Joe Biden to receive COVID vaccine as Trump remains on sidelines
Washington, Dec 20: The leader of the Trump administration's vaccination programme says people who have been infected with the coronavirus a group that includes President Donald Trump should be vaccinated.
Moncef Slaoui, the chief adviser of Operation Warp Speed, told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday that the vaccine is safe for those who have recovered and offers stronger and potentially longer protection than does the virus itself.
We know that infection doesn't induce a very strong immune response and it wanes over time. So I think, as a clear precaution, it is appropriate to be vaccinated because it's safe," he said. I think people should be vaccinated, indeed.
Trump has not received the first of two vaccination shots, which began being administered last week as part of the largest vaccination campaign in the nation's history. Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., all were given doses Friday. President-elect Joe Biden was to receive his Monday.
All have chosen to publicize their injections as part of a campaign to convince a skeptical public that the vaccines are safe and effective, in hopes of finally putting an end to a pandemic that has killed more than 310,000 people in the United States and upended life around the globe.
Trump has spent the last week largely out of sight as he continues to stew about his election loss and floats increasingly outlandish schemes to remain in power. It's an approach that has bewildered top aides who see his silence as a missed opportunity for the president, who leaves office Jan. 20, to claim credit for helping oversee the speedy development of the vaccine and to burnish his legacy.
Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October and given an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment that he credited for his swift recovery.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was the first to receive authorization, is safe and likely efficacious" in people who have been infected with COVID-19 and should be offered regardless of history of prior symptomatic or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.
While there is no recommended minimum wait time between infection and vaccination, because reinfection is uncommon in the three months after a person is infected, the committee said people who tested positive in the preceding 90 days "may delay vaccination until near the end of this period, if desired. The advisers also recommended that those who received the kind of treatment Trump did should put off being vaccinated for at least 90 days to avoid potential interference.
Currently, there are no data on the safety and efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination in persons who received monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma as part of COVID-19 treatment," they wrote, recommending that vaccination "be deferred for at least 90 days, as a precautionary measure until additional information becomes available, to avoid interference of the antibody treatment with vaccine-induced immune responses. Trump, who in the past has spread misinformation about vaccine risks, tweeted earlier this month that he was not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time. The White House has said he is still in discussion with his medical team about when he should.
When the time is right, I'm sure he will remain willing to take it," White House spokesperson Brian Morgenstern echoed Friday. It's just something we're working through. Surgeon General Jerome Adams echoed that argument on CBS's Face the Nation when asked if Trump planed to receive the shot on camera to help allay concerns about its safety, especially among Republicans.
From a scientific point of view, I will remind people that the president has had COVID within the last 90 days. He received the monoclonal antibodies. And that is actually one scenario where we tell people maybe you should hold off on getting the vaccine, talk to your health provider to find out the right time, Adams said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, has recommend that Trump be vaccinated publicly without delay.
Even though the president himself was infected, and he has, likely, antibodies that likely would be protective, we're not sure how long that protection lasts. So, to be doubly sure, I would recommend that he get vaccinated, he told ABC News.
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Former rapper Balendra Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party heading towards landslide victory in Nepal
Kathmandu (PTI): Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah's newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was on Saturday heading towards a sweeping victory in Nepal's first general elections since the violent Gen Z protests, shattering the dominance of established political parties in the politically fragile nation.
According to the Election Commission's data available from 161 of the total 165 constituencies, the RSP has won 27 seats with a clean sweep in all 10 constituencies of Kathmandu district in the elections held on Thursday.
The Nepali Congress has secured victory in five seats, the Nepali Communist Party has won two seats and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) has won one.
The RSP is leading in another 97 seats, the Nepali Congress, the Nepali Communist Party and CPN (UML) are leading on 10 seats each, while Shram Sanskriti Party is leading on five. Others are leading on two seats, according to the Election Commission figures till 10 am.
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Balendra Shah, who was the mayor of Kathmandu till recently, has secured 39,284 votes in Jhapa-5 constituency against four-time prime minister and CPN-UML chair K P Sharma Oli in the latter's stronghold. Oli has received 10,293 votes so far.
Popularly known as 'Balen', the 35-year-old engineer is expected to be the next prime minister of Nepal, reflecting a public mood of rejection of established parties. Nepal has had 14 governments in the last 18 years.
The election is being closely watched by India, which hopes for a stable government in the politically fragile Himalayan nation to take forward the developmental partnership between the two sides.
"We look forward to working with the new Government of Nepal to further build on the robust multifaceted ties between our two countries and peoples for mutual benefit," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said in Delhi on Thursday.
He said India has "consistently supported peace, progress and stability in Nepal and in keeping with our commitment, provided logistical supplies as per request from the Government of Nepal for these elections".
Out of a total of 275 members of the Parliament, 165 will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportionate method.
In the Nepal elections, about 18.9 million voters were eligible to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, with around 60 per cent of them turning out to vote on Thursday.
Around 3,400 candidates are vying for 165 seats under direct voting, and 3,135 candidates for 110 seats through proportionate voting.
The Gen Z youth, through their two-day intensified protests on September 8 and 9 last year, ousted Prime Minister Oli, who was heading a coalition government with the backing of Nepali Congress that enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support.
Balen was a popular choice to lead the interim government after Gen Z youths toppled the Oli-led coalition government.
But Balen declined to lead the interim administration, saying he would rather head the government by contesting the parliamentary election for a full term.
In January, he joined the RSP, which was formed in 2022 by Ravi Lamichhane, and was soon declared the party's prime ministerial candidate. The RSP received significant support during the campaign.
Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa was the prime ministerial candidate of his party, whereas the CPN (UML) projected Oli as its PM face. Both Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) were part of the government toppled by the Gen Z last year.
According to the Election Commission, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda won from Rukum Purba district. He secured 10,240 votes against his rival Lilamani Gautam of CPN (UML), who got 3,462 votes.
After Oli's ouster, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House of Representatives on September 12 and appointed Sushila Karki as the caretaker PM.
The major issues raised by Gen Z are anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, generational change in political leadership, etc.
