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World Health Organization Raises Concerns Over COVID-19 Severity in China
The World Health Organization’s director-general said the organization is “very concerned” about rising reports of severe covid-19 cases in China after the country largely abandoned its “zero COVID” policy, warning that the country’s low vaccination rate could result in a large number of vulnerable people becoming infected.
During a press conference on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the UN agency requires more information on COVID-19 severity in China, specifically hospital and intensive care unit admissions, “in order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground.”
“The WHO is very concerned about the evolving situation in China, which is seeing an increase in reports of severe disease,” Tedros said. While COVID-19 deaths have decreased by more than 90% since their global peak, he believes there are still too many unknowns about the virus to declare the pandemic over.
Some scientists have warned that the unchecked spread of COVID-19 in China could lead to the emergence of new variants, undermining global efforts to contain the pandemic.
“Vaccination is the omicron exit strategy,” WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said.
Ryan stated that the explosive rise in cases in China was not solely due to the lifting of many of the country’s restrictive policies and that it was impossible to stop transmission of omicron, the most highly infectious variant of COVID-19 yet seen.
China refuses RNA vaccines
He claimed that vaccination rates among people over the age of 60 were lower in China than in many other countries, and that the efficacy of Chinese-made vaccines was around 50%.
“That is simply insufficient protection in a population as large as China, with so many vulnerable people,” Ryan explained. He added that, while China has significantly increased its capacity to vaccinate people in recent weeks, it is unclear whether this will be sufficient.
To date, China has refused to approve Western-made messenger RNA vaccines, which have been shown to be more effective than locally produced shots. Beijing did agree to allow an import of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine for Germans living in China.
“The question is whether enough vaccination can be done in the next week or two weeks to actually mitigate the impact of the second wave and the burden on the health system,” Ryan said.
He, like Tedros, stated that WHO lacked information on the extent of severe disease and hospitalization, but he also stated that nearly all countries overwhelmed by COVID-19 had struggled to share such real-time data.
Ryan also suggested that China’s definition of COVID deaths was too narrow, limiting it to people who had respiratory failure.
“People who die from COVID die from a variety of (organ) system failures, given the severity of the infection,” Ryan explained. “As a result, limiting a COVID death diagnosis to someone with a COVID positive test and respiratory failure vastly underestimates the true COVID death toll.”
Countries such as the United Kingdom, for example, define any COVID death as occurring within 28 days of testing positive for the virus.
Almost every country in the world has struggled with how to count COVID deaths, and official figures are thought to be significantly understated. The World Health Organization estimated nearly 15 million coronavirus deaths worldwide in May, more than doubling the official figure of 6 million.
China Covid-19 ‘Everyone is getting a fever’
Meanwhile, several provinces, including Zhejiang and Anhui, as well as Chongqing, are implementing a new policy that allows people with mild or no symptoms to return to work, despite a severe shortage of rapid test kits.
Since Monday, the hashtag related to this announcement has been read 33 million times on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter. There is outrage and shock.
“There has been no preparation in the past three years, and all of a sudden the restrictions are lifted and you are allowed to go to work while ill – our lives are worthless like ants,” a 200-like comment reads.
“Just a few months ago, people were arrested for going to work while testing positive,” another comment with nearly 1,000 likes says.
Even some overseas Chinese who returned to the country after the hotel quarantine period was recently reduced are surprised at how quickly the virus is spreading.
“I had never had Covid-19 in the previous few years while living abroad, but I got it a few days after I returned… “Everyone I know is getting Covid-19 and has a fever – so if you’ve been out of the country recently, don’t come back,” wrote one user on another popular social media platform Xiaohongshu.
The Chinese internet has been flooded with posts about how people were surviving after contracting the virus over the last two weeks.
According to the BBC, videos of young children with no symptoms bringing food and water to their sick parents have circulated in Chinese media. Some have shown how they navigate social-distancing while living in the same house to avoid infecting relatives.
In the midst of a national shortage of medicines, the media has sought to highlight stories of community spirit. There are numerous videos on Weibo of people bagging up pain relief medications they don’t need and delivering them to people in need.
Outlets are encouraging people to be kind to hardworking medical personnel and highlighting instances of kindness shown to front-line staff.
Strict Covid-19 measures in China
The Paper, a news website, has highlighted a call from a man to a government operator in Chengdu, whose throat is hoarse and he coughs down the phone. “Don’t worry, there’s no problem,” he says before hanging up the phone. “Please look after yourself.”
In their lists of “trending” stories, Chinese social media platforms frequently seek to amplify positive news in the face of adversity.
In the last 24 hours, the hashtag #PersistentDoctorsandNursesWorkHard has been trending, with state media praising their front-line contributions.
However, the independent South China Morning Post has recently reported on new protests among medical students demanding “better pay” and protection on China’s front lines.
There has been no mention of these in state media. Images and videos of protests, on the other hand, are routinely censored because they represent dissatisfaction with the status quo.
This is what happened last month when protests erupted across the country in response to strict Covid-19 measures.
Nonetheless, there have been reports of the health-care system being overburdened. Thousands of retired medical workers have been recalled to the front lines after media reports of “long lines” outside outpatient clinics and “heavy pressure” on fever clinics.
Several major city newspapers have acknowledged that the number of calls to emergency services is “rising” and have urged people not to call unless absolutely necessary.
There are numerous images on Weibo of medical workers sleeping at their desks. Images of exhausted workers receiving IV drips have also circulated.
Over 10 million social media users have watched a video posted in the last 24 hours of a man on his knees pleading for his child to be treated at a fever clinic in Guangdong, the province with the most cases.
“I am also on my knees,” the doctor responds. This is how it is; there are queues that last 6-8 hours.
“Everyone is waiting, including children and the elderly; you are not alone.”
A recent report indicates that since Trudeau’s announcement of his gun buyback program four years ago, almost none of the banned firearms have been surrendered.
The federal government plans to purchase 2,063 firearm models from retailers following the enactment of Bill C-21, which amends various Acts and introduces certain consequential changes related to firearms. It was granted royal assent on December 15 of last year.
This ban immediately criminalized the actions of federally-licensed firearms owners regarding the purchase, sale, transportation, importation, exportation, or use of hundreds of thousands of rifles and shotguns that were previously legal.
The gun ban focused on what it termed ‘assault-style weapons,’ which are, in reality, traditional semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have enjoyed popularity among hunters and sport shooters for over a century.
In May 2020, the federal government enacted an Order-in-Council that prohibited 1,500 types of “assault-style” firearms and outlined specific components of the newly banned firearms. Property owners must adhere to the law by October 2023.
Trudeau’s Buyback Hasn’t Happened
“In the announcement regarding the ban, the prime minister stated that the government would seize the prohibited firearms, assuring that their lawful owners would be ‘grandfathered’ or compensated fairly.” “That hasn’t happened,” criminologist Gary Mauser told Rebel News.
Mauser projected expenses ranging from $2.6 billion to $6.7 billion. The figure reflects the compensation costs amounting to $756 million, as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
“The projected expenses for gathering the illegal firearms are estimated to range from $1.6 billion to $7 billion.” “This range estimate increases to between $2.647 billion and $7 billion when compensation costs to owners are factored in,” Mauser stated.
Figures requested by Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs concerning firearms prohibited due to the May 1, 2020 Order In Council reveal that $72 million has been allocated to the firearm “buyback” program, yet not a single firearm has been confiscated to date.
In a recent revelation, Public Safety Canada disclosed that the federal government allocated a staggering $41,094,556, as prompted by an order paper question from Conservative Senator Don Plett last September, yet yielded no tangible outcomes.
An internal memo from late 2019 revealed that the Liberals projected their politically motivated harassment would incur a cost of $1.8 billion.
Enforcement efforts Questioned
By December 2023, estimates from TheGunBlog.ca indicate that the Liberals and RCMP had incurred or were responsible for approximately $30 million in personnel expenses related to the enforcement efforts. The union representing the police service previously stated that the effort to confiscate firearms is a “misdirected effort” aimed at ensuring public safety.
“This action diverts crucial personnel, resources, and funding from tackling the more pressing and escalating issue of criminal use of illegal firearms,” stated the National Police Federation (NPF).
The Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Association (CSAAA), representing firearms retailers, has stated it will have “zero involvement” in the confiscation of these firearms. Even Canada Post held back from providing assistance due to safety concerns.
The consultant previously assessed that retailers are sitting on almost $1 billion worth of inventory that cannot be sold or returned to suppliers because of the Order-In-Council.
“Despite the ongoing confusion surrounding the ban, after four years, we ought to be able to address one crucial question.” Has the prohibition enhanced safety for Canadians? Mauser asks.
Illegally Obtained Firearms are the Problem
Statistics Canada reports a 10% increase in firearm-related violent crime between 2020 and 2022, rising from 12,614 incidents to 13,937 incidents. In that timeframe, the incidence of firearm-related violent crime increased from 33.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021 to 36.7 incidents the subsequent year.
“This marks the highest rate documented since the collection of comparable data began in 2009,” the criminologist explains.
Supplementary DataData indicates that firearm homicides have risen since 2020. “The issue lies not with lawfully-held firearms,” Mauser stated.
Firearms that have been banned under the Order-in-Council continue to be securely stored in the safes of their lawful owners. The individuals underwent a thorough vetting process by the RCMP and are subject to nightly monitoring to ensure there are no infractions that could pose a risk to public safety.
“The firearms involved in homicides were seldom legally owned weapons wielded by their rightful owners,” Mauser continues. The number of offenses linked to organized crime has surged from 4,810 in 2016 to a staggering 13,056 in 2020.
“If those in power … aim to diminish crime and enhance public safety, they ought to implement strategies that effectively focus on offenders and utilize our limited tax resources judiciously to reach these objectives,” he stated.
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Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.
According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.
Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.
Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.
Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.
To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.
Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.
On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.
Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.
Pixa Bay
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.
TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.
When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.
And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.
Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.
A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.
Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.
But today, it feels more like reality.
Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.
SOURCE | CNN
(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.
The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.
Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.
This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.
In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.
The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.
This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.
The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.
In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.
According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.
Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.
The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.
For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.
Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.
As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.
As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.
The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.
SOURCE: AP
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