomats and legal and technical experts from UNESCO'S member states tried to draw up global guidelines under a project called Open Science.

US News from News Plexus

Schools ditch student mask requirements in growing numbers

NewsPlexus Media

May 12, 2021

The debates over mask requirements in schools have been emotional and highly divisive around the country, in some cases leading to the involvement of police.

Science & Technology

Scientists race to study variants in India as cases explode

NewsPlexus Media

May 12, 2021

A potentially worrisome variant of the coronavirus detected in India may spread more easily. But the country is behind in doing the kind of testing needed to track it and understand it better.