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Fauci says definition of "fully vaccinated" could be changed
Reporter : Jack Phillips, The Epoch Times PREMIUM
The definition of “fully vaccinated” could be changed by federal health officials to include COVID-19 booster doses if their data support it, said White House pandemic adviser Anthony Fauci on Sunday.
While speaking to ABC’s “This Week,” Fauci said that medical officials are still considering the necessity of the booster shot and he personally would not change the definition for what constitutes “fully vaccinated.”
“We’re going to take a look right now at what the durability is of the booster,” Fauci said. “We’re going to follow people who get boosted.”
He added: “People should not be put off by the fact that as time goes by and we learn more and more about the protection that we might modify the guidelines. That’s what we’ve been saying all along.”
Fauci added that his agency will “just follow and let the data guide [our] policy, and let the data guide [our] recommendations.”
As of now, the definition of fully vaccinated is two shots of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
If boosters display the same waning protection as the initial vaccine regime, “and the data shows we need to do it more often, then we’ll do it,” Fauci said, “but we want to make sure we get the population optimally protected and you do whatever you need to do.”
His comments on Sunday contrast with previous public statements he said about booster doses.
During an appearance at the 2021 STAT Summit, Fauci said that “a booster isn’t an add-on, and a booster is a part of what the original regimen should be … so that when we look back on this, we’re going to see that boosters are essential for an optimal vaccine regimen.”
On Nov. 19, a CDC vaccine advisory panel recommended in a unanimous vote that all U.S. adults can get booster doses for both Moderna’s and Pfizer’s vaccines. Previously, only certain individuals could receive the shot. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky signed off on the recommendation.
Earlier that week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer and Moderna booster doses for all adults.
Booster doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a shot that uses an adenovirus rather than mRNA technology, were approved under an emergency use authorization for all adults in mid-October. Around the same time, the CDC also approved people who got the J&J shot to mix-and-match booster doses.
The Democrat governors of New Mexico and Connecticut recently suggested that they will change the definition of a complete COVID-19 vaccination to include boosters. In some countries such as Israel, vaccine passports—which are mandated to enter gyms, restaurants, and other venues—would expire six months after the second dose.
“We are analyzing what we can do to create those incentives—and potentially mandates—for making sure that people are fully vaccinated, which means three vaccines,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said.
As of Friday, more than 59 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.
Dr. Tu Hkawng, the NUG’s minister of natural resources and environmental conservation, will join the three-day Third Climate Smart and Disaster Resilient ASEAN conference on Tuesday. He will attend the meeting as the minister from Myanmar along with ministers from other ASEAN countries and international experts.
The move came after ASEAN’s attempt to mediate the political crisis sparked by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s takeover in February stalled due to his regime’s lack of cooperation with the regional bloc.
In October, the organization excluded Min Aung Hlaing from its summit over his failure to cooperate. On Monday, he was also barred from the ASEAN-China Special summit due to the regional bloc’s opposition.
While it has excluded the junta leader from its summits, ASEAN had until recently continued to invite the regime’s cabinet ministers to participate in ASEAN-related meetings. However, the regime minister’s name was nowhere to be seen on the announcement of Tuesday’s climate change meeting. Instead, Dr. Tu Hkawng’s name appeared, with the title “Minister, Myanmar.”
The NUG minister told The Irrawaddy that he took the move as ASEAN’s recognition of the NUG as the rightful government of Myanmar.
“I will have a chance to discuss as a minister along with others from ASEAN member states. I take it as a success [for the NUG],” he said.
ASEAN has not made a statement on Dr. Tu Hkawng’s inclusion.
News (6) to (13) / Reporter : Jayanta Kalita, Delhi / First published in The Irrawaddy
News (6)
CCP enforces land border protection law from January 2022
In October 2021, CCP China passed a law aimed at enhancing border protection. However, what stands out from this piece of legislation is that it allows the use of blockades and “police apparatus and weapons” against intruders.
The development comes amid an 18-month-long standoff between the CCP People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Indian military along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The two militaries had a bloody faceoff in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley in June 2020, resulting in 24 casualties. Despite multiple rounds of military and diplomatic-level talks, a resolution to this impasse is unlikely anytime soon.
China shares a 3,488-km land border with India running from the latter’s Arunachal Pradesh state in the east to the Union Territory of Ladakh in the west.
This is the first time that China has enacted such a border law, which the communist country will enforce from January 2021.
News (7)
Land protection law by PLA General Zhao Zongqi who initiated border crisis with India
So, who is actually the architect of this piece of legislation? Well, it was proposed by the Foreign Affairs Committee of China’s parliament. Although this is supposed to be a domestic land border law, the fact that the proposal came from the committee indicates the potential cross-border ramifications of this legal mechanism. Besides, there is an India connection to it.
The law seems to be, at least partially, the brainchild of former PLA General Zhao Zongqi, who is now the deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Gen. Zhao was the PLA Western Theater Command chief, and he was the one who initiated the 2017 Doklam crisis and the Galwan skirmishes last year.
“So, there is a person who is in the Foreign Affairs Committee, who was dealing with the land related issues and obviously he may have substantial say in the law formulation,” said China expert Professor Srikanth Kondapalli.
“He [Gen. Zhao] mentioned some time ago that in the 1970s and ’80s he used to go on foot on the Line of Actual Control with India—of course, on their side of the border. So, as a practitioner and as a military officer, he was posted in those areas. He may have some views on the land border law, which may have been incorporated,” maintained Prof. Kondapalli from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
News (8)
China and Bhutan signed MoU to end their border dispute on 14 October 2021
On 14 October, China and Bhutan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end their border dispute. Beijing announced the new border law on 23 October. In the past, India also signed several MoUs with China but the dispute is still not resolved. Nevertheless, the latest MoU does indicate some kind of agreement between China and Bhutan.
This means that out of its 14 land neighbors, it is only with India that China does not have a territorial dispute resolution mechanism. China shares a total of 22,000 km of land borders with these countries.
News (9)
China shares land borders with 13 other countries
However, Beijing may not be looking solely at India when it comes to the border law. The fact that China shares land borders with 13 other countries needs to be kept in mind as well.
Prof. Kondapalli said each of these land borders has a unique set of problems. For instance, China’s northeast border with Russia is plagued by the smuggling menace. The Central Asia-China borders need to be watched for Uighur militants who could foment troubles in Xinjiang region. Similarly, the Myanmar-China border is notorious for the smuggling of drugs and small arms while the India-China LAC faces the post-Galwan uncertainty.
Article 4 of the new law mentions China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as sacred and inviolable. This assertion is something new, especially when one looks at it from Indian perspectives. The LAC is a de facto border and the dispute over the border is still unresolved. Previously, Beijing had termed this as a disputed border but now it is asserting sovereignty.
News (10)
Transition from disputed territory to sovereignty narrative for CCP
“You can claim sovereignty if you have a bilateral agreement. If you don’t have a bilateral agreement, it is a disputed territory. So, the transition from disputed territory to sovereignty narrative, in China, in this land border law as well suggests we have some company coming up in the future. Constant company for the near future,” Prof. Kondapalli said.
News (11)
CCP's land protection law covers flood control
Article 10 of the law talks about border defense construction. It also mentions flood control. Needless to say, there has been a discord between India and China over the flow of the Brahmaputra river, which is known as Yarlung Tsangpo in China’s Tibet region.
News (12)
Genuine concerns over CCP's dam-building spree
China has been constructing some 26 dams at the Namcha Barwa in southeastern Tibet, known for the “great bend” of the Yarlung Tsangpo. India has genuine concerns over China’s dam-building spree, as it could impact the flow of the Brahmaputra in the country’s northeastern region.
The land border law aims to provide a legal basis for China’s construction activity in the Tibet region.
News (13)
New law in line with CCP's maritime law
Earlier this year, Beijing came out with a similar law to protect its maritime boundaries. Both pieces of legislation allow the country’s law enforcement agencies to shoot “intruders”—be it in the Himalayas or the South China Sea.
On 1 February, CCP China’s new Coast Guard Law took effect even as Beijing continues to resort to what is called “gray zone tactics” to assert its claims over the South and East China seas.
This law allows Coast Guard fleets to use lethal force on foreign ships operating in China’s waters, including disputed waters claimed by the communist country.
This essentially means that what CCP “maritime militias” have been doing all these years—to scare away fishermen, people or entities belonging to other claimants from these disputed waters—may soon be replaced with an aggressive push-back policy against other littoral states.
“Like the Coast Guard Law and Maritime Traffic Safety Law promulgated in 2021, the new legislation is passed amid rising tensions between China and its neighbors over territorial disputes. The People’s Liberation Army and the paramilitary People’s Armed Police will have major responsibility for safeguarding [the] land border, combating armed invasion. Both agencies report to the Central Military Commission, which [President] Xi Jinping heads,” said Kalpit A. Mankikar, a Fellow with the Strategic Studies Programme at the Observer Research Foundation, Mumbai.
“The new law permits patrol officers to use weapons against intruders who resort to violence in resisting detention and threaten the safety of life and property of other people. Chinese state media also reported that the law upholds China’s ‘legitimate rights and interests’ over the Tibet-originating transboundary rivers like the Brahmaputra and Mekong,” he said.
“The law’s assertion of full sovereignty over cross-border waters means that China has a declared right to divert as much of the shared waters as it wishes, regardless of downstream impacts. The law, which will kick into effect from 2022, is another use of lawfare where domestic law can facilitate its expansionism,” Mankikar added.
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