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Pandemic

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Study suggests ways to support kids’ mental health during pandemic

Aug 23, 2021 | , , ,

The authors said , “Mental health problems increased dramatically among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among those who experienced high levels of pandemic-related stressors including serious illness or death of a family member, significant financial loss, and social isolation.”

They concluded, “A number of simple strategies families engaged in appeared to promote better mental health during the pandemic including having a structured daily routine, limiting passive screen time use, limiting exposure to news media about the pandemic, and to a lesser extent spending more time in nature, and getting the recommended amount of sleep.” 

Pandemic threatens Asia-Pacific’s progress on global development goals, says ADB

Aug 23, 2021 | , , , ,

Developing Asia’s extreme poverty rate – or the proportion of its people living on less than $1.90 a day – would have fallen to 2.6% in 2020 from 5.2% in 2017 without COVID-19, but the crisis likely pushed last year’s projected rate higher by about 2 percentage points, ADB simulations showed.
The figure could even be higher considering the inequalities in areas like health, education and work disruptions that have deepened as the COVID-19 crisis disrupted mobility and stalled economic activity, the ADB said in a flagship report on the region.

The biggest threat to Covid-19 vaccination could be fake news and misinformation

Nov 26, 2020 | , , , , ,

“The coronavirus disease is the first pandemic in history in which technology and social media are being used on a massive scale to keep people safe, informed, productive and connected,” the WHO said.

“At the same time, the technology we rely on to keep connected and informed is enabling and amplifying an infodemic that continues to undermine the global response and jeopardises measures to control the pandemic.”

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Covid vaccine rush in China raises fears of booming black market

Nov 26, 2020 | , , , ,

As developers from AstraZeneca Plc to Pfizer Inc. near the finish line for their coronavirus vaccines, nations are preparing for the challenge of rolling them out, with inevitable supply shortages fueling concerns about inequitable distribution and even the emergence of illegal markets. One place where vaccine delivery is already being road-tested is China, which has allowed local developers’ shots for emergency use since mid-year.

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Action needed to spur British government-backed pandemic insurance, says project chair

Nov 26, 2020 | , , , ,

Stephen Catlin, chairman of the Pandemic Re Steering Committee, a British industry group, said he had hoped in early June that a launch would be possible in 2021.“But as time went on, it became clear that the complexity was going to slow it down,” Catlin, who is also chairman and CEO of insurer Convex, told the Reuters Events Future of Insurance Europe conference.

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