WHO alarmed by virus variants, investigation team arrives in Wuhan | Coronavirus Update

The WHO has sent a team of experts to Wuhan, ground zero of the COVID-19 pandemic, to probe the origins of the coronavirus. The visit comes as China reports its first death in eight months. The 10-member team was approved by President Xi Jinping's government after months of diplomatic wrangling that prompted an unusual public complaint by the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Gheybreyesus. Meanwhile the WHO is holding an emergency meeting to discuss the new variants of the coronavirus. There are concerns that the variants may be much more infectious than the first strain that emerged in China - and could potentially render some vaccines less effective. Global virus cases now stand at over 90 million with some 2 million dead, and several countries are experiencing their worst day yet of the pandemic. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutsche... For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/ Follow DW on social media: ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewell... ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/channel/deuts... #WHO #Wuhan #Coronavirus

First COVID-19 vaccinations rolled out in Singapore

Senior staff nurse Sarah Lim from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) was the first person to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Singapore on Wednesday (Dec 30). Thirty healthcare workers at NCID were the first in line for the jabs after the Government accepted all the recommendations of the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination on Singapore’s vaccination strategy on Dec 27. Full story: https://cna.asia/2Mdi8bn

Doctors Accidentally Left Forceps In Mother’s Body After C-Section Surgery

Ampang, Malaysia : 

Bushra Abd Razak, 29-year-old,  was said to have undergone the operation on 9 January 2020 attended by Dr Puuteeri Helena Rosli and Dr Wan Shahrul Liza Saaharaan, from Ampang government hospital.

Two days after being released from the government hospital, Bushra began feeling intense pain in her left abdomen, especially when she tried to move.

Concerned, Bushra had asked doctors about her condition but was told by Dr Wan Shahrul on 21 January that her suffering was just a normal part of a C-section procedure.

Sensing that something was definitely wrong, Bushra went to seek a second opinion from a private hospital. It was then that an X-ray revealed that a pair of surgical artery forceps had been left behind inside her body after the delivery.

The woman later underwent another emergency surgery to remove the foreign object from her insides – all the while not having fully recovered from her first operation.

According to her lawyers, in July, the woman sued her doctors for damages amounting to around RM105,000 for her physical and psychological trauma. In their defense, the doctors apparently denied any liability and requested to be absolved of their negligence.

The case was settled out of court after both parties reached an agreement in December. Both mother and baby were also said to be in good condition.

Coronavirus complications | DW Documentary

 

A growing number of people who recover from COVID-19 are experiencing long-term health problems. This includes younger patients without pre-existing conditions who had only mild symptoms with the virus. How are doctors and patients responding? The COVID-19 disease is triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and can affect multiple organs. The symptoms of the initial illness are now well known. But what about the long-term effects of coronavirus? Not everyone who gets COVID-19 makes a full recovery afterwards. A growing number of people are experiencing reduced physical and abilities and cognitive symptoms. One such patient is 31-year old junior doctor Maria. Five months after falling sick, she is still unable to work normally. In October, Germany’s University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein launched the largest study to date on the long-term effects of coronavirus. Teams of doctors specialized in various fields of medicine are planning to examine several thousand former COVID-19 patients who have officially "recovered" from the virus. They’re looking in particular at the lungs, heart, kidneys and liver, as well as the nervous system and metabolism. Christopher Bley from Berlin would welcome the opportunity to be included in a study like that. The 35-year-old feels he isn’t getting the support he needs from doctors. Ever since the father of two contracted the virus, he has been battling shortness of breath. For a long time, he hoped he would heal naturally, but the problem persists. Writer Nina Marewski from Frankfurt feels similarly let down by doctors. She says they either ignore her or don’t take her seriously. She has been writing about her experience with coronavirus online, and is giving a voice to other post-COVID "long haulers". This documentary accompanies three people who are struggling with the aftereffects of the virus. What do the health problems mean for them and how do they deal with the uncertainty about whether they will ever make a full recovery? ------------------------------------------------------------------- 

DW Documentary gives you knowledge beyond the headlines. Watch top documentaries from German broadcasters and international production companies. Meet intriguing people, travel to distant lands, get a look behind the complexities of daily life and build a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events. Subscribe and explore the world around you with DW Documentary. Subscribe to: DW Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW39...

Turkey: China's CoronaVac vaccine '91.25% effective'

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at a news conference on Thursday that the CoronaVac vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech has 91.25 percent efficacy. Turkish researchers said no major side-effects were seen during trials, adding that the efficacy level is likely to increase in later assessments. Koca said three million doses of the vaccine will arrive in Turkey on December 28. #CoronaVac Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://goo.gl/lP12gA

The dirty business with old clothes

Most people believe, that old clothes donations collected by various organisations are immediately sent to countries in need. What they don't know is, the majority of the donated clothing is sold per kilogramme. Some aid organisations merely place their logo on the collection containers of used clothes firms. A small amount of the clothing is given to the needy in the country of origin. The better, still useful items are sent to Eastern Europe and the Arab states. 60% of the articles are sent to Africa. But just what happens to the used items there? Michael Höft and Christian Jentzsch travelled to Tanzania in search of answers. Their conclusion: Not only German companies and several major aid organisations earn well from the donations; for many traders in Africa, old clothes donations are a lucrative business model. Even the poorest of the poor have to pay at least something for them. The cheap clothes flood the markets of the respective countries and bring the African textile industry to its knees.

Brazilian institute: China's CoronaVac vaccine 'the safest of all that are being tested'

The Butantan Institute in #Brazil’s Sao Paulo, which is overseeing the testing of the #CoronaVac vaccine developed by #China’s Sinovac Biotech, said on Wednesday that it is effective and "the safest of all that are being tested." Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://goo.gl/lP12gA

CBC News: The National | Moderna COVID-19 vaccine approved in Canada | Dec. 23, 2020

Health Canada has approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for use and 168,000 doses will arrive by the end of the year. We explain the similarities and differences between the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and hear from groups who want to be next in line for the shot. Plus, the impact this pandemic year has had on children. #ModernaVaccine #COVID19 #COVIDKids

The dirty business with the shrimps

Once a luxury commodity, now discounter goods: shrimps. They are tasty, low in fat and cost little. 56.000 tonnes of the crustaceans are consumed annually in Germany alone. Most of the shrimps come from Southeast Asia, especially from Thailand. Meanwhile, environmentalists are sounding the alarm: the aquacultures of a gigantic shrimp industry have already destroyed large areas of Thailand’s mangrove forests. 

Intensive chemical use and untreated sewage are destabilising entire regions, they warn. But to which consequences has the mass production of shrimps actually led? The authors Michael Höft and Christian Jentzsch accompanied Greenpeace experts on a trip to Thailand with a camera team.

How poor people survive in the USA | DW Documentary

Homelessness, hunger and shame: poverty is rampant in the richest country in the world. Over 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line, twice as many as it was fifty years ago. It can happen very quickly. Many people in the United States fall through the social safety net. In the structurally weak mining region of the Appalachians, it has become almost normal for people to go shopping with food stamps. And those who lose their home often have no choice but to live in a car. There are so many homeless people in Los Angeles that relief organizations have started to build small wooden huts to provide them with a roof over their heads. The number of homeless children has also risen dramatically, reaching 1.5 million, three times more than during the Great Depression the 1930s. A documentary about the fate of the poor in the United States today. We closed the commentary section because of too many inapproriate comments. -------------------------------------------------------------------- DW Documentary gives you knowledge beyond the headlines. Watch high-class documentaries from German broadcasters and international production companies. Meet intriguing people, travel to distant lands, get a look behind the complexities of daily life and build a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events. Subscribe and explore the world around you with DW Documentary. Subscribe to: DW Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW39... DW Documental (Spanish): https://www.youtube.com/dwdocumental DW Documentary وثائقية دي دبليو: (Arabic): https://www.youtube.com/dwdocarabia For more visit: http://www.dw.com/en/tv/docfilm/s-3610 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwdocumentary/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dw.stories DW netiquette policy: https://p.dw.com/p/MF1G