A WHO expert snaps at Biden over an investigation into Covid-19’s origins

A version of this story appeared in the February 10 edition of CNN’s Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction newsletter. Sign up here to receive the need-to-know headlines every weekday.

An expert from a World Health Organization team investigating the origins of Covid-19 on the ground in China has lashed out at US President Joe Biden for posturing against Beijing, and taken a shot at the credibility of US intelligence agencies after the State Department expressed uncertainty over the team’s initial findings.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said repeatedly that the US would welcome the findings by the World Health Organization (WHO) team in a conclusive report but would ultimately rely on its intelligence agencies and information from allies to reach its own conclusions.

In response to Price’s remarks, Peter Daszak, a member of WHO’s investigative team, tweeted on Wednesday: “Well now this. @JoeBiden has to look tough on China. Please don’t rely too much on US intel: increasingly disengaged under Trump & frankly wrong on many aspects.” He added he was happy to help the White House in verifying information, “but don’t forget it’s ‘TRUST’ then ‘VERIFY’!”

The trade in barbs signals a rocky start in the renewed relationship between Washington and WHO, just weeks after Biden retracted the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the international organization, which is leading the global response against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Beijing is taking a victory lap over the WHO team’s findings, James Griffiths writes. The team, which has just wrapped up its investigation on the ground, said it was “extremely unlikely” that the virus began in a Chinese lab, a conspiracy theory that the Trump administration pushed, but one that gained little steam. It also said it could not rule out China’s claims that the virus was possibly transmitted to humans via frozen foods from another country.

The WHO team had made clear before the visit, however, that its findings would be limited, given the length of time since the outbreak at the Huanan market in Wuhan in December 2019, and subsequent efforts to disinfect and sterilize the area. Daszak told CNN it could take weeks, months or even a “couple of years” to fully understand how the virus emerged.

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Q: Are Covid-19 vaccines safe for cancer patients?

A: It’s a question that has been on the minds of researchers and oncologists long before the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine rollouts began. Although there is a consensus that the vaccines are safe for most cancer patients, according to the American Cancer Society and others in the medical community, research into whether they will be effective for cancer patients is still a data-free zone.

“As far as safety of the vaccine, every situation for every patient with cancer is a little different. And there’s a spectrum of where any one patient might be in their cancer journey,” Makaroff told CNN. “The Covid-19 vaccine is definitely safe for people with cancer but it’s important that patients have a conversation with their health care provider and their cancer care team to determine when is the right time to have the vaccine.” Read here for more information.

Send your questions here. Are you a health care worker fighting Covid-19? Message us on WhatsApp about the challenges you’re facing: +1 347-322-0415.

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Published 7:57 AM EST, Wed February 10, 2021

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Europe's oldest person recovers after Covid (2021)

00:38 - Source: CNN

‘I wasn’t scared’: 116-year-old French nun survives Covid-19

A nun living in a retirement home in the French city of Toulon is preparing to celebrate her 117th birthday on Thursday, having survived Covid-19.

Sister Andre, who was born Lucile Randon, is believed to be the oldest person in Europe and second oldest in the world. She showed no coronavirus symptoms but tested positive in mid-January, when she was isolated from her fellow residents.

When asked by CNN affiliate BFM TV if she felt afraid, she said: “No, I wasn’t scared because I wasn’t scared to die … I’m happy to be with you, but I would wish to be somewhere else – join my big brother and my grandfather and my grandmother.”

Around 1 in 10 Americans have gotten their first Covid-19 shot

Around 10% of the US population – nearly 32.9 million people – have had at least the first of a two-dose Covid-19 vaccine, and about 9.8 million people have been fully vaccinated, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

The US and state leaders are optimistic that vaccinations will ramp up further in the coming months, but challenges of supply shortages and equitable access remain. Public health experts say the US, like many badly affected countries, are in a race against time as new Covid-19 variants spread fast across the country.

Global cases fall 17% and hit a 15-week low

The number of Covid-19 infections last week dropped 17% compared to the previous seven days, WHO has reported, marking the fourth consecutive week of falling cases and a 15-week low. Deaths also dropped for a second week in a row, falling by 10%.

The numbers are welcome news as many countries kick off vaccination programs in the hope that widespread inoculation will be key to ending the pandemic, and the painful economic lockdowns and restrictions that have come with it.

WHO said there were around 3.1 million new cases of Covid-19 last week. The United States confirmed the most new weekly infections, but its cases were still 19% down on the previous week. The steepest fall by region was in Africa (22%) and the smallest was in the Eastern Mediterranean region (2%).

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TOP TIPS

Let’s face it: Even as more people get vaccinated against Covid-19, everyone but small children in much of the world will still need to wear a face mask for the foreseeable future. Sure, everyone is tired of wearing them. But as studies have shown, and as Dr. Anthony Fauci has pointed out many times, masks are the single most effective way to protect yourself and others from getting infected with the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, the disease. That’s true even if you’ve been vaccinated, as new variants of the virus could emerge.

“It is absolutely essential that we continue to do steps beyond vaccination to keep this under control,” said Dr. Richard Besser, former acting CDC director. Read more about masks here.

TODAY’S PODCAST

“When we talk about the vaccine, there is a large number of scams out there … where criminals are trying to get us as victims to pay money to do certain things related to the vaccine.” – Steven Merrill, FBI Financial Crimes Section Chief

Authorities are warning of emerging scams related to the Covid-19 vaccine. CNN’s law enforcement and national security correspondent, Josh Campbell, walks us through the types of scams out there and how we can protect ourselves. Listen now.