EU breaks bread with Area C Bedouin community with Ramadan launch of Education for Life
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Today, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) gathered to celebrate Ramadan and distribute tablets for distance-learning to Palestine refugee students in the Bedouin village of Sateh al-Bahr, east of Jerusalem in the West Bank. The Ramadan iftar launched the EU-led “Education for Life” campaign, marking over fifty years of critical EU support to the Agency’s education programme which successfully serves 533,000 students across the Middle East. Along with several members of the community, the ceremony brought together Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank, Ms. Gwyn Lewis, accompanied by the Chief of the UNRWA Education Programme in the West Bank, Mr. Muawiya Amar, who were joined by the EU Deputy Representative to West Bank and Gaza Strip, Ms. Maria Velasco.
Study of Marine Recruits Reveals Imperfect Immunity Effects of Having COVID-19
New Recruits with Kilo Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, are screened after arriving at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, April 12, 2021. (Sgt. Brooke C. Woods/U.S. Marine Corps)
19 Apr 2021
A study of more than 3,000 Marine recruits indicates that having a case of COVID-19 doesn t necessarily keep young people from getting the illness again.
The research, conducted during six months last year at the Marine Corps recruit depots, found that 10% of 189 recruits known to have previously had COVID-19 became reinfected with the virus while in quarantine or during boot camp.
Scientists tie platelet factor 4 to AstraZeneca COVID vaccine-related clots
UK researchers have uncovered the novel mechanism behind rare abnormal blood clotting seen in some AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine recipients, according to a study today in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
The study involved clinical and lab evaluation of 23 previously healthy patients who experienced blood clots and thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts) 6 to 24 days after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Most clots were cerebral venous thrombosis, while some were arterial thrombosis and venous thromboembolisms such as pulmonary embolisms.
Twenty-one patients had antibodies for clot-promoting platelet factor 4 (PF4) on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) before heparin administration. They appeared to be of the immunoglobulin G (IgG) subtype. Functional heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) testing confirmed the positive PF4 ELISA result in five of seven patients tested.
Delaying second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine may be feasible in some cases
Researchers in Spain have conducted the most extensive study to date investigating the effectiveness of vaccinating healthcare workers with a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The team says one dose of the vaccine induced a much stronger antibody response against the causative agent – severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – among healthcare workers who had previously been infected with the virus than among those who had not.
The researchers say that given the controversy over how to ensure adequate immunization of the population in times of vaccine shortages, the study findings might help inform decisions over whether to only administer a single dose in some cases.