YCLOAK

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will travel Monday to Lake Mead to promote the Biden administration’s climate crisis strategy and urge passage of a major infrastructure plan.   

The man-made reservoir near the gambling and tourist destination city of Las Vegas, Nevada, is a major source of water for seven Western U.S. states and northern Mexico. Harris will hear from local, state and federal officials on the declining water levels at Lake Mead, the largest in the U.S. by volume, which provides drinking water and electricity for more than 40 million people across the region.   

The U.S. government in August declared the first-ever water shortage at Lake Mead, which has fallen to record lows amid a decades-long drought in the Western U.S. The shortage has forced officials to impose water rationing next year for Nevada, the neighboring state of Arizona and Mexico. 

With the trip to Lake Mead, Harris plans to promote a $550 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, an agreement reached earlier this year between President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators. The investment includes tens of billions of dollars to shore up the nation’s water infrastructure and protect communities against the impact of climate change, including lingering heat waves and droughts.  

The infrastructure plan has been approved by the U.S. Senate, but is stalled in the House over intense and increasingly bitter negotiations over funding for the president’s Build Back Better plan, which would provide a significant boost to the nation’s social safety net.   

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press. 
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The first new Alzheimer’s treatment in more than 20 years was hailed as a breakthrough when regulators approved it more than four months ago, but its rollout has been slowed by questions about its price and how well it works.

Several major medical centers remain undecided on whether to use Biogen’s Aduhelm, which is recommended for early stages of the disease. Big names like the Cleveland Clinic and Mass General Brigham in Boston say they’ll pass on it for now. 

One neurology practice has even banned the company’s sales reps from its offices, citing concerns about the drug and its price, which can climb past $50,000 annually.

Many doctors say they need to learn more about how Aduhelm works and what will be covered before they decide whether to offer it. That might take several months to sort out. Even then, questions may linger.

“The drug won’t be for everybody, even with access,” said Salim Syed, an analyst who covers Biogen for Mizuho Securities USA. 

Syed estimates that only around one-tenth of the people diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s may wind up taking Aduhelm chronically, especially if regulators approve similar treatments from Biogen’s competitors.

Biogen, which reports third-quarter financial results Wednesday, is not saying how many people have received the drug since it was approved on June 7. A company executive said last month that Biogen was aware of about 50 sites infusing Aduhelm, far fewer than the 900 the company had said it expected to be ready shortly after regulators approved the drug.

Aduhelm is the first in a line of new drugs that promise to do what no other Alzheimer’s treatment has managed: slow the progress of the fatal brain-destroying disease instead of just managing its symptoms. 

“It’s like a breath of fresh air,” said Dr. Stephen Salloway, a Rhode Island neurologist and Biogen consultant who is prescribing the drug. People with Alzheimer’s “know what’s coming, and they want to do whatever they can to stay in the milder stage.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Aduhelm despite objections from its own independent advisers, several of whom resigned. The agency later said the drug was appropriate for patients with mild symptoms or early-stage Alzheimer’s.

Aduhelm clears brain plaque thought to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease, and regulators made the call based on study results showing the drug seemed likely to benefit patients. 

Biogen, which developed Aduhelm with Japan’s Eisai Co., had halted two studies on the drug due to disappointing results. It later said further analysis showed the treatment was effective at higher doses. 

The FDA is requiring Biogen to conduct a follow-up study.

The research Biogen submitted so far doesn’t give doctors as much insight as they would normally have into a drug, said Dr. Brendan Kelley, a neurologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Its experts are still reviewing Aduhelm. 

“Biogen went to the FDA with preliminary data, so it makes it really challenging to know how to navigate,” he said. More complete research would give doctors a better idea for how the drug will work in a broader patient population, Kelley said.

Cost is another concern.

Biogen’s pricing for Aduhelm is “irresponsible and unconscionable,” according to signs posted on office doors for The Neurology Center, a Washington, D.C.-area practice. The signs also refer to Aduhelm as a medication “of dubious effectiveness” and tell Biogen sales reps they are no longer welcomed in the center’s offices. 

“As physicians we feel compelled to speak out and protest BIOGEN’s actions,” one of the signs reads.

Neurology Center CEO Wendy Van Fossen said the signs went up in July, but she declined to elaborate on why they were posted.

A Biogen spokeswoman said in an email that it was disappointing that some centers are denying access to the drug. 

As for Aduhelm’s effectiveness, company data shows that plaque removal “is reasonably likely to predict a clinical benefit,” said Biogen Chief Medical Officer Dr. Maha Radhakrishnan. She said regulators reviewed data from more than 3,000 patients, counting two late-stage studies and earlier research.

Doctors also are worried about whether patients taking Aduhelm will be able to get the regular brain scans needed to monitor their progress on the drug.

Issues with care access weren’t explored in the clinical research, which also involved patients who were generally younger and healthier than those in the broader population, noted Dr. Zaldy Tan, director of the Cedars-Sinai memory and aging program.

The Los Angeles health system is still evaluating Aduhelm. Its committee of experts is considering things like which doctors will prescribe the drug and how to ensure patients are monitored for problems like dizziness or if headaches develop. Bleeding in the brain is another potential side effect.

“Safety and access are real issues that need to be prioritized,” Tan said. 

Aduhelm also requires a deeper level of coordination among doctors than other Alzheimer’s treatments, noted Radhakrishnan. 

Prescribing doctors have to work with neurologists, radiologists and nurse practitioners to diagnose patients, confirm the presence of plaque in the brain, get them started on the treatment and then monitor them.

“All of this is work in progress,” Radhakrishnan said. 

Uncertainty about insurance coverage is another holdup.

Some insurers have decided not to cover the drug. Others, including the major Medicare Advantage insurer Humana, haven’t made a decision yet but are reviewing claims case by case in the meantime. 

The federal Medicare program is expected to make a national coverage determination by next spring that will lay out how it handles the drug.

Biogen executives said recently they think most sites that will offer the drug are waiting for clarity on reimbursement, including that Medicare decision. 

Medicare’s determination looms large for the Cedars-Sinai experts. Tan said they know they should reach a decision before the Medicare decision prompts more patient inquiries. 

He said doctors also realize they aren’t just evaluating Aduhelm: They’re also thinking about how to handle similar treatments that could get FDA approval.

“We want to make sure we get it right,” Tan said.
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An obstacle to large-scale bitcoin mining is finding enough cheap energy to run the huge, power-gobbling computer arrays that create and transact cryptocurrency. One mining operation in central New York came up with a novel solution that has alarmed environmentalists: It uses its own power plant.

Greenidge Generation runs a once-mothballed plant near the shore of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region to produce about 44 megawatts to run 15,300 computer servers, plus additional electricity it sends into the state’s power grid. The megawatts dedicated to Bitcoin might be enough electricity to power more than 35,000 homes. 

Proponents call it a competitive way to mine increasingly popular cryptocurrencies, without putting a drain on the existing power grid. 

Environmentalists see the plant as a climate threat. 

They fear a wave of resurrected fossil-fuel plants pumping out greenhouse gasses more for private profit than public good. Seeing Greenidge as a test case, they are asking the state to deny renewal of the plant’s air quality permit and put the brakes on similar projects.

“The current state of our climate demands action on cryptocurrency mining,” said Liz Moran of Earthjustice. “We are jeopardizing the state’s abilities to meet our climate goals, and we set the stage for the rest of the country as a result.”

Millions in Bitcoin 

The former coal plant, in a touristy region known for its glacial lakes and riesling wines, was converted to natural gas by Greenidge and began producing electricity in 2017. Bitcoin mining at the plant, which has a 106-megawatt capacity, started in earnest last year. The company said it was “bringing a piece of the world’s digital future” to upstate New York. 

“For decades, this region has been told it would see new industries and opportunities,” Greenidge said in a prepared statement. “We are actually making it happen, and doing it fully within the state’s nation-leading high environmental standards.” 

Bitcoin miners unlock bitcoins by solving complex, unique puzzles. As the value of Bitcoin goes up, the puzzles become increasingly more difficult, and it requires more computer power to solve them. Estimates on how much energy Bitcoin uses vary. 

Greenidge said it mined 729 bitcoins over three months ending September 30. The value of cryptocurrency fluctuates, and on Friday, one bitcoin was worth more than $59,000.  

Bait-and-switch?

Plant opponents suspect Greenidge of pulling a bait-and-switch, applying to run a power plant but planning to run a mining operation that is taking up more of the plant’s power. 

Greenidge says mining was not part of the plan when the plant came back online and note they continue to provide power to the grid. From January through June, Greenidge said it used 58% of its power for mining. 

Supporters see it as an economic boon in a part of upstate New York that could use the help. Douglas Paddock, chairman of the Yates County Legislature, testified at a public hearing this week that the plant has brought 45 high-paying jobs and made a “significant contribution” to the area through tax payments and capital investments. 

Environmental concerns

Some opposition to the plant centers on the potential effects of its water withdrawals from Seneca Lake. But air quality issues have taken center stage as the state Department of Environmental Conservation reviews the plant’s air emission permits. 

Greenidge has said it’s in compliance with its permits and that the plant is 100% carbon neutral, thanks to the purchase of carbon offsets, such as forestry programs and projects that capture methane from landfills. 

Opponents claim the plant undercuts the state’s efforts to dramatically slash greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades under its 2019 climate law. 

A large coalition of environmental groups and other organizations this week asked Gov. Kathy Hochul to deny the air permit for Greenidge and to take a similar action to keep an existing plant near Buffalo from becoming a mining site. The coalition wants Hochul to set a “national precedent” and enact a statewide moratorium on the energy intensive “proof-of-work” cryptocurrency used by bitcoin miners. 

Environmentalists estimate that there are 30 plants in New York that could be converted into mining operations. 

“I really think more than anything, this plant is a significant test for whether the state’s climate law is really worth anything,” said Judith Enck, who served as the EPA’s regional northeastern U.S. administrator under President Barack Obama. 

U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have separately asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency to exercise oversight. 

Other mining operations

Around the country, there are other power plants being used for cryptocurrency mining under different types of arrangements. 

In Venango County, Pennsylvania, a generation plant that converts coal waste into power is being used to mine bitcoins and can provide electricity to the grid when needed. Stronghold Digital Mining has plans to replicate that kind of operation at two other sites in Pennsylvania.  

And in Montana, a coal-fired generating station is now providing 100% of its energy to Marathon Digital Holdings for bitcoin mining under a power purchase agreement. 

“We had previously done what many miners do, which is you find an industrial building, set it up for mining and then you contract for power from the grid,” Marathon CEO Fred Thiel said. “And we wanted to flip that model upside down because we knew that there are lots of underutilized energy generation sources in the U.S.” 

Thiel said that harmful emissions are low because of the quality of the coal and pollution controls, and that the plant would be carbon offset by the end of next year. He said his company is focused on moving toward renewable energy, saying cryptocurrency miners can provide crucial financial incentives to build more clean energy projects. 

New York permits pending 

New York state has yet to make a determination on Greenidge’s permits. 

Greenidge said that even if the plant ran at full capacity, its potential emissions equate to 0.23% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2030. 

However, state Environmental Commissioner Basil Seggos tweeted last month that “Greenidge has not shown compliance with NY’s climate law” based on goals in that law. 

“New York state is leading on climate change,” Seggos said in a prepared statement, “and we have some major concerns about the role cryptocurrency mining may play in generating additional greenhouse gas emissions.” 
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Three astronauts successfully docked with China’s new space station on Saturday on what is set to be Beijing’s longest crewed mission to date and the latest landmark in its drive to become a major space power.

The three blasted off shortly after midnight (1600 GMT Friday) from the Jiuquan launch center in northwestern China’s Gobi desert, the China Manned Space Agency said, with the team expected to spend six months at the Tiangong space station.

The space agency declared the launch a success and said the crew “were in good shape.”

The Shenzhou-13 vessel carrying the three completed its docking with the radial port of the space station less than seven hours after the launch.

The mission, which is expected to last twice as long as a previous 90-day visit, will involve the crew setting up equipment and testing technology for future construction on the Tiangong station.

Mission commander Zhai Zhigang, 55, a former fighter pilot who performed the country’s first spacewalk in 2008, said the team would undertake “more complex” spacewalks than during previous missions.

The crew include military pilot Wang Yaping, 41, who is the first woman to visit the space station after becoming China’s second woman in space in 2013.

The other team member is People’s Liberation Army pilot Ye Guangfu, 41.

Pictures released by the space agency showed the three astronauts waving to well-wishers who held up slogans of encouragement at a send-off ceremony before the launch.

A previous record-breaking crew — making the first mission to Tiangong — returned to Earth in September after spending three months on the space station.

China’s heavily promoted space program has already seen the nation land a rover on Mars and send probes to the moon.

Tiangong, meaning “heavenly palace,” is expected to operate for at least 10 years.

Its core module entered orbit earlier this year, with the station expected to be operational by 2022.

The completed station will be similar to the Soviet Mir station that orbited Earth from the 1980s until 2001.

The latest mission is set to “expand China’s technological boundary” and verify the space station system’s capacity for a longer duration of human occupation, Chen Lan, an independent space analyst at GoTaikonauts, told AFP.

“I don’t think it is very challenging, as China’s technologies (are) quite mature, though anything in space is always challenging,” Chen said.

Saturday’s blast-off came shortly after China launched its first solar exploration satellite into space, equipped with a telescope to observe changes in the Sun.

The Chinese space agency is planning a total of 11 missions to Tiangong through to the end of next year, including at least two more crewed launches that will deliver two lab modules to expand the 70-ton station.

China’s space ambitions have been fueled in part by a U.S. ban on its astronauts on the International Space Station, a collaboration among the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan.

The ISS is due for retirement after 2024, although NASA has said it could remain functional beyond 2028.

Chinese space authorities have said they are open to foreign collaboration on the space station, although the scope of that cooperation is as yet unclear.

The country has come a long way since launching its first satellite in 1970.

It put the first Chinese “taikonaut” in space in 2003 and landed the Chang’e-4 robot on the far side of the Moon in 2019 — a historic first.

China in May became the second nation to land and operate a rover on Mars.

Astronauts on the Tiangong space station will have separate living spaces, exercise equipment and a communication center for emails and video calls with ground control.

State broadcaster CCTV said astronauts had also packed special food and supplies to celebrate the Lunar New Year during their long mission, including dumplings.
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The U.S. space agency, NASA, is preparing to launch a craft Saturday to boldly go to a part of space never visited before — the asteroids of Jupiter.

The spacecraft Lucy is set to take off before dawn Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is embarking on a 12-year mission during which it will travel more than 6 billion kilometers.

Lucy aims to fly near seven of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. Thousands of asteroids surround the giant planet.

The asteroids are believed to be artifacts from when the solar system was formed, and scientists hope that by studying them, they can better understand how the solar system evolved.

Tom Statler, Lucy program scientist, told VOA in an email that the asteroids are “leftovers from the formation of our solar system’s giant planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune” and that “the formation and early evolution of the Earth was influenced by what was happening to the giant planets farther from the sun.

“The Trojan asteroids hold unique clues to this special era,” he added.

NASA scientist Carly Howett told NASA TV that there are two main ideas of how the Trojan asteroids came to orbit near Jupiter: one, they formed deep in the solar system, and in a game of cosmic billiards were kicked back toward Jupiter; or two, they formed closer to Jupiter and are composed of substances similar to those of Jupiter’s moons.

“We are going to learn a lot about the composition” of the asteroids, she said, which will help NASA learn how and where they were formed.

Wil Santiago, an engineer at Lockheed Martin Space, told NASA TV, “It’s like going back in time. These asteroids are time capsules.”

Lucy is named for the fossilized remains of an early human discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. NASA scientists say the spacecraft will hopefully provide clues about the solar system’s evolution, just as the remains of the human ancestor Lucy were important in understanding how humans evolved.

The fossilized Lucy was in turn named for the 1967 Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Coming full circle, NASA says there are diamonds in the instrument that will measure the temperature of the asteroids.

On its mission to Jupiter, Lucy will perform three Earth flybys for a gravity boost to propel it farther into the solar system. It will also fly by an asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, in what scientists consider a test run before it approaches the Trojan asteroids.

The craft has two massive solar panels, 7 meters each, that will provide the power it needs to travel 850 million kilometers from the sun. Because of its large panels, the craft will not be nimble enough to make quick adjustments in its trajectory.

Howett said scientists will use the spacecraft’s camera system to make sure there are no obstacles in its path, but added, “We’re not going to be doing a U-turn — let’s just put it like that.”

To chart a safe course, she said, NASA has been using the world’s best telescopes to study the region of space where Lucy will travel.

“We think we have an idea of what the risks are,” Howett said; however, she added, “whenever you explore somewhere new, there are some hazards.”

Lucy is not the only spacecraft exploring asteroids in the solar system. Next month, the spacecraft Dart is set to ram an asteroid 11 million kilometers from Earth in an attempt to change its course. The mission is a test of technologies that could be used one day to save Earth from a hazardous asteroid.

Also, next year, a craft will explore the asteroid Psyche, which is heavy with nickel and iron, and the following year, a space capsule will return to Earth with NASA’s first samples from an asteroid, collected last year by the Osiris-Rex rover exploring the asteroid Bennu.

“It’s going to be a great few years for asteroid science,” Howett said.

With all the activity in space exploration right now, scientists are seeking to explore one of the few regions of the solar system that has yet to be visited.

The Trojan asteroids “are the last major population of objects in our solar system that have not yet been seen close-up by spacecraft,” Statler said. 

 
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A panel of U.S. health advisers has recommended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorize a second shot of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for anyone who has received the single-dose inoculation.

The panel expressed concerns Friday that Americans who received the shot are not as protected as those who were given a two-dose vaccination from drugmakers Pfizer or Moderna.

Last month, the FDA authorized a third booster shot for the Pfizer vaccine for seniors as well as adults who are at high risk for COVID-19. On Thursday, the FDA advisory panel recommended a similar course of action for Moderna boosters, except using lower doses.

Johnson & Johnson is the only COVID-19 vaccine approved in the United States that is only one dose. Initially, it was hailed for its ability to take effect quickly, but soon ran into concerns that it led to a rare blood clot disorder and a neurological disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome. It is now facing criticism that it is less effective than rival brands.

Only about 15 million Americans received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of 188 million Americans who are fully vaccinated.

In other developments Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would accept mixed-dose coronavirus vaccines from international travelers. It has said it would allow travelers to have received any vaccine authorized for use by the FDA or the World Health Organization.

Earlier in the day, the White House said it would lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for international travelers who are fully vaccinated on Nov. 8.

In France, health officials ended a policy Friday of allowing free COVID-19 tests for everyone in an effort to persuade people to get vaccinated. Now, only those who have been vaccinated, who have a prescription from a doctor, or minors will be allowed to take free tests while others will have to pay.

Health ministry data Friday showed COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the country, with 6,099 new cases up from last Friday’s 4,470 cases.

South Africa said Friday it would start vaccinating children between the ages of 12 and 17 next week using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The government is trying to meet a goal of vaccinating 70% of the adult population by December.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said Friday they have submitted data to the European Union’s regulatory agency to approve their coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5-11. The companies have already taken a similar step with U.S. regulators.

In Italy, officials made health passes mandatory for all workers Friday. The passes must show proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from infection in order to work.

Scattered demonstrations were held across the country to protest the new rules, including 6,000 protesters in the northeastern port of Trieste.

And in Russia, the coronavirus task force said the daily number of new coronavirus infections and deaths surged to another record Friday. It reported 32,196 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 999 deaths in the previous 24 hours. 

 

 
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Recent studies indicate Canada’s decision to extend the interval between the first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines can actually lead to increased resistance to the virus. It also finds mixing the brand and type of doses gives better protection.

The decision by Canadian authorities to immunize as many people as possible with any available dose of COVID-19 vaccine, then extending the time until administering the second dose, appears to be paying off.

Recent data compiled by the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and the Quebec National Institute of Public Health also show the strategy of using the first available vaccine for a second dose, even if not the same brand as the first, actually increased effectiveness and saved lives.

Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca all recommend 21-28 days between the two shots. Canada’s experience suggests protection is even stronger after a six-week interval.

For the Pfizer vaccine, this effectiveness went from 82% after a three- to four-week interval, to 93% when the booster, or secondary dose was given after four months.

The study also finds two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine gave less protection than the mRNA vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna. However, those who received an mRNA as a booster dose have the same protection as if they had two of the same, even if their first dose was AstraZeneca.

All three vaccines were found to be more than 90% effective in keeping recipients out of the hospital for COVID-19.

Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer for the Canadian province of British Columbia, has encouraged first doses to be administered as quickly as possible — and not to worry whether the second dose is from a different vaccine.

Overall, she said, Canada’s experience could provide insights for the rest of the world.

“We don’t want countries to have to hold doses back or wait for manufacturers to be able to give people the full protection they need when they’re seeing outbreaks in other countries — and we saw this in India, for example,” she said. So it is really important globally that we’re able to use whatever vaccines are available to support people to have good protection.”

Joan Robinson, a pediatric infectious disease doctor and professor at the University of Alberta and Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton, said increasing the time between the doses can be good for the long term in areas with stable or low coronavirus levels.

However, Robinson said, there is one downside for the short term, especially in areas where there are high concentrations of COVID-19 cases.

“So the delay between the doses during the time between your first and second dose, you’re much more likely to get COVID than if you had got this second dose earlier,” she said. “Certainly with the delta variant, one gets the impression that one dose may be less effective.”

The findings of researchers in British Columbia and Quebec, which are thousands of kilometers apart, are almost identical.

This most recent Canadian data have not been widely published or peer reviewed, but researchers released the information early to make it available globally as soon as possible.
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The American Red Cross says it is facing a blood shortage. Officials say there have less than a day’s supply of certain blood types. Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
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The United States announced Friday an additional 9.6 million doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine are being shipped to Pakistan through the global vaccine-sharing COVAX initiative.

The shipment brings to more than 25 million the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by Washington to the Pakistani people, said the American Embassy in Islamabad.

“The United States is proud to partner with Pakistan to get effective, life-saving Pfizer vaccinations into the arms of Pakistanis, and Pakistan has done a great job of distributing our donated vaccines,” U.S. Chargé d’affaires Angela Aggeler was quoted as saying. “This donation comes just in time for young Pakistanis over age 12 to get their first jabs.” 

COVID-19 infections are decreasing in Pakistan, with fewer than 1,000 new daily cases reported on average. The government last week eased restrictions on almost all public movement, education activities and businesses across the country of roughly 220 million people.

The latest government data show there have been 1,262,771 confirmed cases of infections, 39,953 of them active, and 28,228 COVID-19-related deaths since the pandemic hit Pakistan. 

Officials reported Friday that more than 95 million doses have been administered to Pakistanis, including roughly 1 million in last 24 hours alone, since the national vaccination drive was rolled out in February.

The vaccination campaign has largely relied on Chinese vaccine, but the U.S. donations are helping officials overcome critical shortages of Western-developed anti-coronavirus shots. 

“These Pfizer vaccines are part of the 500 million Pfizer doses the United States purchased this summer to deliver to 92 countries worldwide, including Pakistan, to fulfill President [Joe] Biden’s commitment to provide safe and effective vaccines around the world and supercharge the global fight against the pandemic,” the U.S. Embassy noted in its statement. 

Washington has also delivered $63 million in COVID-19 assistance to Islamabad. 

The COVAX program is co-led by Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), the WHO (World Health Organization) and CEPI (the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness). The United States is the single largest contributor supporting the initiative toward global COVID-19 vaccine access.
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Recent polls have shown that U.S. President Joe Biden’s standing with the American public is entwined with the state of the pandemic in the country. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has more.
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Attention asteroid aficionados: NASA is set to launch a series of spacecraft to visit and even bash some of the solar system’s most enticing space rocks. 

The robotic trailblazer named Lucy is up first, blasting off this weekend on a 12-year cruise to swarms of asteroids out near Jupiter — unexplored time capsules from the dawn of the solar system. And yes, there will be diamonds in the sky with Lucy, on one of its science instruments, as well as lyrics from other Beatles’ songs. 

NASA is targeting the predawn hours of Saturday for liftoff. 

Barely a month later, an impactor spacecraft named Dart will give chase to a double-asteroid closer to home. The mission will end with Dart ramming the main asteroid’s moonlet to change its orbit, a test that could one day save Earth from an incoming rock. 

Next summer, a spacecraft will launch to a rare metal world — a nickel and iron asteroid that might be the exposed core of a once-upon-a-time planet. A pair of smaller companion craft — the size of suitcases — will peel away to another set of double asteroids. 

And in 2023, a space capsule will parachute into the Utah desert with NASA’s first samples of an asteroid, collected last year by the excavating robot Osiris-Rex. The samples are from Bennu, a rubble and boulder-strewn rock that could endanger Earth a couple of centuries from now. 

“Each one of those asteroids we’re visiting tells our story … the story of us, the story of the solar system,” said NASA’s chief of science missions, Thomas Zurbuchen. 

There’s nothing better for understanding how our solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago, said Lucy’s principal scientist, Hal Levison of Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. “They’re the fossils of planet formation.”

China and Russia are teaming up for an asteroid mission later this decade. The United Arab Emirates is also planning an asteroid stop in the coming years.

Advances in tech and design are behind this flurry of asteroid missions, as well as the growing interest in asteroids and the danger they pose to Earth. All it takes is looking at the moon and the impact craters created by asteroids and meteorites to realize the threat, Zurbuchen said. 

The asteroid-smacking Dart spacecraft — set to launch November 24 — promises to be a dramatic exercise in planetary defense. If all goes well, the high-speed smashup will occur next fall just 11 million kilometers (7 million miles) away, within full view of ground telescopes. 

The much longer $981 million Lucy mission — the first to Jupiter’s so-called Trojan entourage — is targeting an unprecedented eight asteroids. 

Lucy aims to sweep past seven of the countless Trojan asteroids that precede and trail Jupiter in the giant gas planet’s path around the sun. Thousands of these dark reddish or gray rocks have been detected, with many thousands more likely lurking in the two clusters. Trapped in place by the gravitational forces of Jupiter and the sun, the Trojans are believed to be the cosmic leftovers from when the outer planets were forming. 

“That’s what makes the Trojans special. If these ideas of ours are right, they formed throughout the outer solar system and are now at one location where we can go and study them,” Levison said.

Before encountering the Trojans, Lucy will zip past a smaller, more ordinary object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists consider this 2025 flyby a dress rehearsal. 

Three flybys of Earth will be needed as gravity slingshots in order for Lucy to reach both of Jupiter’s Trojan swarms by the time the mission is set to end in 2033. 

The spacecraft will be so far from the sun — as much as 850 million kilometers (530 million miles) distant — that massive solar panels are needed to provide enough power. Each of Lucy’s twin circular wings stretches 7 meters (24 feet) across, dwarfing the spacecraft tucked in the middle like the body of a moth. 

Lucy intends to pass within 965 kilometers (600 miles) of each targeted asteroid. 

“Every one of those flybys needs to be near perfection,” Zurbuchen said.

The seven Trojans range in size from a 64-kilometer (40-mile) asteroid and its 1-kilometer (half-mile) moonlet to a hefty specimen exceeding 100 kilometers (62 miles). That’s the beauty of studying these rocks named after heroes of Greek mythology’s Trojan War and, more recently, modern Olympic athletes. Any differences among them will have occurred during their formation, Levison said, offering clues about their origins.

Unlike so many NASA missions, including the upcoming Dart, short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test, Lucy is not an acronym. The spacecraft is named after the fossilized remains of an early human ancestor discovered in Ethiopia in 1974; the 3.2-million-year-old female got her name from the 1967 Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. 

“The Lucy fossil really transformed our understanding of human evolution, and that’s what we want to do is transform our understanding of solar system evolution by looking at all these different objects,” said Southwest Research Institute’s Cathy Olkin, the deputy principal scientist who proposed the spacecraft’s name. 

One of its science instruments actually has a disc of lab-grown diamond totaling 6.7 carats. 

And there’s another connection to the Fab Four. A plaque attached to the spacecraft includes lines from songs they wrote, along with quotes from other luminaries. From a John Lennon single: “We all shine on … like the moon and the stars and the sun.” 

 
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The World Health Organization’s endorsement of the world’s first malaria vaccine marks a major advance against the mosquito-borne illness, which kills some 265,000 children in Africa annually.

Bitrus Yusuf pours syrup into a measuring cup to give to his three-year-old daughter and grandson who are sick with malaria. 

He said the mosquito-borne parasite that causes the illness is all too common at this Abuja camp for internally displaced people where they live. 

“We went to bed, all was well, everybody was well,” Yusuf said. “But toward midnight I heard him shivering. As I touched his body (it was) very hot, so I woke him up.” 

The World Health Organization said some 94% of malaria cases and deaths worldwide occur in Africa, and that Nigeria accounts for a quarter of the fatalities. The U.N. agency said children under the age of five and pregnant women are the most affected.

Last week, the global health body announced its approval for the rollout of the world’s first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix. The vaccine, made by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, has been in development for more than three decades.

The WHO said Mosquirix could potentially change the course of public health history.

Walter Kazadi Mulombo is the WHO representative in Nigeria. 

“You know before the vaccine could be introduced in the country, it has to be cleared by NAFDAC for the case of Nigeria and there are steps to be taken for the country to approve the vaccine so that introduction can start,” Mulombo said.

NAFDAC refers to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control in Nigeria. 

During a large-scale pilot program that began in 2019, some 2.3 million doses of the vaccine were administered to children in Malawi, Kenya and Ghana. 

The WHO said when rolled out, the vaccine could help prevent up to four in 10 cases of malaria.

But Mulombo warns there could be supply problems at first.

“There may be some supply issues so it may not be in the quantity we require to reach all those that we need to reach,” Mulombo said. “But we understand that GSK, the manufacturer, is working already with some African countries to decentralize production.”

Abuja Primary Health Board official, Ndaeyo Iwot, said the new vaccine does not eliminate the need for taking other malaria preventive measures.

“If you don’t combine it with sleeping under insecticide treated nets and also taking care of your environment, where the vectors can breed, then you’re more likely to continue to have the scourge of malaria in this country,”  Iwot said.

GlaxoSmithKline said it will manufacture about 15 million doses of the vaccine yearly, but experts say at least 50 to 100 million doses are needed every year in areas with moderate to high transmission.

In the meantime, Nigerian parents like Yusuf said they are hoping to get their children vaccinated as soon as possible.
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Victoria state has Thursday reported 2,297 new local COVID-19 cases — the highest number of daily infections recorded by any Australian state or territory since the pandemic began. But as infections surge, authorities hope to lift a lockdown in Melbourne within days when vaccination rates reach 70%.

A 107-day lockdown in Sydney, the New South Wales state capital, was lifted on Monday.

Neighboring Victoria state has record COVID-19 case numbers, however, but epidemiologist Catherine Bennett said she believes vaccinations will soon bring the outbreak under control.

“While we might see cases go up as we have those freedoms start to come into effect this week in New South Wales, Victoria, probably, in a week or two, we are now seeing that we can do that safely,” she said. “That’s everything.”

Health authorities in Victoria do not think case numbers have peaked, but they say vaccination rates are rapidly increasing. They say they are on track to soon cancel stay-at-home orders in the state capital, Melbourne.

A lockdown in the national capital, Canberra, will end later on Thursday.

Lockdowns in Australia are being lifted as inoculation rates hit 70%, and further restrictions on domestic and international travel and the size of gatherings will end when they reach 80%. For now, though, the freedoms apply only to the fully vaccinated.

Nationally, about 69% of Australians have received two vaccine doses.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the Pfizer drug could soon be approved for Australian children ages 5-11.

“It offers additional support and protection for parents and families,” he said. “It is coming at an earlier time than we had previously expected, so I am very, very pleased about that.”

Australia’s Northern Territory has announced some of the world’s toughest vaccine mandates. Shop workers, hairdressers and other workers must be inoculated by Christmas Eve or face dismissal.

The Northern Territory has a population of about 250,000 people. It has recorded about 200 coronavirus cases and zero deaths since the pandemic began but authorities believe it is only a matter of time before more infections are detected as Australia gradually reopens.

The territory’s chief minister, Michael Gunner, said the tough vaccine measures are needed.

“If you work in retail or in a supermarket, you need to get the jab,” he said. “If you are behind the counter at the bank, if you are a receptionist or positions like that, you need to get the jab. If you are a barber, a hairdresser, a beauty therapist, you need to get the jab. All these workers and many, many more directly interact with members of the public. That means you are frontline workers in our economy. That means you must be vaccinated.”

Australia has recorded 131,380 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began; 1,461 people have died. 

 
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