South African firm to produce BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine
The Biovac Institute reached a deal with Pfizer to prepare and deliver vaccine doses for the continent. It comes amid an increase of cases in Africa, where just 2% of the population have received a first dose. https://p.dw.com/p/3xo2B

What lessons have been learned from unrest in South Africa?
South Africa is still trying to come to terms with days of looting and violence that left death and destruction. https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2021/7/22/what-lessons-have-been-learned-from-unrest-in-south-africa

ICU doctor says Florida is ‘back to getting crushed’ by Covid and virtually all patients wish they’d got vaccine
Vaccination rates in the state are declining as coronavirus cases explode https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/florida-covid-vaccine-icu-doctors-b1889614.html

Sean Penn will not return to the set of his new show "Gaslit" until the entire cast and crew have received Covid vaccinations, the star's representative confirmed on Friday.
Penn plays the role of Attorney General John Mitchell in the political drama, which is a modern-day take on the Watergate scandal. Julia Roberts portrays John's wife Martha in the show, which is due to air on Starz later this year. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/23/entertainment/sean-penn-gaslit-vaccination-intl-scli/index.html

In many countries, the number of new COVID-19 infections is skyrocketing. Did governments move too quickly to loosen the lockdowns? And what is the role of the Delta variant? In interview, British researcher Devi Sridhar warns of the dangers of the new wave and argues that vaccination is our only way out. https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/there-is-no-other-way-out-of-the-pandemic-british-public-health-expert-on-the-need-to-get-vaccinated-a-a460e1a3-9a1d-4a18-abf8-29b08f6a10a8

In an extraordinary Olympic Games where mental health has been front and center, acts of kindness are everywhere. The world’s most competitive athletes have been captured showing gentleness and warmth to one another — celebrating, pep-talking, wiping away one another’s tears of disappointment. https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-acts-of-kindness-sportsmanship-f7484946288e2a078b2a1f9eccbc1232

The delta variant is challenging China’s costly strategy of isolating cities, prompting warnings that Chinese leaders who were confident they could keep the coronavirus out of the country need a less disruptive approach. https://apnews.com/article/business-health-china-coronavirus-pandemic-292b84b26eb41888c579a6460c2647c3

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases talks about the rise in Covid cases, the Delta variant and masking guidance, during an interview with Meet the Press. https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/full-fauci-interview-delta-variant-extremely-dangerous-for-the-unvaccinated-118137925870

It's not only people who need to be rescued from the flames. https://p.dw.com/p/3yjEL

California was praised for acting swiftly to contain the coronavirus last spring. Now more than 31,000 people have died of the virus in the state. What went wrong? https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-55578098

In case you hadn’t already heard, COVID-19 numbers are ticking up again, even among people who are vaccinated. While unvaccinated people in the U.S. are contracting COVID at a much, much higher rate than those who’ve gotten the vaccine, the contagious nature of the Delta variant has meant breakthrough cases are on the rise, too. Seven People Tell Us What It's Like to Have Breakthrough COVID https://www.vice.com/en/article/wx5kyz/what-its-like-to-have-breakthrough-covid

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near Haiti on Saturday morning.
The US Geological Survey is now estimating "high casualties" and widespread disaster.
The earthquake was about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud and 13 kilometers deep, according to the USGS. https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/haiti-earthquake-08-14-21/index.html

To mask or not to mask became the question at the tail end of what many wanted to be a "hot vax summer." Instead, uncertainly about life after the pandemic, and if such a thing will ever exist, lingers. https://www.npr.org/2021/08/12/1027198541/how-to-deal-with-renewed-covid-anxiety

The Afghans who fell from the C-17 didn’t think they were getting out. They’re not stupid. It’s a choice. An uncertain death of desperation vs. A certain death at the hands of your enemies. https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/17/the-falling-man-2001-2021/

More than 9,000 Covid infections were linked to Euro 2020 football games monitored for the government’s mass events test scheme, and scientists have said the tournament generated “a significant risk to public health”. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/20/9000-covid-cases-linked-to-euro-2020-games-in-mass-events-scheme

The European Union is expected to recommend on Monday that member states reinstate Covid-related travel restrictions and halt nonessential travel from the United States and five other countries, a diplomatic source said.
The EU would reestablish coronavirus travel restrictions such as quarantine and testing requirements for unvaccinated travelers from those countries, according to the source. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/eu-travel-restrictions-intl-hnk/index.html

Genetics researchers who have been watching for new coronavirus variants say they've seen a troubling new lineage that carries many of the same hallmarks as other strains, including Alpha, Beta and Gamma.
The variant they are watching, called C.1.2, has popped up across South Africa as well as in seven other countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the researchers report. They're not sure whether its constellation of mutations will make it more dangerous, but it carries changes that have given other variants increased transmissibility and the ability to evade the immune system's response to some degree.
Having more mutations does not necessarily equal more danger -- some mutations can weaken a virus and it's the combination of changes that affects whether a virus becomes more efficient. One extra mutation could cancel out the effects of another. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/30/health/new-coronavirus-variant-maybe/index.html

The US listed Switzerland, Canada and Germany among high risk countries "due to a high level of COVID-19." The decision comes as the EU calls for reimposing restrictions on American tourists. https://p.dw.com/p/3zi56

In the United States, the variant’s pace has slowed, and new infections are falling in some states, like Missouri, that Delta struck hard. The number of infections over the last week is now 14 percent higher than it was two weeks ago, a fraction of the rate during much of July and early August. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/health/covid-delta-us-britain.html

Holy fork!! A cow in a tree!! This video shows rescue workers cutting branches off a tree in Florissant, Louisiana, on Aug 31 to recover a cow that got stuck during Hurricane Ida https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1433480590616051717