South African COVID variant may reduce vaccine protection: Pfizer

Researchers find South African COVID variant could reduce Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine antibody protection by two-thirds. A laboratory study suggests that the South African variant of the coronavirus may reduce antibody protection offered by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by two-thirds, and it is not clear if the shot will be effective against the mutation, the companies said. The […]
Covid-19 Live Updates: C.D.C. Outlines Mask Options That Increase Protection For Everyone

Here’s what you need to know: People wearing masks getting off public transit at Union Station in Los Angeles last month.Credit…Philip Cheung for The New York Times Wearing a mask — any mask — reduces the risk of infection with the coronavirus, but wearing a more tightly fitted surgical mask, or layering a cloth mask […]
Hong Kong leader confirms no consular protection for dual nationals

Author: AFP article author: AFP ID: 1612853575937496800 Tue, 2021-02-09 06:35 HONG KONG: Hong Kongers with dual nationality are not entitled to foreign consular assistance, the city’s leader said Tuesday, confirming warnings by western diplomats that authorities have begun strictly enforcing Chinese nationality regulations in the finance hub. Canada’s foreign affairs department announced last week that […]
Colombia to grant temporary protection to nearly 1m Venezuelans

Bogota, Colombia – Venezuelan migrants and asylum seekers in Colombia will be granted protected status for up to 10 years, Colombian President Ivan Duque announced on Monday alongside Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Venezuelans who arrived in Colombia before January 31 will be allowed to remain in the country for a […]
Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine Offers Strong Protection but Fuels Concern About Variants

Johnson & Johnson announced on Friday that its one-dose coronavirus vaccine provided strong protection against Covid-19, potentially offering the United States a third powerful tool in a desperate race against a worldwide rise in virus mutations. But the results came with a significant cautionary note: The vaccine’s efficacy rate dropped from 72 percent in the […]
Donald Trump weakens 100-year-old US bird protection law

Scientists say change to enforcements of Migratory Bird Treaty Act could cause a huge spike in bird deaths. The Trump administration on Tuesday finalised changes that weaken the government’s enforcement powers under a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species, brushing aside warnings that billions of birds could die as a result. Federal wildlife […]
Pfizer’s Vaccine Offers Strong Protection After First Dose

WASHINGTON — The coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech provides strong protection against Covid-19 within about 10 days of the first dose, according to documents published on Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration before a meeting of its vaccine advisory group. The finding is one of several significant new results featured in the […]
‘Premature and reckless’: US ending grey wolf protection #duzline #duzlinenews #follow4follow

Conservation groups slam the decision by the administration of President Donald Trump to remove the grey wolf from the US endangered species list. The United States has announced plans to remove the grey wolf from its list of endangered species, saying recovery efforts have been successful and the animal no longer requires federal protection. In […]
Trump administration strips protection from US’s largest forest #duzline #duzlinenews #follow4follow

The Trump administration has lifted environmental protection in Tongass National Forest, opening up more than three million hectares in the United States’s largest forest to logging despite opposition from environmental groups and Indigenous leaders. In an official notice of the decision on Thursday, the US Department of Agriculture said Tongass would be exempt from a […]
Indigenous leader demands protection after lobster pound blaze #duzline #duzlinenews #follow4follow

Indigenous fishers in Canada are asserting their right to fish for a ‘moderate livelihood’ outside the regulated fishing season. An Indigenous community leader in eastern Canada is renewing his call for concrete action from the federal government after a lobster pound in the province of Nova Scotia was destroyed overnight Saturday. In a statement shared […]