US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy says he lost 10 family members to Covid
urges Americans to shed vaccine hesitancy
Washington: US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy has revealed that he lost as many as 10 family members, both here and in India, to the COVID-19 pandemic, making a strong case for Americans to get vaccinated to protect themselves from the deadly virus.
Launching a campaign against misinformation, the top Indian-American physician urged people to raise the bar for sharing health information by checking sources before they share it with others to ensure that the information is backed by credible scientific sources.
So far, 160 million Americans have been vaccinated, Murthy said, adding that is all good news.
But we are not out of the woods yet. Millions of Americans are still not protected against COVID-19, and we are seeing more infections among those who are unvaccinated, he said at a White House briefing on Thursday.
On a personal note, it's painful for me to know that nearly every death we are seeing now from COVID-19 could have been prevented," 44-year-old Murthy, who is occupying the position for the second time.
"I say that as someone who has lost 10 family members to COVID-19 and who wishes each and every day that they had had the opportunity to get vaccinated, Murthy said.
I see that also as a concerned father of two young children who aren't yet eligible for the vaccine, but I know that our kids are depending on all of us to get vaccinated to shield them from this virus, he added.
Every week, I talk to doctors and nurses across the country who are burning out as they care for more and more patients with COVID-19 who never got vaccinated, all too often because they were misled by misinformation, he said.
In May, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 64 per cent of American adults have taken or want a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible, 15 per cent will wait and see, and 19 per cent will either definitely not get one or only get one if it is required.
We must confront misinformation as a nation. Every one of us has the power and the responsibility to make a difference in this fight. Lives are depending on it, said the top American doctor.
He cautioned against sharing misinformation.
As we say in the advisory, if you're not sure, don't share. Second, we're asking health organisations to proactively address misinformation with their patients. Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics is announcing an educational campaign to help parents navigate online health information. I'm encouraged to see this commitment. And again, this is just the beginning, he said.
Asking educational institutions to help improve health information literacy, he said the administration is asking technology companies to operate with greater transparency and accountability.
We're asking them to monitor misinformation more closely. We're asking them to consistently take action against misinformation super spreaders on their platforms, he said.
Raised in Miami, Dr Murthy received his bachelor of arts degree from Harvard, his masters in business administration from the Yale School of Management, and his MD from the Yale School of Medicine.
The US has the highest coronavirus case tally in the world at more than 33,974,200 and the highest death toll at over 608,300.
Roughly 48.5 per cent of Americans are vaccinated. However, the US has missed benchmarks set by the Biden administration. The country failed to meet the goal of having 70 per cent of adult Americans with at least one shot by July 4.
Demand for vaccines has also been slowing in the country, while daily infections have doubled in the past few weeks, with an average of roughly 24,000 cases per day, according to NBC News.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Over 350 illegal religious structures removed along Nepal border
Lucknow, May 11 (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday said that more than 350 unauthorised religious sites, including madrasas, mosques, mazars and Eidgahs, have been identified and subjected to sealing or demolition in recent days, an official statement issued here said.
Acting on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's clear directive that no religious encroachment will be tolerated, the administration in districts such as Pilibhit, Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich, Siddharthnagar and Maharajganj has launched a sweeping campaign, it said.
The authorities have systematically identified illegal structures and taken strict action, continuing operations even on Sunday.
The chief minister has made it clear that encroachment in the name of any religion will not be allowed and all violators, especially those running unrecognised religious institutions, will face legal consequences, the statement said.
On May 10 and 11, 104 madrasas, one mosque, five mazars and two Eidgahs built illegally on public and private land were identified in Shravasti. All were issued notices and sealed, it said.
One illegal madrasa on public land was demolished and two unrecognized madrasas on private land were sealed, the statement added.
In Bahraich, officials identified 13 madrasas, eight mosques, two mazars and one Eidgah illegally constructed on government land.
After issuing notices, five were sealed and 11 were demolished, including eight madrasas, two mosques and one mazar, the statement said.
In Siddharthnagar, the authorities identified four mosques and 18 madrasas and one more madrasa for illegal construction. Notices were issued to these structures. Five madrasas were sealed and nine were demolished. In total, action was taken against 23 illegal structures in the district, it said.
In Maharajganj’s Nautanwa tehsil, Parsamalik village, an unrecognized madrasa operating on Maktab land was shut down based on a report submitted by the District Minority Welfare Officer.
The building’s keys were handed over to the local police station in-charge. So far, 29 madrasas and five mazars constructed through encroachment on public and private land have been demolished in the district.
In past two days in Lakhimpur Kheri, two mosques, one Eidgah on public land along with eight madrasas on private land were found to be illegally constructed.
Of the 13 structures identified, one was served a notice, nine were sealed and three have been demolished so far, the statement said.
The district authorities in Pilibhit have identified an illegal mosque built on public land in Bharatpur village, covering an area of 0.0310 hectares.
According to the district magistrate, a notice has been issued to the parties involved, seeking a response within 15 days. Action against the illegal construction will be taken after the notice period ends, it said.
On Sunday, an under-construction madrasa on public land in Virpur Semra village, Tulsipur tehsil, was demolished in Balrampur. So far, 30 madrasas, 10 mazars and one Eidgah have been demolished in the district.
Ten of them were built illegally on public land, while 20 were constructed without authorization on private land, the statement said.
