The thought-provoking editorial “Tackle the coronavirus now” (May 18, page 8) has prompted significant feedback at home and abroad, including penetrating coverage in a Time magazine article on Friday last week, titled “How a false sense of security, and a little secret tea, broke down Taiwan’s COVID-19 defenses.”
Analyzing “how Taiwan’s COVID-19 defenses failed,” the article implied that a series of related government malpractices and an undesirable public response should be held accountable.
The scarcity of vaccine doses made the scenario worse, the article added.
It is imperative that the government does its utmost to mend the situation and contain the
COVID-19: Virus lab origin theory gains traction in US
AFP, WASHINGTON
Long dismissed as a kooky conspiracy theory, the idea that COVID-19 emerged from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China, has been gaining increasing momentum in the US.
The US government’s position has shifted to agnosticism in recent weeks, with US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky saying they are open to all possibilities.
“We need to get to the bottom of this and we need a completely transparent process from China, we need the WHO to assist in that matter,” White House senior adviser for COVID-19 Andy Slavitt said on Tuesday.
Fans watch a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 18 in St. Louis. The Cardinals have significantly loosened their COVID-19 guidelines, saying fully vaccinated fans attending games at Busch Stadium will no longer be required to wear masks inside the ballpark.
photos by the associated press
Any need for vaccine booster would be much less hectic, health officials say
Travis Siebrass Daily Herald and David C.L. Bauer Journal-Courier
May 25, 2021
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Illinois public health officials say “if or when booster doses” of the COVID-19 vaccine are recommended, the rollout probably won’t involve mass vaccination sites or daylong clinics at large venues.
“We have developed a robust vaccine delivery system to deliver the current COVID-19 vaccines, including doctors’ offices and smaller medical providers, and that will be the blueprint if or when booster doses are recommended,” said Melaney Arnold, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health. “Pharmacies and other providers have current systems to deliver vaccines routinely, like annual flu shots.”