Rabu, 09 Desember 2020

Texas gets support from 17 states in bid to help Trump undo election loss - CNA

WASHINGTON: Texas drew support on Wednesday (Dec 9) from 17 other US states in its long-shot bid to have the Supreme Court overturn President Donald Trump's election loss by throwing out the voting results from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In a brief filed on Wednesday, lawyers for the 17 states led by Missouri's Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt urged the nine justices to hear the Texas lawsuit, the latest litigation to try to undo Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's victory over the Republican incumbent in the Nov 3 election.

Trump on Wednesday vowed to intervene in the lawsuit though he did not provide details on the nature of the intervention including whether it would be by presidential campaign or the US Justice Department. Efforts in the courts on behalf of Trump challenging the election results so far have failed.

Writing on Twitter, Trump said, "We will be INTERVENING in the Texas (plus many other states) case. This is the big one. Our Country needs a victory!"

The lawsuit, announced on Tuesday by the Republican attorney general of Texas Ken Paxton, targeted four states that Trump lost to Biden after winning them in the 2016 election. Trump has falsely claimed he won re-election and has made baseless allegations of widespread voting fraud. Election officials at the state level have said they have found no evidence of such fraud.

Election law experts have said the Texas lawsuit stands little chance of success and lacks legal merit.

In addition to Missouri, the states joining Texas were: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia. All of the states were represented by Republican officials in the filing. All but three of the states have Republican governors.

Officials from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have called the lawsuit a reckless attack on democracy. It was filed directly with the Supreme Court rather than with a lower court, as is permitted for certain litigation between states.

The Texas suit argued that changes made by the four states to voting procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic to expand mail-in voting were unlawful. Texas asked the Supreme Court to immediately block the four states from using the voting results to appoint presidential electors to the Electoral College.

Biden has amassed 306 electoral votes - far higher than the necessary 270 - compared to Trump's 232 in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the election's outcome. The four states contribute a combined 62 electoral votes to Biden's total.

Texas also asked the Supreme Court to delay the Dec 14 date for Electoral College votes to be formally cast, a date set by law in 1887.

Democrats and other critics have accused Trump of aiming to reduce public confidence in US election integrity and undermine democracy by trying to subvert the will of the voters.

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2020-12-09 21:17:33Z
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Doctor in London is first Singaporean to get Covid-19 vaccine - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - While most are wondering when their turn will come, one Singaporean has already got his Covid-19 jab in a mass vaccination exercise.

Dr Martin Tan was among the first few to get inoculated in Britain - which in turn is the first Western country to roll out mass vaccination against the coronavirus.

Dr Tan, 27, got the first of his two vaccine jabs on Wednesday (Dec 9) at 12.45pm in London (8.45pm Singapore time), where he is a House Officer doing his rotation in Respiratory Medicine.

He got his vaccine as early as day two of the exercise because his work entails direct contact with Covid-19 patients. He has helped to care for them at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead in London since August.

He agreed that getting the vaccine jab early brings its own concerns. Pfizer has obtained indemnity from the British government should any mishaps occur.

"Of course, this is a new vaccine with a new method of delivery (mRNA). Most medical practitioners were also sceptical, about potential risks of this being 'rushed' because it has been so quick for this to be approved," he said.

Vaccines normally take eight to 10 years to be developed and tested and to reach the market. The front runners in Covid-19 vaccines have shortened that to under a year.

Still, Dr Tan added: "I work with Covid-19 patients every day, so it is a balance of risk and benefit. And I accept the risks given the benefits of the vaccine."

He knew he would have to get vaccinated sooner or later, and also had an added incentive. "I have been looking forward to it because this is our ticket back to some normality in this world. I am dying to come back to Singapore to see my family and eat," he said.

"I normally know when I can come back to Singapore but this is the first time things are more uncertain."

He has been in Britain since 2014 for his medical education.

His last visit home was in March, when he first had to be on stay-home notice, followed by quarantine when someone sitting near him on the flight back was diagnosed with Covid-19.

Dr Tan, who described himself as "still single, available and ready to mingle", returned to London at the end of July to start work there.

He received the injection, which is free under the UK's National Health Service, at the hospital where he works. There is an electronic appointment system, he said, so there are no queues or crowds, to ensure social distancing.

Unlike Singapore, he said, the Covid-19 situation in Britain is not well-controlled. "We were having a second wave, which is putting a lot of pressure on the health service and on beds in the entire country, but it seems to be improving now," he said.

So for him, getting the vaccine was a no brainer. "The risks of getting Covid-19 and complications from it are significantly higher than those from the vaccine based on the data produced."

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2020-12-09 14:13:08Z
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UK regulator urges people with serious allergies to avoid Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine - CNA

LONDON: Britain's medicine regulator has advised that people with a history of significant allergic reactions should not get Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, after two people reported adverse effects on the first day of rollout.

Britain began mass vaccinating its population on Tuesday (Dec 8) in a global drive that poses one of the biggest logistical challenges in peacetime history, starting with the elderly and frontline workers

National Health Service (NHS) medical director Stephen Powis said the advice had been changed after two NHS workers reported anaphylactoid reactions associated with getting the shot.

"As is common with new vaccines the MHRA (regulator) have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination, after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday," Powis said.

"Both are recovering well.”

READ: British grandmother is first in the world to get Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outside trial

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the advice to healthcare professionals was "precautionary", and MHRA Chief Executive June Raine said that the reaction was not a side-effect observed in trials.

"Last evening, we were looking at two case reports of allergic reactions. We know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn't a feature," she told lawmakers.

Pfizer UK and BioNTech were not immediately available for comment.

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2020-12-09 12:00:43Z
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'Our children will starve': Indian farmers defend protests against new laws as workers join strike - South China Morning Post

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2020-12-09 10:01:51Z
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Selasa, 08 Desember 2020

India buys the largest number of Covid-19 vaccine doses in the world - The Straits Times

BANGALORE - India has bought 1.6 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines, which is more than any other country, according to a global analysis.

Using its massive manufacturing clout, the country purchased 500 million doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, one billion from the American company Novavax and 100 million doses of the Sputnik V candidate from Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute, said the USA-based Duke University Global Health Innovation Centre.

India, a middle-income country, bought more doses than high-income countries such as the USA and the UK, and more than the EU as a whole, all of which have in-country vaccine development capacity.

The European Union has pre-booked 1.58 billion doses and the United States 1.01 billion doses.

Before any vaccine candidates have been approved by regulatory agencies, there are confirmed purchases for 7.3 billion vaccine doses, with another 2.5 billion doses under negotiation.

"Many of these countries will be able to vaccinate their entire populations - and some will be able to do so many times over - before billions of people are vaccinated in low-income countries," said the Duke report.

India's 1.6 billion doses would cover 800 million people, or 60 per cent of its population. In November, India's Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said 400 million to 500 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines were estimated to be made available for 250 million to 300 million people in India by July-August 2021.

The Duke report explained that rich countries negotiated purchases by investing public funds into vaccine research and development, and by using their purchasing power to strike early deals. Since none of the vaccine candidates has received regulatory approval, the countries hedged their bets by purchasing multiple vaccine candidates, in case some don't materialise.

As a middle-income country, India has been able to move to the front of the queue by using another strategy: leveraging its large manufacturing infrastructure.

"Countries with manufacturing capacity, such as India and Brazil, have been successful in negotiating large advance market commitments with leading vaccine candidates as part of the manufacturing agreements," said the Duke report, which was compiled after government officials across the world - including Indian officials - were consulted to explain their high procurement strategy.

India is the largest manufacturer of vaccines in the world, making 60 per cent of the global vaccine supply. It is also home to the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine producer.

Of the three vaccine candidates the South Asian country has booked, SII is manufacturing two within India: the Oxford University/Astra-Zeneca vaccine and the Novavax candidate.

Of the 3.73 billion doses of the Oxford and Novavax vaccines purchased by all countries, about 3 billion would be produced by SII.

Russia's Sputnik vaccine is also being manufactured by Dr Reddy's Lab in Hyderabad.

India's two domestic vaccine candidates have also received approval for entering Phase 3 of their clinical trials.

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and Gujarat-based Zydus-Cadila "could also add about 400 million doses annually", said virologist Shahid Jameel, director of the Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, to Press Trust of India.

India's vaccine distribution strategy is in line with the World Health Organisation's guidance about priority groups. Accordingly, the first doses will go to frontline workers, healthcare workers, sanitation, emergency services, and security services.

Next to get vaccinated would be those with the highest risk of mortality, that is people with co-morbidities and those older than 65 years of age.

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2020-12-08 11:06:15Z
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China condemns US sanctions against state leaders as ‘hysterical bullying’ - South China Morning Post

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  1. China condemns US sanctions against state leaders as ‘hysterical bullying’  South China Morning Post
  2. US targets more officials over Hong Kong as pressure builds on China  CNA
  3. China blasts 'crazy' US sanctions over Hong Kong  Yahoo Singapore News
  4. Travel plan ends Hong Kong-Shenzhen cross-border woes  AsiaOne
  5. Chinese online platform JD Health rises 50% in stock debut  CNA
  6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2020-12-08 10:30:28Z
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90-year-old British grandma is first in world to get Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine outside trial - The Straits Times

LONDON (REUTERS) - Ms Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old grandmother from Britain, has become the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine outside of a trial following its clinical approval.

An early riser, Ms Keenan received the jab at her local hospital in Coventry, central England, on Tuesday (Dec 8) morning at 0631 GMT (2.31pm Singapore time), a week before she turns 91.

Britain began rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday, the first Western country to start vaccinating its general population in what was hailed as a decisive watershed in defeating the coronavirus.

The mass inoculation will fuel hope that the world may be turning a corner in the fight against a pandemic that has crushed economies and killed more than 1.5 million, although ultra-cold storage and tricky logistics will limit its use for now.

"I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19," said Ms Keenan.

"It's the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year."

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2020-12-08 07:13:36Z
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