Bhinneka News Online: Thursday Morning Briefing: AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine follows genetic instructions, study finds

What you need to know about the coronavirus today

Study finds AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine follows genetic instructions
AstraZeneca’s Oxford COVID-19 vaccine accurately follows the genetic instructions programmed into it by its developers to successfully provoke a strong immune response, according to a detailed analysis carried out by independent scientists.

“The vaccine is doing everything we expected and that is only good news in our fight against the illness,” said David Matthews, an expert in virology from Bristol University, who led the research.

In WHO overhaul push, EU urges changes to handling of pandemics
The European Union wants the World Health Organization to become more transparent about how states report emerging health crises, a draft proposal on reforming the U.N. agency says, following criticism of China’s initial handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The paper, drawn up by the German government after discussions with other member states, is the latest to outline the EU’s plans to address the WHO’s shortcomings on funding, governance and legal powers.

Drastic steps needed to tackle out-of-control pandemic
Spain needs drastic measures to combat an out-of-control new wave of the coronavirus pandemic and is considering new restrictions including curfews, Health Minister Salvador Illa said.

Illa will hold a video meeting on Thursday afternoon with regional health chiefs to agree on new measures. On Wednesday Spain became the first country in Western Europe to have recorded more than 1 million cases of the virus.

“The second wave is a reality. In many areas of our country, the epidemic is out of control,” Illa told Onda Cero radio. “I insist we have to take drastic measures, as do several regions.”

Hungary looking at Russian and Chinese COVID-19 vaccines
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has asked local health experts to look into the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Russia and China for possible later purchases, Orban’s chief of staff said.

Hungary has also committed to buy 6.5 million vaccines from AstraZeneca at a cost of $42.24 million under a wider European Union agreement, Gergely Gulyas said at a news briefing.

Masks do block coronavirus, but not perfectly
Japanese researchers showed that masks can offer protection from airborne coronavirus particles, but even professional-grade coverings can’t eliminate contagion risk entirely.

Scientists at the University of Tokyo built a secure chamber with mannequin heads facing each other. One head, fitted with a nebulizer, simulated coughing and expelled actual coronavirus particles. The other mimicked natural breathing, with a collection chamber for viruses coming through the airway.

A cotton mask reduced viral uptake by the receiver head by up to 40% compared to no mask. An N95 mask, used by medical professionals, blocked up to 90%. However, even when the N95 was fitted to the face with tape, some virus particles still sneaked in.

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Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Vaccines, Toilet paper, Schneider. Read concise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout from Breakingviews columnists across the globe.

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Top Stories

The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on President Donald Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to a lifetime U.S. Supreme Court post, with Democrats boycotting the proceedings after fiercely opposing her confirmation. Barrett, a federal appeals court judge whose confirmation would expand the top U.S. judicial body’s conservative majority to 6-3, was poised to win the 22-member committee’s approval with unified support among its 12 Republican members even with the Democrats vowing to stay away.

Former President Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail with a blistering attack on Donald Trump with less than two weeks to go before the Republican president’s Election Day face-off with Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Speaking at a drive-in rally in Philadelphia on behalf of Biden, his former vice president, and Democratic running mate Kamala Harris, Obama offered his fiercest critique yet of his successor.

The Justice Department’s nascent antitrust case against Google will get the attention it needs to succeed if Democrat Joe Biden wins the U.S. presidency next month, antitrust experts said. William Kovacic, an antitrust professor at George Washington University Law School, said he expects a Biden Justice Department would do one of two things: support the case all the way as it is, or amend the complaint to add new claims.

Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said that Russia and Iran have both tried to interfere with the 2020 presidential election. Ratcliffe made the announcements at a hastily arranged news conference that also included FBI Director Chris Wray. The announcement two weeks before the election showed the level of alarm among top U.S. officials that foreign actors were seeking to undermine Americans’ confidence in the integrity of the vote.

COVID Science

Higher complication rate with COVID-19 vs flu
Complication rates are higher with severe COVID-19 than with severe flu, according to a new study. Researchers compared 3,948 adults hospitalized for COVID-19 with 5,453 hospitalized in previous years with influenza. The flu patients had higher rates of underlying medical conditions like heart disease and diabetes

Open windows, glass partitions advised for classrooms
Children would be safer from the new coronavirus if classrooms had glass or plastic partitions fastened to desks, open windows and air conditioning, researchers say. Using computers to map paths of potentially virus-containing aerosols through air, they found that nearly 70% of particles exhaled during speech would exit the room if windows were open.

Business

American Airlines posts third straight quarterly loss

American Airlines reported a third straight quarterly loss, hurt by a slump in travel globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said its third-quarter cash burn rate was about $44 million per day, compared with about $58 million a day in the second quarter.

1 min read

Auto startups chasing Tesla race past red flags to go public

A stream of EV-related startups backed by blank-check firms are lining up to go public so there’s plenty of choice. But like Tesla in the early days, few have products ready to sell or any likelihood of generating significant revenue anytime soon.

9 min read

Apple expands 'Express' retail store format ahead of holiday season

The new “Express” stores come as COVID-19 rates are rising around the United States and Europe. The new format has a wall built in front of the main store with sales counters protected by plexiglass and a few shelves of accessories such as phone cases and AirPods.

3 min read