LyrArc Article Gist
The Indian Express looks at the impact on children for learning and education of the coronavirus pandemic. More children in areas that have lagged behind economically are unable to read in second grade. In some states the number of children who are not able to read second grade text has more than doubled. This can be seen across other grades.

LyrArc Article Gist
One of the surprises in this coronavirus pandemic is the decline in asthma among children. This is noted for India in the Indian Express. About 262 million children suffer from asthma in the world. The use of face masks, hand washing, and the lockdowns that limited the number of infections which lead to asthma attacks which come from school contacts with other children. Less pollution and better air quality during lockdowns also added to the improvement for children.

LyrArc Article Gist
The most accurate study so far of what age groups get affected by coronavirus comes from the Office of National Statistics in Britain, showing that children are as likely to get infected as adults. Estimates in modeling created jointly by Public Health England and the Cambridge University show 18% of children in the data from 5  to 14 years age are infected by the virus in England, compared to 18% in the adults over 45 years age.  Across all age groups the modeling data found that there is no difference between age categories for infection by the coronavirus.

LyrArc Article Gist
This story in The Guardian looks at volunteer schools in Kashmir, India, as school children take classes in open meadows. Volunteer teachers are working to keep Kashmiri children in open air makeshift community classes in fields, pine forests and orchards,  so that some form of continuity in schooling can be maintained during the coronavirus. One volunteer teacher works with 100 children, And children have to cross rising rivers over wooden bridges in the rainy season, coming over long distances. Many families do not own a smartphone which cost Rs. 10,000 to %s. 15,000 to take internet classes. The government offers video classes on television and radio classes for older children in India. 

LyrArc Article Gist
A chaotic return of school children to school in September 2021 in most of Europe and America, because of a lack of clear statement on the rules to be followed for mask use, social distancing, and testing. Most children are also returning to school without vaccination.  It is also happening at this time in September when the Delta variant is spreading. US president Biden's decision for vaccine mandate for 100 million or two thirds of American workers comes at this time of uncertainty in schools about the future and coronavirus variant. In the US rules are being set school district by school district, at a time when vaccines are not approved for children under 12 years. One leading school administrator in the US says "it's as chaotic as you can get."

LyrArc Article Gist
Data from India in a large study shown in Science magazine show useful findings. Only a small number of people cause the wide spread of the coronavirus. This study covers the two southern states of Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh with total population of 128 million. Contact tracers in the 2 states reached about 3 million contacts for the 435,000 coronavirus cases. Researchers analyzed data from 85000 of these cases where enough data was available with 600,000 contacts. Some interesting findings are- About 5300 children infected 2500 contacts among other school age children showing children in schools can spread the virus. About 5% of the people account for 80% of the infections detected by contact tracing. 71% of the people did not seem to have transferred the virus to someone else. Median hospital stay is only 5 days much less than in the U.S. The number of deaths in India is much smaller than the U.S. less than 100,000. 5.2 million people out of 6.2 million people have recovered.       ...

LyrArc Article Gist
About a third of recent coronavirus infections in the UK are from schoolchildren ages 10-19. The UK after a headstart in its vaccination drive has fallen behind other European countries and the US in the vaccination of children and teenagers. UK began vaccinating children in August far behind the US and Europe. On top of this UK under Boris Johnson decided to drop almost all public health restrictions during the summer. The change in Health Secretary happened on June 26, 2021 with Matt Hancock's resignation. The new Health Secretary Javid was to review the health restrictions in place till July 19. The sense of caution and preparedness that prevailed earlier as fallen short since July 2021 with the lack of coronavirus prevention measures such as masks, social distancing and vaccine mandates that were taken in Italy, France, Germany and other European countries, as well as in the US.

LyrArc Article Gist
About a third of coronavirus cases in France of three or more cases are in schools and universities as France tackles a second wave in October 2020. France has decided to keep schools open as a priority over closing schools as soon as there a couple of cases and there are no uniform rules across schools for masks to be worn. In France mask requirement begins in junior high with exceptions for lunch and gym class. In Italy the mask requirement is present for all grades until they take seats in class. Some schools ask children to keep masks on in the classroom. UK has no mask requirement in schools. Spain requires masks for all school children over age 6 years. Parents in lower income households lack the flexibility to keep children home while they go out to work. Many parents look forward to keeping their children in school after the long lockdown.

LyrArc Article Gist
Janice Turner writes about all those empty calories that are being taken without a thought. For children obesity starts with cereals such as Frosted Sugar Flakes with extremely high sugar content, and other cereals that have high sugar content with fancy names, says this report of how people unconsciously take in so many empty calories. Sugar content that can range to as high as 37%. This builds up disease in our bodies, and obesity. Obesity acts during this time of coronavirus to create a wild fire.

 

LyrArc Article Gist
Women are represented more in lower paid part time jobs and have borne more of child care responsibilities by two thirds than men according to ONS in Britain. Women spend more time than men on nondevelopmental care of children and average about 3 hours 18 minutes each day during the pandemic. The pandemic puts greater strain on working mothers and mothers who lost pay during the coronavirus layoffs.

LyrArc Article Gist
The true story of the two German scientists, children of immigrants from Germany, who did the research behind the Pfizer vaccine for coronavirus. One the son of a guest worker from Turkey who worked at a car factory in Cologne, another the daughter of a doctor who finished medical school and immigrated to Germany. They started primarily on cancer vaccines using new mRNA technologies. Much of their work focused on meeting the gap that had developed says Ozlem Tureci, between what was done in the labs and what was available to patients and doctors. 

LyrArc Article Gist
What is the oldest man alive like. Bob Weighton was presented with his certificate by the Guinness World Records this week. He lives in a assisted living home and is self isolating. Here is someone who has been through the 1918-20 Spanish flu pandemic that took millions of lives all over the world. What is he like? He was a professor of Marine Engineering at the City University of London till he retired at age 65 in 1973. Weighton says he is very pleased he was able to live so long and make so many friends. He has had serious medical operations but nothing he has experienced is like the coronavirus and self-isolation. He calls it "bizarre." But his advice is that there is nothing you can do about this so you might as well do what you can and  never mind about what you can't. He has 3 children, 10 grandchildren and 25 great grand children. He and wife Agnes traveled and worked around the world then settled back in the UK. She and his wife Agnes who passed away in 1993 volunteered in retirement as marraige counselors and helped youth groups in Alton.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Prof. Twenge of San Diego State University says teens in the iGeneration are so different from the Millenials and previous generations, that in her research she has not seen anything quite like it. This generation of teens experienced the use of smartphones and social media at a young age in a way no previous generation has. More time was spent on smartphones than with peers face to face, and less time was spent with family, more time alone. This has led to mental health risks for teenagers.

Melinda Gates describes her experience with her children growing up with smartphones and the risks involved. Parents are in a great deal of confusion on how to handle this situation even as it is changing their children's lives in ways never experienced before, putting them more at risk.

LyrArc Article Gist
Some of the most vulnerable populations in the world during coronavirus are in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the surrounding regions, in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, and in African countries. This report looks at the increase in poverty in Pakistan and increasing food insecurity with food prices increasing. Government priorities are a concern says this report. Malnutrition is increasing with estimates ranging and some as high as 40% of children. A PTI official of the government is cited here as saying that it could be as high as 50% of children suffering from malnutrition. One of the problems for food insecurity in the Indian region going back to the famines during the British rule in Bengal and the famines in Bihar during Congress rule after independence is that supplies are lacking of foodgrains or that the incomes have fallen so drastically that people could not afford to buy food. Governments stepped in after independence to provide foodgrains at subsidized prices. These programs need to be pushed to the forefront and and international assistance needs to be sought. Planning minister Asad Umar points out in this report in DW.com that millions of Pakistanis are falling below the poverty line increasing food insecurity at a critical time. He gives estimate that one out of four Pakistanis have had their diets reduced. There is every reason to support efforts for cross border supply of foodgrains between India and Pakistan as humanitarian approach in the coronavirus crisis even as differences exist over border regions- as such differences exist all over the world over borders but humanitarian approach has benefitted the entire region during the Bihar famines after independence with aid from the U.S. Johnson administration. At that time in 1966-67 the seriousness of the situation in Bihar was only gradually and reluctantly accepted by the institutions, officials and governments around the world, says Cambridge University Press looking back on that crisis. And it is to the great credit of the Johnson administration that it launched the subsequent efforts for the Green Revolution and foodgrain production involving Norman Borlaug and the Indian government. Something of this type needs to be launched again across the region.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The word "elderly" is going out of common use, the CDC in the U.S. has crossed it out and uses the words 'over 60." Parents bristle as the term elderly takes on a new meaning in the days of coronavirus in March 2020. One of the baby boomers at age 64, who has completed 40 triathlons in last 7 years asks if she can really be called elderly. Parents bristle with texts and calls from children in the thirties to change travel plans, with most deciding to stay put at home. Yet as other reports show most younger people in their thirties and forties are also working from home with their kids around them.

LyrArc Article Gist
The WSJ covers men's falling enrollment in colleges, with a sharp drop in community college enrollment during the pandemic, in a recent report. The NYT look at this issue from the perspective of women pointing out that women have historically experienced a disadvantage. Women are shown to be struggling in lower paid professions, and underrepresented in higher income fields and positions. Seen from this perspective what is seen as a calamity for men is also not happening in a way that is providing visible advantage for women. Women stayed home more than men during the pandemic and were more likely to quit work during the coronavirus pandemic to take care of children when schools were closed. This was happening not just in the US, but also in Europe. The result is that both men and women have suffered setbacks during the pandemic. Biden's families and workers plan investment in America comes at a time of severe stress for families and workers. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Queen Elizabeth's words on April 5, 2020 during the depths of the coronavirus pandemic will always be remembered, when she said reminding one of of her words in 1940- "We will meet again." "I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humored resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterize this country. The pride in who we are is not of our past, it defines our present and our future." "And though self-isolating may at times be hard, many people of all faiths, and of none, are discovering that it presents and opportunity to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer or meditation. "It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made in 1940, helped by my sister. We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor, to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety. Today once again, many people will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. But now, as then, we know deep down, that it is the right thing to do. While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed- and that success will belong to every one of us. "We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return, we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again."   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The World Vaccine Summit raises about $7 billion to immunize about 300 million children for polio, diphtheria and measles, over 5 years. Prime minister Boris Johnson who opened the summit called it "the greatest shared endeavour of our times." Bill Gates donated $1.6 billion and Britain pledged 1.65 billion pounds over 5 years, making Britain the largest donor. Mr. Trump also addressed the summit in virtual manner- "we will work hard, we will work strong... good luck, let's get the answer." Mr. Johnson called for renewing "the collective resolve."  Specifically he stated: " Just as we have great military alliances like NATO.... where countries collaborate on building their collective military defence, so we now need that sam spirit of collaboration and collective defense agains the common enemy of disease." Referring to failure of early warning systems for coronavirus with crucial weeks between Jan 6 to Feb 16 lost for the West with lack of international cooperation- "It will require a new international effort to cooperate on the surveillance and sharing of information- data is king- that can underpin a global alert system, so we can rapidly identify any future outbreak. And that will mean a rapid scale-up of our global capacity to respond."  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
President Biden's scorecard for the first year- 3.9% unemployment down from 6.4% in January 2021. Created 6.1 million jobs the most since 1939. $ 1 trillion infrastructure building plan approved in Congress with support from Republicans, the money going quickly and directly to specific much needed rebuilding projects all over the USA for the first time.  73% of the population of American adults fully vaccinated with two shots. And $1.9 trillion relief to Americans to restore their finances. Suspended student loan payments during the pandemic. Action on climate change, children's education, help to women, held up in Congress by two Democratic senators joining the Republicans opposed to Biden. It could be said that more was accomplished in 1 year than at any time since the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the thirties and forties. And this comes in the middle of the pandemic of coronavirus with 853,000 Americans dead from the virus. Biden puts is faith not in the polls but in getting things done.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
German chancellor Merkel met with leaders of Germany's 16 federal states to come up with an exit plan for reopening the economy from the lockdown in phases. In the first phase shops with up to 800 square metres of space will reopen on April 20. Bookshops, libraries, car dealers, bicycle shops, and museums will open too. Larger retailers will wait till May 4 to reopen. On May 4 school children in primary school can attend school and teenagers can take exams. Germany has 133,000 infected cases, 3592 deaths. Merkel warned that the performance with coronavirus was "fragile and provisional success" and the need for social distancing measures. A ban on gatherings of more than 2 people from separate households will remain in place till May 1. The government will strongly recommend that face masks be worn in public and in shops, public transport. Mass events will be prohibited till September. Bars clubs and restaurants will remain closed at least till May 3, or beyond. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Young people are the major source of transmission of coronavirus in the US with school sports as a major cause. Michigan, New York, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, makeup 42% of cases on April 11. Adults ages 20 to 39 are affected the most in Michigan. With cases for children under 19 quadrupling from a month ago. 301 reported school outbreaks in Michigan alone. A big problem is that the spread of the variant B.1.1.7  from the UK started in clusters earlier in February. It now has spread to the general population. India has seen a surge in the past 5 days and public health officials are learning from this experience in Europe and the US. The focus  should be on micro containment zones, prime minister Modi told state chief ministers in a virtual meeting on April 10, with screening, testing, tracking, and that health officials should not let higher numbers affect their persistent effort to screen, test and track as with the unceasing effort the results will come. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
This article in The Lancet published in February 2018 throws much light on how the ban on gain of function research on virus was lifted -research that carries with it the danger of increasing transmission of virus if something unexpected happens in the manipulation of a virus. It was lifted in 2018 in the US by officials in the US Health Ministry, NIH and HHS. The Cambridge group of scientists and experts opposed lifting the ban on such dangerous research that could make the virus more contagious through manipulation. Epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch of Harvard School of Public Health wrote at the time that the lab research to create a more lethal strain of virus could lead to "an accidental pandemic" yet he was ignored. The public in America and in the world is unaware of how this created serious risks for public health in the world through the coronavirus.  Did US health officials lift the ban on such research without consulting other countries such as India, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and the EU on its ramifications. Were public health experts and the publics themselves in the US and around the world not drawn into the discussion of public health and the dangers that existed. Not only did officials in HHS and NIH restart the research by lifting the ban but also sent funds overseas for such research- was this a proper or thoughtful action considering the risks involved.  Is enhanced surveillance of virus- a dubious benefit from manipulation of a virus- something a few health officials can decide for the whole world in addition to the US. How are health officials in one or two countries responsible to the people in India, Brazil, Europe and the poorest populations in the world in the world in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, people who have suffered devastating consequences from transmissibility of the virus, including children and older people with health problems. India, Brazil, Italy, Spain, France, UK, and other countries worst hit by the coronavirus must ask serious questions about how they can protect their people if institutions in the US and international institutions are seen as failing to protect world public health. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The story of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is the story of 2 chikdren of Turkish immigrants to Germany. Sahin the son of a engineer working at a Ford factory in Cologne, and Tureci the daughter of a surgeon working at a hospital in Mainz Germany. Sahin was born in 1965 on the Mediterranean coast in Iskerundun, Turkey and he went to Germany when he was 4 years old, his father being recruited in a new effort to rebuild Germany with foreign labour. Both are motivated by scientific research and the drive to come up with some method to tackle cancer for patients with new research and cures.  Both did their doctoral dissertation on experimental therapies at the Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz in Germany, and both joined the faculty there. Sahin spent years studying the mRNA , genetic instructions that can be delivered to the body to help it defend itself against viruses and other threats. Much of this mRNA research was already at an advanced stage in January 2020 when Sahin heard about the coronavirus in China. At that point he saw the potential of retargeting the mRNA research to tackling the coronavirus. By this time he already had his own company with over 200 million euros invested in it  by investors including Helmut Jeggle, now supervisory board chairman of BioNTech. This report says he sat down one Saturday, January 25, 2020 and working on his computer designed the template for 10 possible coronavirus vaccines, one of which would become BNT162b2, the vaccine now approved in Britain. On the same day he told a surprised Jettle that he would refocus the company on the new virus that had not yet hit Europe. Shain he says cited the Hong Kong flu that claimed 4 million lives. Why Pfizer. Pfizer had already been working with BioNTech on a new flu vaccine based on mRNA technology. A cooperation deal was signed with Pfizer in March for organizing clinical trials, manufacture globally, and distribute the vaccine. BioNTech then acquired a U.S. company and a German pharmaceutical factory in Germany. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
This podcast in WSJ tells the amazing story of the development of a vaccine for malaria by a British scientist that took forty years. In a world of short run startups this tells the story of medical and indirectly other research include research on renewable energy to tackle climate change that takes years to develop and makes a lasting change in our lives. This is also true of the mRNA vaccine developed by two German scientists of Turkish descent who developed the Pfizer vaccine. The Novavax vaccine in the US also has a story of resilience in the face of many challenges. Mr Scholz of the SDP, currently vice chancellor of Germany and winner of the German election said recently he wanted to expose the myth that was created of the self-made man that has penetrated our culture over the last 2 decades. One cannot even conceive of self made people at a time when the whole world depends on vaccines developed such as mRNA vaccine by these 2 German scientists at university labs that are the first line of defense against the coronavirus. Both scientists took only half a day off when they got married. Both are children of immigrants to Germany from Turkey. They both cycle to work. Mr. Shin says "I don't have a car. I am not going to get a plane. What's life changing is to be able to impact something in the medical field." The electric batteries used in today's electric cars use technology developed by a Japanese scientist and professor who also worked at Toshiba in the face of many challenges. ...