In 2018, diplomats warned of risky Coronavirus experiments in a Wuhan lab. No one listened

‘Knowing the significance of the Wuhan virologists’ discovery, and knowing that the WIV’s top-level biosafety laboratory (BSL-4) was relatively new, the U.S. Embassy health and science officials in Beijing decided to go to Wuhan and check it out. In total, the embassy sent three teams of experts in late 2017 and early 2018 to meet with the WIV scientists, among them Shi Zhengli, often referred to as the “bat woman” because of her extensive experience studying coronaviruses found in bats.

‘When they sat down with the scientists at the WIV, the American diplomats were shocked by what they heard. The Chinese researchers told them they didn’t have enough properly trained technicians to safely operate their BSL-4 lab. The Wuhan scientists were asking for more support to get the lab up to top standards...

‘Taken together, those two points—a particularly dangerous groups of viruses being studied in a lab with real safety problems—were intended as a warning about a potential public-health crisis, one of the cable writers told me. They kept the cables unclassified because they wanted more people back home to be able to read and share them, according to the cable writer. But there was no response from State Department headquarters and they were never made public. And as U.S.-China tensions rose over the course of 2018, American diplomats lost access to labs such as the one at the WIV.’

Read here (Politico, March 8, 2021)

Vaccine apartheid or corona-utopia — 6 post-pandemic futures

‘There are two types of people in the post-pandemic world: those who have been vaccinated and those who haven’t. Now, national leaders across the world are considering making that official.

‘So-called immunity passes are already a reality in Israel. With nearly half of the adult population vaccinated, the government announced last month that gyms, hotels, pools and cultural events can reopen for people who can present a QR code proving their immunity. The U.K. is exploring a similar option, and in the EU, experts say a proposal for a “digital green pass” facilitating cross-border travel could easily find domestic applications...

‘Ethicists and public health advocates note that such passes would be wildly discriminatory right now, when vaccines are in shortage. But they could easily become reality once supply outstrips demand (at least in wealthy countries) and restaurants, hotels, airlines and cultural venues seek safe ways to reopen.

‘How they are managed, and how they are accepted, will determine whether immunity passes offer a return to normalcy or usher in some sort of dystopic sci-fi scenario. Using our crystal ball (and a good deal of reporting), POLITICO has compiled snapshots from six possible futures that might be lying in wait for us before the end of the year:

1. Corona-utopia
2. Vaccine apartheid
3. Back to the future
4. Legal limbo
5. Whole new hassle
6. Why bother?

Read here (Politico, March 2021) 

Feds may cut Moderna vaccine doses in half so more people get shots, Warp Speed adviser says

‘The federal government is in talks with Moderna about giving half the recommended dose of the company's Covid-19 shot to speed up immunization efforts, the head of the Trump administration's vaccine rollout said on Sunday.

‘Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Moncef Slaoui said there is evidence that two half doses in people between the ages of 18 and 55 gives “identical immune response” to the recommended one hundred micorogram dose, but said the final decision will rest with the FDA.’

Read here (Politico, Jan 3, 2021)

FDA authorises first at-home coronavirus test

‘The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first prescription at-home coronavirus test, in a long-awaited milestone. The test, developed by Lucira Health, can be used by people who are at least 14 years old when their health provider suspects they have Covid-19, the FDA said late Tuesday. The test can be used on younger people, but in that case a health care provider must collect the sample.

‘The test involves swabbing the inside of the nose, placing the swab in a vial and swirling it before putting the vial in a "test unit." The process gives results in 30 minutes or less. FDA medical device director Jeff Shuren said the test, which can be fully run outside a lab or health care settings, represents a significant step forward.’

Read here (Politico, Nov 17, 2020)

What happens if China gets the Covid-19 vaccine first?

‘Fidler [David Fidler, an expert on global health and national security who has consulted for the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] thinks it’s too much to hope that geopolitics can stop interfering with public health. The current clash between the U.S. and China means the era of U.S.-led altruistic health initiatives done without the motivation of power over a rival, like President George W. Bush’s PEPFAR program to fight infectious diseases in Africa, is over. Today, great powers will try to press their advantage in whatever ways they can.

‘But China and the U.S. can try to keep the competition from spiraling out of control and destroying public health in its wake. In past eras of multipolar rivalry, antagonists have been able to set limits to that competition, singling out certain areas in which they can turn down the heat and cooperate a bit more. The U.S. and China could do that today, Fidler suggests, perhaps by agreeing to take their hands off the WHO.

‘That needs to happen soon. Because right now, nothing is off-limits—which means neither is the destruction of decades worth of public health norms. “If we don’t have some sort of global health détente between Beijing and Washington,” warns Fidler, “we’re in real trouble.”

Read here (Politico, August 31, 2020) 

The vaccine race

’Rarely has the fate of the world depended on an international competition like the one for a Covid-19 vaccine. It's a race against time, it's a race to save lives, it's a race for glory. Trials are underway. Who develops a vaccine first? Who gets to take it first? How much will vaccines cost? And will they be effective enough, or safe enough?’

Read here (Politico, June 30, 2020)

Coronavirus poses a tough question: Did NYC essential workers die in the line of duty?

‘Not since Sept. 11 has an outside threat so swiftly devastated the city’s ranks, and as the virus continues its onslaught, it is likely to leave more municipal employees in its wake. This is forcing city and state officials to confront an ethical dilemma of untold proportions: Did employees who came to work during a pandemic-induced quarantine die as a direct result? What responsibility does the government have to their surviving families if the virus cannot be traced to their time on the clock? And with a death toll still climbing, what is the financial cost to the city’s coffers as a recession looms?’

Read here (Politico, May 3, 2020)

Under pressure, airlines begin mandating passenger face masks

‘Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines on Thursday mandated that passengers must wear face masks on board planes, and more are likely to follow, following intense pressure from airline unions and some lawmakers.

‘Flight attendant unions and Democratic lawmakers have been pressing the federal government to mandate masks on planes. Regulators have so far resisted the pressure, but the airline industry is beginning to turn toward implementing mask requirements piecemeal anyway.’

Read here (Politico, April 30, 2020)

Approved: System to decontaminate N95 masks and allow reuse -- as many as 20 times

‘A system to decontaminate N95 masks to allow healthcare workers to safely reuse them -- as many as 20 times -- has been approved by the US FDA. It uses hydrogen peroxide vapour to “destroy bacteria, viruses and other contaminants, including... SARS-CoV-2,” and it can process up to 80,000 masks per day.’

Note: This is interesting. If the principle of decontamination and re-use is acceptable, what other ways can we use to recycle personal protection equipment (PPEs) especially in poor countries?

Read here (Politico, March 29, 2020)

Coronavirus will change the world permanently. Here’s how

‘A global, novel virus that keeps us contained in our homes—maybe for months—is already reorienting our relationship to government, to the outside world, even to each other. Some changes these experts expect to see in the coming months or years might feel unfamiliar or unsettling: Will nations stay closed? Will touch become taboo? What will become of restaurants?

‘But crisis moments also present opportunity: more sophisticated and flexible use of technology, less polarization, a revived appreciation for the outdoors and life’s other simple pleasures. No one knows exactly what will come, but here is our best stab at a guide to the unknown ways that society—government, healthcare, the economy, our lifestyles and more—will change.’

Read here (Politico, March 19, 2020)