Can Russians’ History Of Experimenting With Vaccines On Themselves Help Protect Them Against Virus?
Virologists and other health experts around the world are eyeing old vaccines that may help boost the immune system and bridge the gap until an effective COVID vaccine is developed. Meanwhile, many wonder who will have access to that new vaccine if it makes it to market. Other global news on the pandemic focuses on the new normal of the coronavirus, masks and travel restrictions, famous landmarks reopening, and more.
The New York Times:
Decades-Old Soviet Studies Hint At Coronavirus Strategy
To the boys, it was just a sugary treat. To their parents, prominent medical researchers, what happened in their Moscow apartment that day in 1959 was a vital experiment with countless lives at stake — and their own children as guinea pigs. “We formed a kind of line,” Dr. Peter Chumakov, who was 7 at the time, recalled in an interview. Into each waiting mouth, a parent popped a sugar cube laced with weakened poliovirus — an early vaccine against a dreaded disease. Today, that same vaccine is gaining renewed attention from researchers as a possible weapon against the new coronavirus. (Kramer, 6/24)
AP:
Who Would Be The First To Get A COVID-19 Vaccine?
Who would be the first to get a COVID-19 vaccine? Probably people in the country where the first effective vaccine is developed. About a dozen different vaccines are in various stages of testing worldwide, including in Britain, China and the U.S. (6/25)
The New York Times:
From China To Germany, The World Learns To Live With The Coronavirus
China is testing restaurant workers and delivery drivers block by block. South Korea tells people to carry two types of masks for differing risky social situations. Germany requires communities to crack down when the number of infections hits certain thresholds. Britain will target local outbreaks in a strategy that Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls “Whac-A-Mole.” Around the world, governments that had appeared to tame the coronavirus are adjusting to the reality that the disease is here to stay. But in a shift away from damaging nationwide lockdowns, they are looking for targeted ways to find and stop outbreaks before they become third or fourth waves. (Wee, Mueller and Bubola, 6/24)
AP:
Masks, Travel Restrictions, Testing As Virus Cases Surge
Governments and businesses are ramping up precautions as coronavirus case numbers rise to dire new levels in parts of the U.S. and around the world, potentially wiping out two months of progress. Indonesia was expected to pass the 50,000 mark for confirmed infections on Thursday. In Melbourne, health workers planned to go door-to-door to test more than 100,000 residents in a coronavirus hot spot that threatens to undo the nation’s success in battling the virus. (Kurtenbach, 6/25)
Reuters:
Eiffel Tower Reopens After A Three-Month Coronavirus Break
The Eiffel Tower on Thursday welcomed back visitors after the coronavirus outbreak forced the Paris landmark into its longest period out of action since World War Two. Visitors can access the 324 meters high (1,062 feet) tower only via staircases until early July, with elevators off-limits for the time being because of safety considerations. (6/25)
CNN:
Mexican Triplets With Coronavirus Are In Stable Condition, Says Health Ministry
A set of premature triplets born in Mexico are "stable" and "evolving favorably" after testing positive for Covid-19, according to local health officials. The triplets were born in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosí and tested for coronavirus on June 17 in compliance with the state's health protocols on premature births, according to the state's Health Secretary Monica Rangel. The test results came back positive three days later, heath authorities said. (Arias, Charner and Thornton, 6/24)
AP:
Peru Giving Up On Virus Measures In Face Of Sinking Economy
On the same day that the Peruvian government announced another grim increase in the number of coronavirus infections, thousands of people packed together in hourslong lines outside shopping malls for a chance to buy a new sweater, sneakers or computer. Peru — which has reported the world’s sixth-highest number of cases in a population of just 32 million — has decided to ignore scientific warnings and opened many of the country’s largest shopping malls this week. The government had been following international advice on fighting COVID-19 — enforcing a strict stay-at-home order for three months — but the measures failed to prevent one of the world’s worst outbreaks, and the country now faces one of the region’s deepest recessions on top of rising death rates. (Briceno, 6/24)
AP:
New Delhi Plans Mass Screening Effort As Virus Cases Surge
Indian authorities are launching a massive coronavirus survey taking down health details from New Delhi’s entire population of 29 million, and testing everyone with symptoms by July 6. The new plan was announced Wednesday after the sprawling capital became the worst-hit city by the pandemic in India with 70,390 cases, exceeding the financial capital of Mumbai. (Ghosal, 6/25)
