The Happy Challenge: Thriving During Social Distancing Don’t Just Survive – Thrive! By Brooke Bradley

 The Happy

Challenge: Thriving During Social Distancing Don’t Just Survive – Thrive! By Brooke Bradley wants to help people to see the positive sides in a pandemic and in particular during a lockdown or the so-called forced social-distancing. We don't know if this pandemic is at the end or not: measures are relaxed somewhere; other countries are still in bad waters: so during moments so difficult like these ones, what should we do? 

The book was written for this reason. 

Of course this one is not a medicine, so if you, after having read it won't feel a best vision of your existence and you will continue to express negative thoughts, please search for help, underlines the author.

This book covers several ideas about how to make the most of the time you have to spend, forcely, at home. A first and wise advice is to detox the soul from all the news on Covid-Omicron, and not just that, on TV: better, after your daily work, a session of yoga, a tea, a conversation with a friend or a walk for keeping light your mind and brain and seeing things from the right distance. 

An important activity that you can develop is writing. Writing on creativity, recognizing the help of other people in your existence, but also what you accomplished during the day.

Do not neglect of taking great care of yourself at home: add make-up, a lipstick, your favorite perfume; just for you. 

Drink a lot of water, organize a gym session in a daily base; re-put things in order, considering the extra-time; read books and learn new languages. Take good care of your car, write more letters and postcards. 

Delete unnecessary pictures and files from your technological devices; clean your home, listen to some good music.

First of all, be happy! Everything will be over, soon or late.

Interesting self-help book on lockdown and Omicron times.

Recommended for sure!

I thank the author for the copy of the book-

Anna Maria Polidori 

Resetting Our Future Long Haul COVID: A Survivor’s Guide Transform Your Pain and Find Your Way Forward by Joseph J. Trunzo, Julie Luongo

 Resetting Our Future

Long Haul COVID: A Survivor’s Guide Transform Your Pain and Find Your Way Forward by Joseph J. Trunzo, Julie Luongo is maybe one of the first self-help books directly involving COVID-19. The publishing house of this book is Changemakers Books: once started the pandemic they decided of giving voice to the problematic appeared because of the Covid-19. Considering that we will still have to cope with COVID and what it means a pandemic for a while, these books can be useful for trying to find some relief.The website of the publishing house is www.resiliencebooks.com.

Mahatma Gandhi said once that the future its up to us and what we do today. For sure we have much more responsibilities in terms of life and death than what we had these past years. A vaccine can protect people and entire communities, reducing the mortality, hospitalization and possibility of infecting other people. The pandemic brought on the table of the existence thematic of great immensity. We discovered that our eco-system re-started to breath, oh yes, also pretty largely, when we were all closed home. Animals re-occupied their places in the past were dominated by us: at the same time the climate changes assumed a different importance, because this one can be just the beginning of a series of pandemics brought by the mutation of meteorological conditions and what it is going on in the North and South Pole.

Sure, as Americans love to saying: We're All in This Together. But... what doest it mean? That there is not a person in this world who hasn't been altered by COVID. A pandemic involves every sphere of the human condition: social, economical, psychological, physical, familial. There is not an untouched sphere in this extraordinary condition that won't touch men.

No one would want to suffer: this is true; but not seeing what it is going on could be worse. The method proposed by the authors for our case (we are all sick from COVID, also if we haven't been yet infected and maybe we won't be, because we don't live anymore with tranquillity but with stress levels pretty high) is called ACT and was firstly studied for other illnesses like the Lyme Syndrome caused by a bite of a tick. While dosctors are still debating if this illness exists or not, patients cope with a lot of pains at various levels: physical, psychological.

This method, so, has been adopted also for refreshing the body and spirit of people affected by COVID-19.

"ACT is grounded in an extremely well-researched model called Relational Frame Theory, which focuses on how our minds form relations and use symbols and language to make

connections in our mental processes." This method will help you to live in the present, bettering the quality of your thoughts for staying more tranquil and relaxed.

It is a good reading. I warmly suggest it to you.

Pandemic! Covid-19 Shakes the World by Slavoj Zizek

 Pandemic!

Covid-19 Shakes the World by Slavoj Zizek is a book released by Polity Books treating the current period (first phase and wave, Italy was in lockdown) we are all experiencing. Social distancing, an enemy we can't touch but that it is incredibly visible and.."alive" in bodies of people and that it is causing a lot of death and sufferance.

A pandemic means a shock: a social, political, economical, psychological shock, because the rules are not anymore dictated by a government of a state, but by a virus and the behavior of the citizens. There is a constant, enormous, fear, panic, uncertainty in a pandemic time.

As reflects Zizek there won't be any return to normality, but the new normality that will be built under the maceries of this pandemic will be for sure a new one.

If we won't do that, a new barbarism will start to take place.

And...Another question: why America and Europe were so unprepared although rich countries to this shock, when previsions said that a new pandemic would have affected the world soon? 

Zizek starting from the experience of Li Wenliang, the doctor of 37 years who denounced the silence of chinese authorities regarding the severe outbreak of COVID-19 and his following death concludes with a phrase of Martin Luther King: "We maybe have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now." 

It is true: Covid-19 doesn't respect anyone; it kills the rich and the poor, the beauty and the ugly. Everyone. And it becomes incredibly strong, joyous and happy when people spend time together.

That one is its strength. Only that one. In opposite case, it would remain a solitary virus, without consistency. But this virus knows something: that people can't stay always all alone and there, joyously he kills and let us suffer.

This one is not a healthy society, adds Zizek, but a society pretty tired, by dues, by that being masters and slaves at the same time, without adding that the globalization is the main cause of social distress. 

COVID-19 pandemic is keeping this state of things pretty worrying;  not everyone stay at home for smart-working: there is a large part of population who is forced to go outside, in an unsafe world where the risk, at the moment, of catching the virus is very high.

The situation of the world is not the happiest one at the moment: there is not just COVID-19 but climate changes as well! and we are experiencing phaenomenon always seen in the world but with more prepotency: floods, hurricanes, quakes and other different disasters.

Our perception of body is changed: for reasons that we all know we must avoid to touch our face, nose, ears, cleaning hands compulsively and wherever we go, we can't shake hand anymore, we can't hug, we can't kiss anyone. We can't let show to anyone our affection for prudency.

We learned to control and discipline ourselves writes Zizek.

These past years, reflects Zizek, only the internet and its explosion presented us, in particular with Windows the problematic of viruses of various sorta. If in our part of the world we experienced only online stress, in other part of the world the explosion of COVID-19 has been lived as another "plague" close to other ones, (certain countries are effected by more than an epidemic per time) in particular in Africa.

The explosion of places where people have fun all together, so parks at theme, or also cruise ships let us rethink at the system created in our past society...A society where people had to enjoy all the fun together.

Pandemic's psychological reactions have always been absolutely similar in every epidemic. There hasn't been a great differentiation in terms of behavior if we look at the past and we read what happened, and the mirror we observes today.

There is denial, anger, bargaining, depression and at the end acceptance. 

In the first stage people can't recognize that there is a problem (I met several people in that phase and they are now the most worried ones), there is anger, when it is understandable that the peril is close to us, but also the dream that the problem can be attenuated or sorted out, for then experiencing depression and acceptance.

A new form of living must be created, helped by a new Communism tells Zizek, if not, Zizek writes a future could be this one:  "We stay at home, work on our computers, communicate through video-conferences, exercise on a machine in the corner of our home office, occasionally masturbate in front of a screen displaying hard core sex , and got food delivery never seeing other human beings in person." Scaring.

For sure panic is a condition that we started to know well. My mother is taking some drops every night because the entire situation scared her to death although we live in a countryside.

The fear of the unknown; the idea that what it is told can be a lie, or just, the enormity of the problem in particular for people who remembers the last Second World War Conflict and thinks that this virus, keeping people isolated, is worse than a war.

But... After all...Isn't it a war this one?

A war that can't be defeated egoistically but through global solidariety and cooperation "in the interest and survival of of all of each of us" writes Zizek.

The situation experienced in the first wave,  when in hospitals sometimes nurses and doctors chose who put in ICU "removing" from the list the oldest, and sickest ones. Isn't this one a situation that potentially can open up the space for immense corruption, asks Zizek.

 

Italy has been in a general lockdown, and that lockdown brought things under control for circa two months. Virus circulated but was more lazy thanks to the general lockdown.

It is a historical fact this one: for killing or for put under control a state, a city during an epidemic the only real measure that can save wagons of existences are lockdowns.

China remembers still the lessons learned when Watson closed an entire village in 1917, affected by a weird flu, dedicating to him an hospital.

Zizek speaks of the elite, living well and maybe like the protagonists of the Decameron by Boccaccio who lived somewhere for escaping the new wave of plague, telling to each other stories of various genre for passing the time.

Sure: during a pandemic normality is strongly altered. We live, also when the peak is reached in a constant situation of peril; there is not anymore the relaxation of the past; because we still know that the virus is there.

A virus: what is a virus if not a parasite, write Zizek? An entity close to a vampire, a parasite, yes! It couldn't live if he wouldn't enter in the body of someone replicating itself creating in most cases important illnesses or the death. It doesn't exist and exists, prepotently; it can be classified a "silly virus" because it can be killed cleaning hands with alcohol, cleaning surfaces with simplicity, it doesn't resist high temperatures because and of course, it doesn't enter, as said one day by a virologist through the walls of the houses. So, you must catch it somewhere meeting someone.

I smiled when I read what Zizek wrote: he said he would have wanted to catch the virus so that the uncertainty would be over. It happens the same to me. 

I wanted to see if I catched COVID-19 so that I would have been immune but no, I did a sierologic exam and it was negative.

And yes, I know what it means experiencing nightmares of various sorta, COVID related. You dream virologists, politicians, doctors, you dream COVID, in general you are sick or other people are sick and so what to do?

But I find, for example more simple at the moment sleeping, because dreams changed for good after a while; I find more difficult  coping with the day, when from the beginning to the end the main mantra is COVID-19 and who is sick today, and what will happen tomorrow? I tell the truth: that the fact Italy reopens put me is a big stress. Last year we were in lockdown and I experienced great relaxation because I knew that we were safe. This year is the opposite...

So, you imagine when you will return to the city, jumping here and there, avoiding human contacts, staying safe....It's not a joke. Plus of course, the uncertainty of the future, how this society will change, because I am honest, I hadn't seen a great society in the pre-pandemic world. No.

This pandemic is a medical, economic and psychological emergence.

Kant once said speaking to the laws of a state: "Obey, but think, maintain the freedom of thought."

To Zizec passing through the public is crucially important, because we understood that the past system built couldn't be inclusive with everyone and important decisions must be taken for avoid any kind of social intense di-stress that could bring people to desperation.

Transfunctionalitation is an extreme measure for helping societies and privates; it permits to the economy running and to prevent extreme poverty and starvation.

Beautiful book, you'll read it in a few hours. There is a new book Pandemic 2, written by the same Zizek. Stay tuned. I will post the review I hope in a couple of weeks.

Highly recommended.

I thank Polity Books for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

The Covid-19 Catastrophe What's Gone Wrong and How to Stop it Happening Again Second Edition Expanded and Updated by Richard Horton

 The Covid-19 

Catastrophe What's Gone Wrong and How to Stop it Happening Again Second Edition Expanded and Updated by Richard Horton is the best book on Covid that you can find around. Written by the editor of Lancet, with competence but also with highly fruibility, this reading will reach every citizen of this world and every reader. You won't find too many specialistic terms that will frustrate you; the narration is absolutely captivating, let me use this term.

When on january 2020 the news of a severe weird, uncommon unresponsive to the common therapies, pneumonia interested in that first dramatic outbreak the city of Wuhan, in the province of Hubei, China, I immediately understood that this one would have been our pandemic. I couldn't believe that it would have stayed isolated in China or other close asian countries. 

The echo of Spanish Flu, the echoes of past pestilences became strong also if we hadn't directly lived them. 

A city with 11-12 million, didn't leave chance for a different scenario.

My readings on this topic were pretty fresh: months before the outbreak of Wuhan I read the book by Laura Spinney: Pale Rider. The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World and just ten days before the discovery of the chinese outbreak I posted my review on Viral Modernism by Elizabeth Outka. 

I recognized the danger and till then I tried to communicate the importance of knowledge, sharing good informations for staying vigilant, and alert.

We can avoid this pestilence with proper behaviors and isolation. The price is big, but it would be better not catch this virus.

Said this, Horton opens the book with a consideration: we avoided a pandemic with the direct "cousin" of this horrible virus: Sars-Cov-1, SARS on 2002-2003. There were many deaths but the illness remained confined in certain countries of the world. It was a lesson well learned by China, this time quick in the response wth the international organisms.

Coronavirus are pretty known viruses because they are good friends with various mammals, man included, and in general they cause cold. The commistion of this virus with another animal created this "jump" of quality and the first mutation in something else: a pestilence.

First of all: COVID will remain? And: is it just a pandemic? A pandemic flu arrives, kill and then slowly disappears. The virus of the Spanish flu circulated till 1923, but killed 50-100 million of people during the first year of its existence. 

No: the COVID-19 is not a common pandemic writes Horton. 

Why this? 

From the book: 

"The reality is that two categories of disease are interacting together and within specific populations: infection with a coronavirus is causing particular harm among those who are older and those who are living with chronic disease, such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Worse, these interactions are clustering within particular social group according to patterns of inequality deeply embedded within our societes." 

Horton classifies COVID-19 a syndemic, or said differently: a syntehsis of epidemics. 

"A much more nuance approach is needed if we are to protect the health of our communities" writes Horton.

Reducing chronic illnesses is a first step for arresting the prepotent aggressivity of COVID in our society.

Every pandemic is similar or different to the other ones experienced in the past: in this sense Horton takes in consideration  the book by Daniel Defoe: A Journal of the Plague Year: it describes the behavior of the population: what happened in 2020 is similar: there was the initial enthusiasm of people confined at home; later this confinement was lived, when a second, third wave arrived with powerful intolerance; this lack of freedom meant and means the desire to return to the normality. 

Feelings that we are proving are normals. But this one is not a normal phase of our existence:  this one is an exceptional moment: I heard people saying that these ones are stolen years for youngs and adults.

No one is stealing years; they are just different years because of the exceptionality of the moment. It's important to understand this.

But...Which was the answer of the several countries and continents in the world when they firstly approached COVID-19?

China understood that this one was a powerful treat for the world and offered immediately all the possible knowledge for describing this terrible illness.

Our Western countries, Europe and America have completely failed the approach against COVID-19 not understanding the risk that every country would have potentially experienced in a few months.

In China scientists sequenced the virus's genome, and spread the news in the entire world: they immediately let know to WHO that there was a great problem in Wuhan and possibly for the world; WHO, later communicated to all the countries of the world this serious danger. It was necessary to stay alert because there was a serious problem in China but this problem could interest also the rest of the world. 

No one understood or took in serious consideration what WHO was saying. Maybe it was just necessary to call some  doctors in China, as suggests Horton for trying to understand what it was going on; but no one did it.

Time passed by. China adopted a severe lockdown, like many other Asian countries and most of them didn't lose a lot of citizens. 

New Zealand was incredibly lucky! as it was also during the Spanish Flu, when the second wave didn't invest the country because they closed every communication with the outside world.

Europe was seeing as a horror movie what was going on in China. 

UK with Boris Johnson lived tragic moments, because Johnson didn't believe at the arrival of a pandemic: he thought that it wasn't a risk for the population. He wanted to keep the country completely opened permitting the so-called herd immunity. Then he fell ill, understood the lesson and, too late, took all the possible measures for containing what it was more than a wave: the most tragic event experienced in recent decades by UK.

In Europe countries were not prepared by the arrival of a pandemic: there weren't sufficient intensive care unit beds for these special patients (they are infected and they can't stay with common patients, exactly like is infected a corpse of a man or woman dead because of COVID-19)  and what was noticed was also the absence of any kind of personal protection: 

Italy was the first country heavily touched by the first wave. A case, Mattia Maestri was discovered in february 20-21 in the little town of Codogno, Lombardia and three towns, more or less immediately ten, were closed: Lombardia became a red zone, entering in lockdown. But soon the dramatic discovery: the first dead of Sars-Cov-2, was in Vò Euganeo, Veneto. Adriano Trevisan was a man of 77 years  in love for bars and friends. To the hospital  for a pneumonia, he didn't answer well at any kind of treatment. After ten days, the test and the discovery of the positivity. The hospital was completely in shock: they knew what it would have meant...

The country was put in a general lockdown by our premier Giuseppe Conte at the beginning of march and stayed closed till at the beginning of may. It was clear in fact, that the virus didn't just enter with prepotence in Northern Italy, but that was circulating in the entire italian territory. 

Le Marche, a region in the center of Italy never too mentioned in this drama lost more than 1000 people in the only city of Pesaro during the first wave.

Spain and France followed the same example seen in the rest of Europe; other countries, the ones of North of Europe choose of not impose a lockdown; they just alerted, highly warming their populations that maybe it was better to staying at home, considering what was happening in the rest of the world. 

USA lived an hallucinated moment: Donald Trump was the President at that time and didn't believe at all at the arrival of a pestilence, so he strongly suggested to everyone of not wearing masks, not cleaning hands and not keeping social distancing; he also suggested to people of drinking, well, substances pretty dangerous. Some people following the President's advice, lost their existences.

Other ones, fanatics of Trumps, organized big luncheons with their entire families, falling sick; some of them died. Trump insisted all the rest of his presidency with this behavior. He was in contrast with Anthony Fauci, he rejected WHO, removing the USA from this important international organism with strong stress for the world as well. He catched the virus, but continued to play the role of the strong man. Most people at the White House fell sick because social distances not respected and most of that people did not wear masks! 

The new President Biden, air is changed! has vaccinated more than 100 million Americans. The USA are trying to stop, under many ways, this virus and its demoniac variants, but their losses are immense in terms of human beings dead because of COVID-19 and the only economy that it is going on well is the chinese one.

Bolzonaro the leader of Brazil is another populist. He doesn't believe at this virus, he hasn't adopted any kind of measure for stopping COVID and Brazil has been one of the countries more devastated by COVID-19.

The same situation has been lived in UK  with more than 130.000 dead, Italy with more than 102.000.

Why all these numbers? In countries where there are democracies, in countries where there is after all richness and possibility of good answers?

A study, apart political choices made, established that maybe our populations are more susceptible to infections than other parts of the world. 

Vaccines: they are indispensibles and 15 billion of doses will be necessary for covering the entire world and population.

Till at that moment, distant, in which all the world will be immunized, it will be indispensible wearing masks, keeping social distancing and cleaning hands wherever you go, whaterver you touch. We must remember that this first COVID, the one from Wuhan, China, changed with the time and not for better: there are aggressive variants, the British one, the Brazilian; they both responds well to the vaccine; then we have the Nigerian one, and many more variants; some of these ones can't be traced by common tests.

The story of the Biontech told by Horton the society that, in partnership with Pfizer created the first mRNA vaccine is beautiful; this  turkish couple developed anti-cancers viruses till at the advent of Covid.They decided of invest money in researchers for trying to find a good vaccine for the humanity. Four vaccines were developed, then they proceeded with the most secure one.

A little fragment, sequence of protein spike, an acid, the Mrna, is used in this vaccine for the creation of anti-bodies. 

When you see a coronavirus you notice that  kind of "crown." That ones are the keys, suckers! used by COVID for enter in our cells and damaging our body. 

Covid-19 is not an influenza and because our world is different, the impact of this pestilence hasn't been so dramatic as it was in 1918 with the Spanish one. That flu killed 100 million of people. 

There weren't medicines, there wasn't anything; no intensive care unites, not a possibility of a chance for the patients; just the luck of their immunitary system; not all the people touched heavily by the Spanish flu died; no antibiotics, no paracetamol; no one knew exactly what caused Spanish Flu. At first people thought that it could be a bacterium because viruses couldn't be seen.

With the time our world became a better place where to live in, speaking about medicine and of course vaccinations. Science has defeated important illnesses. I personally received when little the smallpox vaccine and I am ready when my turn of being vaccinated against this other pestilence! 

But...the impact of COVID-19 "will be profound and long lasting" writes Hornton.

These past decades after all have seen a lot of inequalities, loss of decent jobs, environmental destruction, and much more; democracies entered in crisis. People started to reject the common elite of politicians that were around preferring the populistic ones in grade to reach the heart of people. With the consequences that we have anyway seen in all that countries where there were or still are populistic leaders.

This world will be drastically different when this pandemic experience will be over. 

Not only: Horton writes: "There were preventible deaths. And as the second and third waves surged, lessons were not learned. The system failed. When the cycles of suppression and rebound have finally been broken by a vaccine, when life returns to some measure of normality, difficult questions will have to be asked and answered. Because we can't afford to fail again. We may not have a second chance."

Highly recommended.

I thank Polity and Wiley for the physical copy of Covid-19 Catastrophe.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Columbia University Symposium Vaccines and Global Health Final Part

 The Symposium Vaccines and Global Health: COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Strategy and Implementation organized by Columbia University is over. Five stimulating days where vaccines, and vaccination against COVID-19 lived a global approach, seeing what will happen next.

For personal reasons I could not follow the third event (smartphone connection problems) but I followed the other part of the symposium.

The fourth day moderator Linda Fried the first person to speak was Anthony Fauci, MD, Director, National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Disease, National Institute of Health. At first Fauci returned to speak of the HIV/AIDS outbreak. During the Clinton administration the President pressed for the discovery of a vaccine. And there are good news in this sense because the National Institute of Health  has established a new AIDS vaccine research center. First trial of the vaccine against HIV is successful.

COVID-19: what kind of technology needed to be used for the coronavirus? Technologies known are the most diversified. A genetic immunization using the RNA of the virus (Pfizer, Moderna) and the viral vector, (Astrazeneca and Sputnik) the one taken in consideration. 

Genetic solutions was also known for SARS, MERS, West Nile, Zika and more; viral vector for Ebola Marburg and the same Zika. A virus pretty known the influenza one, and a vaccine every year re-fixed and in commerce every year uses the recombinant protein, but in some cases a vaccine can be created using nanoparticles; what does that mean? Viral protein on particles.

Let's see now Moderna vaccine, the one received by Fauci. Moderna Biontech uses as said before mRNA of the virus, so   the nucleid acid. This protein, the spike one is the "skin" let's use this expression of the virus, the one that aggressively enters in our cells.

The body, once receives it through the vaccine, recognizes it and starts the production, what a joy! of antibodes. Efficacy is extremely elevated in every sense. 

Fauci underlying the simplicity of manifacturing this vaccine; it is also highly immonogenic.

Astrazeneca and Jannsenn uses an Adenovirus vector, so a virus taken by a mammal. This vaccine is known and distributed in Europe and uses the same technology of the one of Sputnik, in this case russian.

Novavax and Sanofi vice-versa uses an adjuvanted recombinant protein. Fauci underlying that it is not simple to see this product manifactured as the other vaccines seen before.

But why was it possible a vaccine in record-time? All the humanity, together, united the forces for the creation of a vaccine in grade the make the difference, setting free the humanity from this pandemic influenza. Sure: now it will be necessary the creations of billion of doses of vaccines for covering the entire world. 

In the USA the distribution is divided in four part: the first one was for health care professionals and long-term care facility residents, the second for frontiline essential workers and persons aged 75 and more; the third for persons of 65-74 years then for people aged 16-64 years with high-risk conditions and then the phase two for all that people not included in the first phase of vaccination aged 16 years or older.

Sometimes we find skepticists about vaccination. Why this? Fauci focused this sad story in several points: people are mainly worried regarding long-term effects of the COVID-19 vaccines, because unknown but also because they think that they can experiment strong side collateral effects or, vice-versa they think that these vaccines are not effective, or that, yes there are people also thinking this, that they might fall sick of  COVID-19 thanks to the vaccine (sic!)

There is some confusion.

There are no problems. The same President Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris have been vaccinated, and the same Fauci, Collins and Azard were.

Monitoring the situation of the first doses inoculated, it was seen that there hasn't been any weird or strong collateral effects and there is also a great news: anaphylaxis is very rare! 

Why is it so important a vaccination against COVID-19?

Herd immunity is a first and crucial step for avoiding to the COVID-19 virus to create more big and massive  damages. Using massive doses of hi and so people vaccinated, the rush of the virus will be interrupted or weaken, because, simply, he won't find anymore any "guest," I use the word guest for human body, where he can enters in, uninvited, and creating wagons of problems, in most cases lethal ones.

Not only: a strong vaccinations, we know that the british variant is OK with this vaccines like other variants, would interrupt them as well; slowly the virus would become always more weak and impotent and one day only a cold or a little flu.

It's important in this phase a massive vaccination. In every place where vaccine doses massively inoculated it was possible to see that hospitalizations were strongly reduced and countries much more safe (always using mask, social distancing and cleaning hands compulsively).

Then Fauci analyzed the variants and their presence in the world: the so-called B.1.1.7 originally "born" in the UK is now in 77 countries; in the USA recognized 1881 cases in 44 States. What the UK, British variant causes? An exponential increased trasmissibility; a possible incresed severity of the illness in general and only marginally, a reduced vaccine efficacy and in-vitro neutralization by vaccine induced antibodies.

The B.1. 351  has been spotted in 37 countries. At first born in South Africa, this variant, is in the USA with 46 cases in 14 States. This one is a more complicated variant. As for the british one there is an increased in transmissibility; what Fauci underlined is that there is a moderately to severely reduced vaccine efficacy; and in vitro has been seen that neutralization by certain monoclonal antibodies may be severly reduced.

Then there is the P.1 variant, originally born in Brazil: it is in 33 countries, in the USA there are just 5 cases in 4 States, which is  comforting; in this cases antibodies elicited by previous infection or vaccine may be less effective.

So; next generation of anti-COVID-19 vaccines will take in consideration specific variant, and approaches to increase breadth protection, plus there are new studies about pregnant women and children, immunocompromised individuals and highly allergic individuals, so that everyone can be covered by COVID-19!

What would be wonderful to reach is this goal: an universal COVID-19 vaccine!

George F. Gao, PhD – Director, China CDC – China’s Role in COVID-19 Vaccine Development spoke of the situation of vaccination and vaccines in China. There are several vaccines ready in China and other ones close to be approaved and 32 million of people have been vaccinated till now in the various provinces.

These vaccines are: inactivated, nonreplicating viral vector, protein subunit, mRNA, DNA, replicating viral vector.

The doctor started with the story of the novel Coronavirus discovered in Wuhan, province of Hubei; unknwon and weird, a

dangerous pneumonia unresponsive to common cures started to devastate the city and rapidly the diffusion in the rest of the world. Chinese autorities and doctors sequenced pretty rapidly the virus and put all their possible knowledge, including this discovery of the genomic sequences of the virus available to the rest of the world. The rush for a cure and a possible vaccine started that day.

Vaccination is completely free in China, and China is providing 10 million COVID-19 doses to COVAX.

Richard Hatchett, MD – CEO, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations talked of CEPI: the center deployed 1,3 billion dollar to develop COVID-19 vaccines, through 11 partnerships, and this one represents the largest vaccine portfolio globally. The purpose is to make two billion of doses available through the end of the year through COVAX. The role of COVAX is to meet the challenge of pandemic collectively, for the benefit of all regardless of income level. 

But what is CEPI? CEPI is a global coalition made by public, private, philantropists, and civil society organizations. CEPI stimulates the creation of vaccines for emergin infectious diseases, identifying priority treats and acting when market forces fail to drive needed development. They also build capabilities for rapid response to uknown threats.

The final day A Most Remarkable Year in Vaccines, 

Moncef Slaoui, MS, PhD – Former Director, Operation Warp Speed, US Government remarked the importance of technologies, much better than the ones of 5-6 years ago: there was a biggest learning in manifacturing and in case of a next pandemic world woud be much more prepared. Companies asked to the government of not interfere, giving at the same time trust to the system. 

Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, MSc, PhD – Vice Provost, Global Initiatives, University of Pennsylvania was sure of it: Vaccine is 

the best answer to this disaster.

The plan of WHO the one of proportionally allocate doses of vaccines to countries until all countries reach enough quantities for a 20% of coverage. The Fair Allocation Model will prevent premature death, focusing in a second phase on overall economic improvement,prioritizing at first countries with higher transmission rates and giving to to all countries sufficient vaccines to halt transmission.

Thanks to COVAX more than 2 billion of doses will be distributed in the world and 92 poorer countries covering the 20% of population.

Ghana is a very poor country but COVID-19 didn't effect a lot the population: there are in the state 30 million of people and Ghana developed only 82.000 cases and just 600 death! Peru vice-versa with a population of 32 million people developed 1.3 million of COVID cases with 4.000 deaths from COVID.

Where the market is failing?

The current patent regime obstructs optimal vaccine production and limits access to innovation therapies; not only: there is an unfair distribution of vaccines based on wealth and not burden.

A good approach to the problem would be an altruistic tiered pricing approach, open licensing approach, a mixed bilateral multi-lateral approach, a complete multi-lateral institutional approach.

Oh, in this cases companies will be obliged to tier price according to each country's financial capacity donating at the same time vaccines for the lowest income countries.

Ethically is better to vaccinate as more people as possible with a first dose, because it means rushing much more for giving a coverage against this horrible illness to as many people as possible.

A first jag gives a good immunity, and at the same time a strong vaccination of a lot of people will mean putting in security people, countries and their sanitary system.

There are important reflections regarding the situation of the world; a chinese relator remarked that in China there are just sporadic cases imported, that they don't have new outbreaks, and more important no variants are presents in their territory

OK: I tried to soum the most I followed. Unfortunately because of the time difference between New York and Italy and my internet connection, just a smartphopne, I could not be there for all the relators, but it was immensely beauty following wonderful human beings that are trying to resolve as quickly as possible this pandemic pandemonium.

I thank so much Columbia University for  the invitation because I follow COVID-19 since the beginning and also pretty compulsively because...it was simple to imagine that this one, being an uncurable pneumonia, would have been the biggest threat in a couple of months, for the entire world, our pandemic flu. 

I shared all these months news for giving to the people the possibility of saving their existence. This one to me has always been a priority and in my little I do that it as well everyday

I am a reporter but since now I hadn't never given coverage to any COVID-19 news, apart some book reviews so I am absolutely grateful! also for this possibility.

Anna Maria Polidori 

   

Columbia Symposium Vaccines and Global Health: COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Strategy and Implementation Part Two

 The second appointment of the symposium organized by Columbia, Vaccines and Global Health: COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Strategy and Implementation focused the attention tonight on Global Solutions to an Unprecedented Demand.

Yes: a pandemic flu is not just a problem of a country, but of the entire world and a common, inclusive strategy should be the best answer for sorting out part of the problem.

Tonight the moderator was Philip LaRussa, MD – Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, CUIMC.

The first relator was Tedros Ghebreyesus, MS, PhD – Director-General, World Health Organization.

But, before, what Columbia University tries to do is to find global solutions at this immense problem establishing dialogues, connections that can apport ideas. A global solution is imperative for seeing the light after this long dark tunnel.

Ghebreyesus said that he was happy to be back at Columbia University. In 2017 there was a meeting about health security and was described at that time Spanish Flu. Strangely, Ghebreyesus notices pandemic influenzas were forgotten.

It is true: the Spanish Flu was removed by everyone. Yes, writers, painters, creatives, treated the topic sometimes, and not everyone (Hemingway fell sick with Spanish Flu but he didn't write a line on it) but... it was as the population would have wanted to remove that horror, a disgrace contemporary with the first world war. 

It wasn't sure where a pandemic flu could start, adds Ghebreyesus but existed this possibility. A terrible moment for the humanity. "We were not prepared for a pandemic flu" admits Ghebreyesus. 

Not only: not all countries are responding in the same way or have the same level of infections. 

Problems with vaccines is that sometimes they arrive too late. In 2016 remembers Ghebreyesus they took particular consideration about Sars, Mers, Corona Virus as possible future immense problems for the humanity. 

A vaccine has been developed in grear rush, true, but now it's important that all the countries would receive it. It's normal that every country thinks per se at first, but the longer the pandemic flu will persist, more longer will affect economy (and let's add, the existence of people, in particular the most vulnerable ones) and the reconstruction of the society.

What it is important with vaccines is an accelleration. All countries must share with other countries. 

Nicole Lurie, MD – Strategic Advisor, CEPI treated the topic of vaccine Nationalism.

Samba Sow, MD, MSc – University of Maryland – Director-General, Center for

Vaccine Development-Mali, introduced the situation lived in West Africa by citizens. It is a too tranquil situation where it is said to population that Covid-19 is not there massively, but it circulates and it is not the only epidemy developed in that corner of the world: another powerful and absolutely horrible other one is Ebola.

"COVID-19 left us more exposed" adds Sow.  Anyway Sow adds that "we have learnt the lesson." What Sow is noticing is this politicizing of COVID-19 pandemic like also good channels of communications shouldn't never be understimated.

People are diffident and sometimes when you reach communities with some vaccines they think that you want to infect them. In this sense there is some work that need to be done. "We must reach communities, vaccinating them and proceeding with the second fundamental dose" adds Sow.

An investiment in vaccines is an investiment in future.

Seth Berkley, MD – CEO, GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance, went immediately to the point. At first he told that he was happy to be back at Columbia where he spoke three years ago of some similar topics.

At first when the pandemic flu started, questions were many: a vaccine would be possible? Technologies, the ones developed till now would have been helpful?

In 325 days was created a vaccine; but problems are not yet sorted out, because it will be indispensible to allocate these vaccines everywhere in the world. "Let's see if we can bring the world together." 190 countries are collaborating, which means 190 economies for Covax.

But there are many reasons why a country can't have immediately the vaccine: wars, disorders, conflicts of various genre.

Every country, anyway must be ready: delivery, logistics.

"We have seen panic for vaccine: everyone wants to be vaccinated.The risk? That vaccines reaches just rich countries experiencing generational consequences."

Jeffrey Sachs, PhD – Columbia University illustrated the financial part of COVID-19 in this international plan that should cover the entire world.

Sachs admits that there was a great rapidity in the creation of the vaccine. Sure, he added: "We have had the most horrible, psychopatic leader in the world, but in this sense Europe and USA have significantly failed in the fight against COVID-19 and we should reflect on this." Sachs point the fingers against a policy unable to stop the spread of COVID-19 with efficacy, in America and Europe; different is the story of Asian countries.

It will be important in particular during the G-20 planning thanks to the International monetary Fund, special funds, for covering the entire world with vaccine-doses.  

Anna Maria Polidori 

Anna Maria Polidori 

Columbia University Symposium : Vaccines and Global Health: COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Strategy and Implementation

 I know that this one is a site for book reviews, but...I am a reporter as you know and this topic is too important for all of us: COVID-19.

Yesterday I have been invited at the participation of the symposium organized by the Columbia University: Vaccines and Global Health: COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Strategy and Implementation. 

The Program in Vaccine Education at the Columbia has a special mission: the one of inform, educators, academic, journalists, health care professionals , global health non-governmental organizations, and people in general regarding the importance of vaccines, their development.

During these past three centuries, scientists discovered something like 30 vaccines that saved the humanity from horrible diseases. I received the vaccination against smallpox. I was little, I don't remember that jag, but I did it. Smallpox was a horrible illness, defeated because of a vaccination.

Sure, problems are not resolved with the discoveries of these vaccines; scientists discover everyday new way for treating new illnesses, and the discovery of more than 150 pathogens can't let us stay relaxed.

Sure: what happened last December in Wuhan has been like a third world war, made without guns, but with an invisible enemy, and not only: repercussion involved every single aspect of the daily existence of citizens: people learnt that they needed to wear a mask for protection; that they needed to wash their hands with lotions and soap very often during the day; that they had to give up most of their human interactions; not anymore bars, cafés, restaurant, sport; nothing. Every little action became endlessly tiring, like buying something at the supermarket or in a pharmacy, because of long lines; it is still in this way and will be for some other time in this way. 

Hearing from the oldest people, the ones experienced also the latest world war conflict, emerged that a pandemic flu is something, where possible, more horrible than a war, because, if in a war you have the chance, the necessity of seeing people, for searching a refugee, an escapism somewhere, or just for comfort and because united we can fight much better, during a pandemic flu isolation is a priority for keeping safe the existences. 

Who experienced or is experiencing COVID-19 and what this illness mean will tell like a mantra: try of not catching it, because it is not important the level of illness you will experience, a pandemic flu is mortal in a percentage of 1,5-2.00% of the population, but because also when symptoms are not particularly virulents, people live in a miserable state.

As you know I follow the story of COVID-19 from the beginning, when there was just the news of a weird, unfortunately not curable pneumonia in the city of Wuhan. It was more than understandable that this one would have been our pandemic influenza.

Since there I posted wagons of articles in the net; sharing them to me means that other people will be very well informed because they're first-hand news and I always hope that thaks also to them they won't fall sick. Saving lives to me is incredibly important and in a pandemic flu it is the most important thing to do: preserving the population. 

I accepted with great enthusiasm the invitation.

25 eminent people will make the point about COVID-19, responses, strategies and what will happen next during these days.

I tell you what it was said in the first day of discussion. I didn't write anything and I have many internet connection problems (I don't have anymore an internet connection, just my smartphone, and living in a countryside means that sometimes it doesn't work well at all.)

So more or less the most important concepts I remember. 

The welcome from Lee Bellinger, President of the Columbia University; moderator was Lawrence R. Stanberry, MD, PhD – director of the Programs in Global Health, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

At first a relator told to the audience the importance and velocity applied in the discovery of a vaccine in grade to make a difference for the global population. The study of the genome of a virus and the possibility of having these kind of vaccines, will mean in the future a quickest time for the preparation of vaccines involving other dangerous and lethal illnesses.

Zika and Ebola have been two incredibly complicated epidemics and the outbreak, at first in Wuhan, China of COVID-19 meant for the world, the biggest fight in a century, speaking medically but also economically, socially.

Not only: in the future, the relator added, not now, because still in the pandemic moment, will be indispendible to try to understand what it could have been done more. The USA in fact experienced yesterday more than 500.000 dead people and in a few months the number could increase, reaching the 700.000 units. Wagons of people lost their existence and it will be indispensible to try to understand why all of it happened. 

Nancy Messonnier, MD  Director of National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC, focused the attention in the arrival of the vaccines. It will be and it is a massive vaccination this one wanted in the USA and every public or private space will be taken in great consideration for the vaccination against COVID-19. Not only: it will be important to sensibilize, added Messonier, people regarding the importance of being vaccinated against Covid-19. Because vaccine will be a first important step for then trying to see a sort of normality.

Shabir Madhi, MBChB, MMed, FCPaeds PhD – Professor of Vaccinology, University of the Witwatersrand offered a perspective about the situation in South Africa with a lot of slides focusing also on the efficacy or not efficacy of the various first generation vaccines against COVID-19.

Anna Maria Polidori