Ahavah Collections

03/04/2020

Taking a vaccine candidate all the way to regulatory approval typically takes a decade or more for it will need to be put through especially stringent safety testing to rule out the risk of enhanced disease. However WHO officials enroll first patients from Norway and Spain in ‘historic’ coronavirus drug trial just months after its outbreak.

The first patients in a “historic” drug trial to test treatments for the coronavirus have been enrolled in Norway and Spain, World Health Organization officials announced Friday.

World health officials are testing four of the most promising drugs to fight COVID-19, including malaria medications chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, an antiviral compound called Remdesivir, a combination of HIV drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir and a combination of those drugs plus interferon-beta.

“There are no more than half a million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 20,000 deaths. These are tragic numbers,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva. “But remember that more than 100,000 have recovered. We must fight, unite and ignite. We are one humanity with one common enemy.”

Chloroquine -- and its derivative hydroxychloroquine -- are a decades-old drug and were found in a small study in France to be helpful in clearing the coronavirus from patients compared to a control group. President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted the drugs as potential treatments. However, experts say the findings of the study were not definitive and more trials are needed.

Scientists have also been looking at HIV drugs as possible treatments. Remdesivir is produced by Gilead Sciences. Some health authorities in the U.S. and China have been using the drug through so-called compassionate use programs in hopes that the drug can reduce the duration of the virus in patients.

There are no proven therapies to treat COVID-19 but there are a number of clinical trials that are ongoing, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, told reporters Friday.

“It’s important that these medications are evaluated appropriately so we know what works and that we have the right data to support what works,” she said.

WHO officials also urged countries to stop using medicines that are not proven to be effective against COVID-19. They did not name any particular drug, but a number of people have been experimentally using chloroquine combined with Azithromycin to prevent and treat COVID-19.

Tedros said that a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is still likely 12 to 18 months away. WHO has been working closely with the National Institutes of Health, which has been fast-tracking work with biotech company Moderna to develop a vaccine to prevent COVID-19. They began their first human trials in the U.S. on a potential vaccine last week.

The potential vaccine by Moderna contains genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA, that was produced in a lab. The mRNA is a genetic code that tells cells how to make a protein and was found in the outer coat of the new coronavirus, according to researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute.

Source:

The first patients in a "historic" drug trial to test treatments for the coronavirus have been enrolled in Norway and Spain, World Health Organization officials announced Friday.

01/04/2020

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

On 30 January 2020, the Philippine Department of Health reported the first case of COVID-19 in the country with a 38-year-old female Chinese national. On 7 March, the first local transmission of COVID-19 was confirmed. WHO is working closely with the Department of Health in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.

For Latest updates and announcements, you can visit the Official Website of the Department of Health(https://www.doh.gov.ph/2019-nCoV) and also your official Local government pages for accurate news report.

Moreover, if you wanted an update about The Coronavirus in Asia and ASEAN, here is a site from ASEAN BRIEFING with an article that will be updated continuously. It was originally published on January 28, 2020. It was last updated on March 30, 2020. https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/coronavirus-asia-asean-live-updates-by-country/

With this global crisis, let us all be careful and follow safety precautionary measures to avoid further complications.

Happy 1st of April! Have a safe day!

30/03/2020

NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) IS COMING FOR THE WORLD'S POOR.

Here are six ways to help according to World Economic Forum.

The ongoing death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic in developed countries such as Italy and the US portends a looming disaster in the world’s most impoverished countries.
The public health responses in some of Asia’s most advanced economies offer lessons to other countries bracing for a potentially dramatic increase in cases, in particular South Korea’s swift, coordinated and within-democratic-means response.The public health responses in some of Asia’s most advanced economies offer lessons to other countries bracing for a potentially dramatic increase in cases, in particular South Korea’s swift, coordinated and within-democratic-means response.

Take the case of Nepal (a country with which we are deeply familiar): the government has taken extraordinary and necessary measures to prevent the entry of the virus through its borders. It has closed schools, cancelled events, shut down Mount Everest and largely restricted international travel. These actions are courageous considering the enormous economic costs. They are also notable for being achieved through democratic, non-coercive means.

With that in mind, here are six crucial measures that the global community can implement to support the 47 Least Developed Countries or LDCs. As places like Taiwan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong bring their outbreaks until control, they can and must contribute their expertise and resources to support LDCs, particularly in Asia.

1. Early, coordinated social distancing is absolutely essential to risk mitigation
- Much of the focus in global COVID-19 pandemic responses right now centres around mass social distancing measures – school, event and business closures, working from home, restrictions on travel and social gatherings. These measures are essential and the global community can support such efforts by sharing data, protocols and ensuring regional cohesion in cross-border policies around migration and trade.

2. Make plans now for the expansion of personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing capacity
- As international trade and supply chains are decimated, COVID-19 testing and personal protective gear needs to be stockpiled by LDCs right now. They can only do this with extensive financial and technical support from other countries. These donor countries, tragically, are the same ones who have been hard hit by the pandemic. Yet we have to ramp up the manufacturing and distribution of supplies and avoid the perception that we have limited resources to spread amongst all the countries. Even with the ongoing pandemic and the economic crisis, the world has the resources to do this. We have to mobilize like never before.

3. Invest in hospital capacity everywhere
- Given the fact that COVID-19 outbreaks disseminate through geographies quickly, targeted, nationalized treatment centres will have minimal impact on severe cases. The epidemiology of respiratory viruses like that causing COVID-19. The global community again must mobilize with training (even if largely virtual), supplies and protocols.

4. Connect frontline healthcare workers with the technology, PPE, and protocols they need
There is much that can be accomplished by healthcare workers using simple mobile technology to help triage patients and recommend home isolation for those safe to do so. This is essential for focusing scant hospital resources on the sickest patients and avoiding hospital transmission with long queues. Many LDCs like Nepal have themselves pioneered the use of community-based healthcare delivery and promotion activities and can mobilize this infrastructure. They need the right training and technology tools in time to be effective.

5. Ensure uninterrupted supply of essential medicines
As seen with Ebola, there will be disruptions in essential primary care services owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in LDCs. Much can be done to prevent this through working proactively now on supply chains with Ministries of Health around the globe.

6. Ensure early and equitable access to vaccines and medications
While the first wave of response to the COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely to have biomedical tools available to it, preparations should now be made to ensure eventual equitable access to vaccines and antivirals. For influenza, vaccination and anti-virals are almost entirely absent in LDCs, who shoulder an enormous burden of the up to 500,000 estimated annual global deaths due to seasonal influenza.

COVID-19 demonstrates in tragic, bold relief that all countries are in this fight together. Finding the resources to fight it is not a zero-sum game. Indeed, abandoning the world’s most impoverished countries now will only lead to an enormous number of preventable deaths and further global economic instability that puts all of our community at ongoing risk. A truly global fight is a moral priority.

Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/coronavirus-least-developed-countries-

28/03/2020

For a brief period tonight, some parts of the world will go dark. It's Earth Hour!

How did it start?
Earth Hour is an annual tradition in which people switch off their lights to spread awareness about sustainability and climate change. Started by the World Wildlife Fund, it takes place on March 28, 2020, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time.

What is it intended to do?
It's meant to bring together people who share one common goal: an eco-friendly future.

How can people get involved ?
Organizers suggest you sign a pledge to decrease your environmental footprint and participate in the blackout. The website also has a host of other actions people can take to help ease climate change.

Source: CNN US, 2020

28/03/2020

DID YOU KNOW?
That there are actually around 4 quadrillion quadrillion bacteria on Earth?

Of course! However, not all bacteria are bad. In fact, some of those itty-bitty biological cells are actually good for us and aide the world in various and complex ways. And that's nice to know, considering there are around 4 quadrillion quadrillion individual bacteria on our planet, according to NPR.

Have a Great Day!

26/03/2020

DID YOU KNOW?!
The oceans contain almost 200,000 different kinds of viruses?

Yes! The next time you feel like taking a dip in the big blue ocean, you might not want to think about the fact that the seemingly pristine water is home to almost 200,000 different kinds of viruses. While this may sound scary, Matthew Sullivan, a microbiologist at the Ohio State University, told CNN, "Having that road map [of what viruses exist] helps us do a lot of the things we'd be interested in to better understand the ocean and, I hate to say it, but maybe to have to engineer the ocean at some point to combat climate change."

Source: Better Life

Have an Amazing Day!

24/03/2020

FUN FACT:
Did you know that Indonesia is home to some of the shortest people in the world?

Yes! Though there are short people and tall people everywhere, Indonesia is home to some of the shortest people in the world, according to data compiled from various global sources by the Telegraph in 2017.

When taking both genders into account, the average adult is around 5 feet, 1.8 inches. People in Bolivia don't tend to be much taller, with an average adult height of 5 feet, 2.4 inches. The tallest people among us live in the Netherlands, where the average adult height is 6 feet.

Have a great night! ✨

20/03/2020

Here's the tips on how to stop the spread of Novel Coronavirus given by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Even at home, DO NOT forget to wash your hands and take a bath. This is all for you. ‼️

How's Your Day so far?

We value your health too! With this, we would like to promote proper hygiene and sanitation. These are the following;

📌Hand hygiene and personal hygiene;
📌Food hygiene (cooking, storing, preventing cross contamination);
📌Ensuring safe water at 'point of use';
📌Respiratory hygiene;
📌Safe disposal of faeces (both human and animal);
📌General hygiene (laundry, surfaces, toilets, baths, sinks); and
📌Disposal of solid waste, control of wastewater and rainwater

Have a productive day Ahead! ✨

18/03/2020

Just how the COVID-19 coronavirus will affect the way we live and work is unclear because it’s a novel disease spreading around the world for the first time, but it appears that AI may help fight the virus and its economic impact.

Instead of giving more loads to our overworked Front liners, Nurses and Doctors, let us use some resources from the advancement of technology.

Read the full article here:

Just how the COVID-19 coronavirus will affect the way we live and work is unclear, but it appears that AI may help fight the virus and its economic impact.

14/03/2020

As we face this global phenomena, where cure is still unknown for humanity, where hopelessness bloom, where faith is tested, the light of God remains. Every spoken words, pleas, cries, pains, and prayers are heard. Where God knows before you ask, where God knows your difficulties and desires. The only way for protection and security is by praying and to recognize His Holy presence . As we take every step, know that the Lord never fails. God always provides and he never skips a promise. He holds the perfect timing. He knows and hears everything. Fear nothing for the Lord is with you.

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD your God, he it is that does go with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you."
- Deuteronomy 31:6

God is here and He never skips a promise. Believe and Keep the faith.

Let us bow down and pray for protection everyday.

Lord God, I pray for Your protection as I begin this day. You are my hiding place, and under Your wings I can always find refuge. Protect me from trouble wherever I go, and keep evil far from me. No matter where I am, I will look to You as my Protector, the One Who fights for me every day. Your love and faithfulness, along with Your goodness and mercy, surround me daily, so I will not fear whatever might come against me. My trust is in You, God, and I give thanks to You for Your love and protection. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
- ibelieve.com

13/03/2020

As the case of All confirmed COVID-19 cases tested in the Philippines increases, let us all keep in mind that proper hygiene is a way to keep ourselves from this virus.

For most people, good hygiene is so much a part of their daily routines that they think little about it. They bathe, they brush their teeth, visit the dentist and doctor for regular checkups, and wash their hands when preparing or eating food and handling unsanitary items. To keep those you care about healthy and safe, help them learn, and be sure that they are practicing, good personal hygiene.

Keep safe everyone!

10/03/2020

AHAVAH COLLECTIONS celebrates the INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S MONTH 2020.

This year's theme for International Women's Day (8 March) is, “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights”. The Generation Equality campaign is bringing together people of every gender, age, ethnicity, race, religion and country, to drive actions that will create the gender-equal world we all deserve ( UNWomen,2020).

This year’s campaign, , draws attention to the difference individuals can make. The campaign has become a symbol of the movement, which extends far beyond 8 March, with activities running all year long. The idea is to reinforce and galvanize collective action, holding events and talks that urge us all to share responsibility and play our part.
- weforum, 2020