Health News

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Seven-year-old Russell Bright squeezed his dad’s hand tightly as tests of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine started Monday in Louisiana for children ages 5 through 11.

Children held stuffed animals, played under chairs and a few cried at Ochsner Medical Center, just outside New Orleans. Their temperature and blood pressure were checked, their noses swabbed and their blood drawn for tests. Finally, they got a shot of either the vaccine or a placebo.

Ochsner is among 98 facilities in 26 states, the District of Columbia, Finland, Poland and Spain where the tests are taking place or planned.

Families won’t know for six months whether their children actually were vaccinated. At that point, children who didn’t get the vaccine will have the chance to do so.

The Pfizer vaccine was approved May 10 for children aged 12-15.

Adam Bright, whose younger son Tucker, 5, also is participating, said it was worth the chance to be a part of the trial.

“I want to do my part and have my kids do their part,” he said. “Both me and my wife are already vaccinated, and so the sooner I can get them vaccinated and to feel comfortable being outside, not having to wear a mask, I thought the easiest way to get it is to go through the trial.”

Russell, wearing a Spiderman mask, said he longs for a summer vacation that can include the water park or a longer trip – and then school without masks and social distancing.

“I’m looking forward to seeing my friends more and not wearing masks,” he said. “You can’t see if I’m making a frown or a smile. I don’t like to wear them.”

Five-year-old Kalil Chaudhry-Halperin held a stuffed toy Bruni — the lizard-like fire spirit in the movie Frozen 2 — as he waited at Ochsner.

He was shy and a bit nervous, but his dad, Jason Halperin, says Kalil was excited, because he knows his parents and his 12-year-old sister have all been vaccinated.

“You know how much we’ve all been through, our entire community, but now we have safe, effective, life-saving vaccines, and it not only helps him but the entire community and anyone vulnerable around our family,” Jason Halperin said. “That’s a great lesson to impart to our children.”

Adam Bright said he’s confident the Pfizer vaccine is safe, especially after seeing how smoothly vaccinations seem to be going for the next age group up.

Russell said he hopes that if and when the vaccine is cleared for emergency use for kids his age, they’ll take advantage of the chance.

“Be brave and do it,” he said.

___

Associated Press reporter Janet McConnaughey contributed from New Orleans.

Copyright © 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Fifty-eight people have been killed during anti-government protests that began in Colombia five weeks ago and have also led to roadblocks and clashes with police, the country’s human rights ombudsman said Monday.

In a report presented to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the ombudsman office also said it had received more than 400 allegations of human rights violations during the protests that started April 28, including cases of police beatings, arbitrary detentions and sexual abuses of protesters in police custody.

Colombia’s police have come under scrutiny from human rights groups for their behavior during the protests, in which videos have shown police shooting at protesters or standing by while armed civilians fired at demonstrators.

The situation prompted a delegation from the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights to visit Colombia this week, where it will meet with government officials, protest victims and organizations that have accused the police of using excessive force during the protests.

The delegation said Monday that it will deliver recommendations for the government to follow up on at the end of its visit. It could also set up an independent commission of experts to track progress on human rights issues.

According to Temblores, a human rights group based in Bogota, police have been directly involved in 45 deaths during the protests.

Human Rights Watch says it has documented nine cases in which police killed protesters with gunfire and four other cases in which police officers killed protesters using tear gas canisters and other devices designed to control crowds. The watchdog group says it is looking into dozens more cases of alleged police killings.

Colombia’s attorney general has said it is investigating police involvement in at least three deaths of protesters and has launched a probe into a recent incident in the city of Cali during which officers protected armed civilians that shot at demonstrators.

On Sunday, President Ivan Duque announced a proposal to reform Colombia’s police forces that includes putting body cameras on officers and creating a human rights directorate within the police to seek outside advice on policies. The government also said it will improve methods through which citizens can file complaints.

Protesters, however, have said they want police officers placed under the jurisdiction of civilian courts. Officers who commit crimes while on duty in Colombia are currently judged by military tribunals, which are often staffed by their own peers.

The current wave of protests started over a plan to increase taxes. The government withdrew the plan, but the protests have continued, fueled by growing inequality and unemployment during the pandemic.

Protest leaders are demanding a new set of social and economic policies that include a basic income plan for poor households and more spending on public education. They also want the police to be transferred from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of the Interior.

Negotiations between protest leaders and the government have been slow to get off the ground. On Sunday, a group of unions and associations that has spearheaded the protests walked away from talks with the government over Duque’s recent decision to send soldiers to 13 cities to remove roadblocks and control violent protests.

The government has asked the group to dismantle and reject roadblocks that have caused food shortages in some parts of the country and forced factories to stop working.

Copyright © 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A Republican state lawmaker faces being expelled from office after a video emerged apparently showing him choreographing how he would let far-right protesters into the closed Oregon Capitol days before he did so in December.

The crowd entered the building during an emergency legislative session, and some sprayed chemical irritants at police.

On Monday, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek introduced a resolution that would have the Democrat-controlled House expel Rep. Mike Nearman if two-thirds of its members vote in favor. She appointed a committee to consider the matter.

GOP members of the House also wrote a letter to Nearman on Monday, saying he should step down.

“Today, we strongly recommend that you resign from the Oregon State House of Representatives,” all 22 House Republicans said in the joint letter. “Given the newest evidence that has come to light … it is our beliefs as friends and colleagues that it is in the best interest of your caucus, your family, yourself, and the state of Oregon for you to step down from your office.”

The lawmakers were referring to video that emerged late Friday in local news reports that appeared to show Nearman coaching constituents on how to text him so they could get into the Capitol.

The committee appointed by Kotek, a Democrat, will convene later this week. It is composed of three Democrats and three Republicans.

With Republicans calling for Nearman to step down, his fate appeared sealed. If he does not resign, there was little doubt that an overwhelming number of House members would vote to cast him out.

Nearman himself said Monday he believes there are enough votes to expel him, which he said would make him the first House member to be expelled by its members in Oregon history. He joked in a call to the Lars Larson Show, a conservative talk radio program, that this would eventually make him the subject of a question on TV’s “Jeopardy!”

He did not say whether he would resign.

“I’ll put myself in God’s hands and see how that works out for me,” Nearman said.

The incident on Dec. 21 rattled lawmakers and staff inside the Capitol and foreshadowed the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by rioters spurred on by then President Donald Trump. Several of those who were among the crowds in Salem on Dec. 21 later were in Washington during the U.S. Capitol attack.

As lawmakers met in emergency session on Dec. 21 to deal with economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, far-right rioters entered the building. They sprayed chemical irritants at officers who finally expelled them. Outside, protesters broke windows on the Capitol and assaulted journalists.

Later, security camera video emerged showing Nearman opening a door to the Capitol, which was closed to the public because of the pandemic, allowing protesters to enter. Nearman allegedly told people in a video days earlier that he would let them in if they texted him, and he provided his cellphone number. The existence of the video was first reported Friday by Oregon Public Broadcasting.

“That video was me setting up the 21st, I think,” Nearman said on the radio show. He indicated that his actions were civil disobedience because he objected to the Capitol being closed to the public.

In her resolution, Kotek said personnel who were authorized to be in the Oregon Capitol described Dec. 21 as intense and stressful, terrifying and distressing.

“Law enforcement officers were visibly injured and shaken due to the demonstrators’ action,” Kotek added.

“The severity of Representative Nearman’s actions and last week’s revelation that they were premeditated require a special committee to immediately consider expelling him from the House of Representatives,” Kotek said. “He knowingly put the physical safety of everyone in the Capitol — lawmakers, staff and law enforcement — in jeopardy.”

Her resolution cites the Oregon Constitution, which empowers the House to punish a representative for disorderly behavior.

“With the concurrence of two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives, Representative Nearman (shall) be expelled from the House of Representatives,” the resolution says.

Nearman also faces two misdemeanor criminal charges and has said he will seek a trial by jury.

He didn’t respond to messages seeking comment Monday. A woman sitting at a desk in the anteroom of his Capitol office said the lawmaker was not present. She refused to comment, went into Nearman’s office and shut the door.

Kotek said police in the state Capitol prevented the situation from escalating.

“As we saw in January at the U.S. Capitol, the ramifications could have been dire if law enforcement had not stepped in so quickly,” Kotek said.

Members of the new committee are Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene; Rep. Christine Drazan, R-Canby; Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland; Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles; Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Lake Oswego; and Rep. Duane Stark, R-Grants Pass.

___

Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky

Copyright © 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives won election as the next president of the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, and pledged to push for equal access to coronavirus vaccines, a stronger and greener economic recovery, and stepped up efforts to tackle climate change.

He defeated a former Afghan foreign minister, Zalmai Rassoul, in a 143-48 vote by secret ballot, with two of the assembly’s 193 member nations not voting. Diplomats from member nations, all wearing masks because of the pandemic, were called to the front of the assembly chamber one-by-one to deposit their ballot in a large wooden box.

Turkey’s Volkan Bozkir, the current assembly president, said Shahid brings to the job “extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy,” serving his Indian Ocean island nation twice as foreign minister and for 10 years before that as chief of staff to the president.

Shahid has been “a strong voice in calling attention to the impact on small island developing states” by the pandemic and by climate change, which threatens people’s lives and livelihoods, Bozkir said.

Shahid, 59, said he was “deeply humbled” by the trust shown by the U.N. members and the honor given to his island nation of 26 atolls, population about 550,000, which lies in the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka and India.

Saying he has “an undying belief in multilateralism with an ardent desire to serve the international community,” Shahid said his aim is to launch “a presidency of hope” and “to hit the ground running on day one in September as soon as I take my oath of office.”

“This is a crucial time for the United Nations and for the world,” Shahid said. “There is very little time to spare.”

He pointed to the past year’s “disease, despair and devastation” as a result of the pandemic, along with increasing “inequality, injustice and instability” and the “suffering” of the planet from climate change.

Shahid said his priorities during his year-long presidency of the 76th session of the General Assembly are to recover from the pandemic, both by making vaccines available to all people everywhere, and rebuilding economies stronger and greener and “and ensuring no country is left behind.”

He said it can also be “a super session for nature” and to “seize momentum on responding to the needs of our planet,” citing upcoming conferences and meetings on climate change, the oceans, biodiversity, sustainable transport and food systems as examples. This is a major priority for the Maldives, whose leaders have warned that the country’s existence is threatened by rising seas from climate change.

Shahid said he will also focus on “respecting the rights of all,” revitalizing the United Nations, and engaging the media and civil society. “I will raise my voice against gender discrimination, advocate for gender equality … (and) not participate in any panels that are not gender balanced,” he said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated Shahid, saying the General Assembly is the U.N.’s most representative organ, the foundation of its work, “and essential to our effectiveness as an organization.”

“In 2021, the world needs that effectiveness more than ever,” Guterres said. “We are a world in mourning for the millions of people we have lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Guterres said the 76th session will grapple with the impact of COVID-19 on peace, development and human rights., stressing that “until everyone, everywhere, has access to vaccine it continues to pose an enormous threat.”

While the presidency of the General Assembly is largely ceremonial, it is also prestigious.

The body controls the U.N. budget, adopts treaties, addresses global issues from poverty to corruption, and passes numerous resolutions that while not legally binding almost always reflect global opinion.

It is also the U.N. organ where countries large and small can speak — and the scene of the only annual gathering of world leaders, historically in person. Last year, however, there were video speeches from leaders because of the pandemic, and no announcement has been made yet of this year’s arrangements. In recent months, the assembly has allowed in-person meetings with two representatives from each country allowed in the vast chamber, where social distancing is observed.

Shahid said in response to a question on future meetings that it would be prudent to maintain a cautious approach. “But as soon as possible, yes, it should be in our interest and the interest of this organization to come back into the normalcy if at all possible.”

The selection of the assembly president follows a regional rotation mandated by the world body, and it was the turn of Asia to preside over the next yearlong session.

By tradition, the U.N.’s regional groups usually nominate a single candidate who is then rubber-stamped by the assembly. But this year the election was contested because Asian countries couldn’t agree on a nominee.

Bozkir, Shahid and Guterres paid tribute to losing candidate Rassoul, who served as Afghanistan’s foreign minister in 2010-2013 and was one of the top three contenders to replace Hamid Karzai as president in 2014, losing out to Ashraf Ghani.

Copyright © 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presented economic plans to senior ruling party officials before an upcoming meeting to review the nation’s efforts to overcome severe hardships amid a prolonged COVID-19 crisis, state media said Tuesday.

The Korean Central News Agency said Kim held his consultations Monday in preparation for a meeting of the Workers’ Party’s powerful Central Committee to discuss state affairs for the first half of 2021. The meeting was set for early June and could take place as early as this week.

Kim’s plans were not specified but were described as intending to bring “tangible change” to stabilizing the economy and people’s living conditions.

The North Korean economy has been crippled by decades of mismanagement, U.S.-led sanctions over Kim’s nuclear weapons program and the coronavirus pandemic. South Korean officials say there are no signs North Korea is easing the border controls it imposed at the start of the pandemic to import more industrial and agricultural materials to boost production.

The Workers’ Party last held a plenary meeting of Central Committee members in February, when Kim ripped into state economic agencies for their “passive and self-protecting tendencies” in setting their annual goals.

Earlier in the year, at the party’s first congress since 2016, Kim urged his people to be resilient in the struggle for economic self-reliance and called for reasserting greater state control over the economy, boosting agricultural production and prioritizing the development of chemicals and metal industries. Those sectors have been critically depleted by sanctions and halted imports of factory materials amid the pandemic.

The economic setbacks have left Kim with nothing to show for his ambitious diplomacy with former President Donald Trump, which failed to bring the North sanctions relief, and the North has so far ignored the Biden administration’s calls to resume dialogue.

Some experts say Kim could use the upcoming Central Committee meeting to address the stalled nuclear diplomacy.

Copyright © 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.