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Legendary <keyword id="19918921" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hollywood-actor" source="keywords">Hollywood actor</keyword> <keyword id="20740436" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Al-Pacino" source="keywords">Al Pacino</keyword>, known for his iconic roles in The Godfather trilogy and Scarface, recently opened up about a terrifying moment during the <keyword id="19897423" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="COVID-19" source="keywords">COVID-19</keyword> pandemic when he thought he had "experienced death." The 84-year-old actor, in an interview with <keyword id="20038431" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="People-magazine" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="People magazine" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="People magazine">People magazine</keyword>, recounted how he fainted while battling the virus in 2020 and was left questioning his very existence when a nurse attending to him couldn’t detect a pulse. Pacino revealed that it was his "great assistant" Michael Quinn who quickly acted, summoning paramedics to his <keyword id="19914983" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Los-Angeles" source="keywords">Los Angeles</keyword> home. "He got the people coming, because the nurse that was taking care of me said, 'I don't feel a pulse on this guy,'" Pacino recalled, describing the scene as something straight out of a movie. For a brief moment, the actor believed he had passed away. "I thought I experienced death," Pacino said, "because how did all those people gather together? There was an ambulance in front of my house, six paramedics in my living room, and two of my doctors in space suits. I opened my eyes and thought, 'What happened to me?'" But despite the dramatic circumstances, Pacino doesn’t seem too shaken by the ordeal. "Everybody thought I was dead. I didn't," he said. "If I was dead, I fainted. And when I came to, it was all gone." Quoting Shakespeare's famous line from Hamlet—“To be, or not to be”—Pacino mused on the fragility of life but admitted the experience didn’t leave any lasting change on how he lives. When asked whether the health scare had any effect on his outlook, Pacino simply responded, "Not at all." Pacino, who has lived a life filled with memorable roles, fame, and critical acclaim, seems to be taking this near-brush with death in stride. In fact, he’s keeping busy, with his upcoming memoir *Sonny Boy* on the horizon and a role in <keyword id="19920478" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Johnny-Depp" source="keywords">Johnny Depp</keyword>'s directorial project *Modi - Three Days on the Wing of Madness*, which is set for a December 5 release. While many may see such a health scare as a turning point, Pacino remains remarkably unchanged by it. His outlook on life and death, much like his characters on screen, is marked by a sense of calm amidst the chaos. Whether fainting during a pandemic or standing before the camera, Pacino's resilient spirit continues to define him as one of Hollywood's most enduring stars.

'I thought I experienced death': Al Pacino talks about battling Covid-19

A week or two of cold and cough can make you conjure up some pretty odd conspiracy theories. The freshest one that I cooked up this week is that 'Big Tissue' wishes to keep everyone sick, and therefore they collaborate with 'The Scientists' to keep them from making a cure. After all, the world witnessed researchers demonstrate incredible and hasty success in combating <keyword id="19897423" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="COVID-19" source="keywords">COVID-19</keyword>, and yet, the <keyword id="20237676" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="common-cold" source="keywords">common cold</keyword> remains an seemingly elusive target. But far from being an actual conspiracy, there are several real reasons why we haven’t yet cracked the code to curing the cold, despite decades of research. So grab your tissues, folks, and let's get into them. <h2><keyword id="23387393" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="viral-diversity" source="keywords">Viral diversity</keyword></h2>One major hurdle in curing the common cold is the sheer diversity of viruses involved. Over 200 viruses can cause cold symptoms, with <keyword id="23387392" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rhinoviruses" source="keywords">rhinoviruses</keyword> responsible for up to 75% of cases. Rhinoviruses alone consist of more than 160 known strains. This viral diversity makes it extremely difficult to develop a universal vaccine or treatment. Unlike SARS-CoV-2, which has one main spike protein target, cold viruses come in a dizzying array of structures and behaviours, requiring a vast array of medical solutions. In contrast, when COVID-19 emerged, researchers focused primarily on one virus and one major target — its spike protein. That focus allowed for the rapid development of <keyword id="19953288" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vaccines" source="keywords">vaccines</keyword> using mRNA technology, like those from Pfizer and Moderna. For the common cold, a similar solution isn’t feasible due to the multiple viral families involved. <h2><keyword id="20862236" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mutations" source="keywords">Mutations</keyword> and adaptations</h2>Another issue is how quickly cold viruses mutate. Rhinoviruses, for example, are known for their high mutation rates. This rapid evolution allows them to evade the immune system, which is why even if you’ve had a cold before, you're not immune to future infections from different strains. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113757960" title="Healthcare in India faces massive strain as costs rise by 14% annually; most expenses paid out-of-pocket" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>This rapid mutation is akin to how COVID-19 has evolved into variants, but with cold viruses, it happens on an even greater scale. Scientists fear that if they developed a vaccine, new strains would quickly render it ineffective, much like how seasonal flu vaccines must be reformulated annually. <h2>Mildness of the illness</h2>Ironically, one reason the common cold hasn’t been cured is because it’s too mild to warrant massive investment. Most people recover from a cold without medical intervention. While cold symptoms are annoying — runny nose, sore throat, cough — they rarely escalate into serious illness. As a result, pharmaceutical companies and governments have little financial incentive to pour billions into research for a disease that poses no significant threat to public health. COVID-19, on the other hand, caused severe illness and death on a global scale, spurring massive investment from both the public and private sectors. Governments and companies alike invested heavily in research and fast-tracked vaccines, which led to solutions much quicker than we’ve seen for colds. <h2>Complex, complex immune system</h2>The immune system’s response to cold viruses is also a significant factor. Studies have shown that repeated exposure to cold viruses over a lifetime results in limited immunity. For instance, research from Harvard points out that even though the body produces antibodies after a cold, the <keyword id="20082133" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="immune-response" source="keywords">immune response</keyword> isn't strong enough to prevent future infections from slightly different strains. This is in stark contrast to diseases like measles, where one infection can result in lifelong immunity. COVID-19 benefitted from its novelty. The immune system had never encountered SARS-CoV-2 before, making it easier to target with vaccines that produce a strong and specific immune response. Here’s an additional fun fact: because there are SO many different strains of common cold-causing viruses, research says that it is unlikely that you will be infected with the same strain of common cold twice throughout your life! <h2>Attempts to develop treatments</h2>There have been attempts to develop treatments for the common cold. Some researchers have targeted the way viruses enter and replicate in human cells. For example, a 2018 study explored inhibiting the protein that cold viruses use to replicate, showing some promise in early trials. However, most of these treatments are in the experimental phase, and none have been widely successful yet. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113284254" title="Gastro problems could heighten Parkinson&amp;#39;s disease risk by 76%, study finds" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>In recent years, attention has shifted towards using broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that can target multiple viruses at once, similar to how some antibiotics work against a range of bacteria. However, this approach has yet to yield a major breakthrough. The idea of a universal cure for the common cold remains distant, but advances in genetic research and vaccine technology offer some hope. For example, CRISPR technology may allow scientists to edit out the genetic components that cold viruses rely on to replicate. Additionally, the mRNA technology used for COVID-19 vaccines has opened new possibilities for antiviral treatments, although these applications are still in early stages. Research continues, but for now, humanity may have to continue battling sniffles and coughs the old-fashioned way: with rest, fluids, and time.

How did we manage to deal with COVID-19 so quickly, but the common cold still remains a persisting problem?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ariel Sophia Bardi was dealing with grief and was unhappy with her desk job.</li><li>When the opportunity to travel to Algeria for her 40th birthday came up, she jumped at the chance. </li></ul>I was chest-deep in bathwater, listening to the sound of soapy foam popping. I'd timed the moment so that when the clock struck midnight — and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/altitude-psychosis-hiking-hallucinations-mountain-climbing-rules-to-follow-avoid-2024-8">I turned 40</a> — I'd be soaking in a bubble bath on the coast of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-travel-full-time-make-money-social-media-2023-9">Algeria</a>. I needed an elegant backdrop as I stared my future in the face.I'd splurged on a single night in a sprawling hilltop estate with arches and colorful tiles. Palms rustled outside my window, and lights twinkled over the Bay of Algiers. The hotel had been constructed in a Moorish revival style at the end of the 19th century. I was used to more spartan sleeping arrangements, having spent much of my 30s as a freelance journalist. For the past several years, I'd been working a desk job and on autopilot. It started at some point during those mushy, airless pandemic years. A therapist would pinpoint my numbness to when my dad's heart suddenly stopped, in 2020. <h2 id="05278691-3b1e-4411-acea-ab3d0c3145d6">Dealing with grief while working a desk job</h2>In those Covid-averse days, nobody wanted to gather in groups, least of all to embrace tearful, snotty mourners. So, we never had a funeral. I flew to California, where my dad spent his final years, and gathered with my brothers, hoping to do something symbolic, like stack stones at the beach or scream into the surf. But a Trump rally was whooping through town that day, and the sky glimmered apocalyptic-orange from wildfires. We renounced our imagined grieving rituals. Eating fish tacos in a socially distanced circle would have to suffice. But malaise had already crept in before that staggering loss. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/loved-company-bored-at-work-found-dream-job-2024-3">Life had grown predictable</a> and soft, thickening around the middle like an aging waistline. Overwork had something to do with it. I'd spent carefree years bouncing around Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Mexico, India and Armenia. Then in my mid-30s, I wandered into a<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/return-to-office-hybrid-work-model-quit-jobs-2023-8"> full-time desk job</a>. "Living death," that's how my philosopher-slash-guitarist father had nicknamed <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fight-return-to-office-mandates-remote-work-amazon-apple-2023-3">office work</a>. No surprises. Every day felt the same. The role itself — designing photo exhibits and documenting peace initiatives — was often fascinating, and I welcomed the reprieve from financial precarity. But sitting under fluorescent lights all day made me feel like a caged panther. Or maybe a cyborg. I wasn't prepared for<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quiet-vacations-work-trends-culture-pto-travel-job-stress-2024-6"> corporate culture</a>. Months in, a colleague's mother died. "Condolences," I wrote as the subject line of an Outlook email, though I wanted to shatter our cubicle decorum and howl in vicarious despair. Then, my own dad died, and the colleague simply hit reply and added her own message of sympathy. How bleak our bloodless exchange felt. Was this how I'd spend the rest of my life, marking traumatic milestones with Microsoft Office notifications? <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/mental-health/stages-of-grief">Grief was overwhelming</a>, but productivity required putting on a happy face at work. I soldiered ahead joylessly. Firing off four dozen emails a day became a grim escape — a way not to think, a way to cushion myself from new experiences, and thus further loss. To no one's surprise, burnout followed. <div type="image" title="View from hotel overlooking the Bay of Algiers" height="4000" width="6000" msid="113377531" hostid="261" sizebytes="725790"></div><h2 id="69e9182f-8a49-4e0a-b4de-77e58e9fd129">A freelance job helped me feel free again</h2>I needed to start living again. That meant salvaging parts of myself I'd jettisoned on my race to adulthood, including the itinerant writer in me. When a magazine offered me an assignment in Algeria, I jumped at the chance. This would be my first solo reporting trip in four years. Could I still navigate unfamiliar cities alone or cold-call strangers? Luckily, after a few days in Oran and Algiers, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-muscle-memory-brain-cerebellum-2015-4">muscle memory</a> took over. In the name of research, I started hitting up red-lit clubs, where cabaret singers warbled risqué Arabic lyrics to crowds sloppy with whisky. One night, around 2 a.m., I squinted through threads of smoke at the man crooning into a mic, ears ringing violently, and thought: "This is exactly where I want to be." On the eve of my landmark birthday, contemplating my feet splayed over the tiled tub in my hotel suite, I thought about how rai singers — a form of Algerian folk music — were paragons of living boldly. Rai singers had even been assassinated for making music. I make no comparison between their incredible courage and my own infinitely milder risks, which soon included drifting back to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-rto-return-workplace-quitting-job-office-trends-freelance-benefits-2023-7">freelance work</a>. But when you consider women of earlier generations, whose lives were narrowly circumscribed between marriage and motherhood, the idea of living by one's own wits starts to feel pretty radical. There's nothing wrong with wanting a more conventional path or a less messy career. But on the cusp of midlife, what I still craved was the thrill of a blank page.

'Living death' was my dad's nickname for office work. Now I'm in my 40s — and I can see why.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Juan Pablo Capello co-launched a telehealth ketamine therapy service in 2021.</li><li>But he now says the industry has become a wild wild west with low standards of care.</li></ul>Ketamine-assisted therapy uses the hallucinogen, ketamine, to treat mental health issues. In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/fda-warns-patients-and-health-care-providers-about-potential-risks-associated-compounded-ketamine">statement</a> published on October 10, 2023, the FDA warned that the drug has not been approved by the agency for the treatment of any psychiatric disorder.This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Juan Pablo Capello, cofounder of telemedicine startup Nue Life Health. Capello, 57, is calling on ketamine-assisted therapy providers to pause operations and elevate their standard of care. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I'm a serial entrepreneur who's tried to focus on building companies that will improve people's lives.Coming out of COVID-19, my partner and I wanted to start a company to help combat the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/potential-mental-health-effects-of-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-6">mental wellness crisis</a>, which is how Nue Life was created.While researching the mental health space, we realized <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/psychedelics-better-leaders-business-executives-2024-3">psychedelics</a> held enormous promise. As I analyzed the various substances and compounds, I noticed that ketamine was a quasi-psychedelic substance that was available and legal with a prescription. It's a common anesthetic.We launched Nue Life, a telehealth ketamine therapy service, in 2021 and facilitated thousands of ketamine experiences for our patients. We shipped <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-assisted-therapy-is-saving-some-couples-relationships-2022-10">ketamine lozenges</a> to them in small doses and monitored their well-being with data.As the industry matured, I began to feel like companies were putting profits over patients. I didn't want to do the same to keep raising capital for Nue Life, and the company was acquired in 2023.I'm now speaking out, urging the industry to enforce higher standards on who can prescribe ketamine and ensuring patients have been suitably assessed before being prescribed it.I hope <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matthew-perry-death-highlights-risks-of-ketamine-abuse-2023-12">Matthew Perry's death</a> can be a wake-up call. We need to acknowledge bad behavior in the psychedelic medicine space. To remain silent about unethical practices is to jeopardize all the incredible progress made.<h2 id="f1bcdcec-63a5-4fcd-9159-82a5eefb9b29">I wanted to support patients with their mental health but felt increasingly pressured to prioritize profit</h2>The telehealth <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matthew-perry-death-ketamine-backlash-2023-12">ketamine industry</a> emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic made prescribing the drug remotely a possibility. Telehealth services provide patients with access to ketamine therapy from the comfort of their homes.We co-founded Nue Life as a public benefits corporation and wanted to set a new ethical standard in a rapidly commercializing industry.The goal was for patients to use the least amount of ketamine necessary to reset. We only shipped two or three ketamine experiences at a time, and if the person didn't follow our protocols, they'd be suspended from the program. Patient check-ins were mandatory before any additional medication was shipped. This involved patients submitting screening questionnaires, which were thoroughly reviewed before scheduling their follow-up appointments.Patients who were not a good fit for the program or who posed safety concerns were involuntarily discharged. If patients did not meet the necessary criteria, their cases were escalated to our medical directors and prescribers for further review and medical directors would make final calls.In addition to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-therapy-for-my-depression-and-chronic-pain-2023-4">ketamine</a>, we offered meditation, yoga, and group therapy through our platform.With our patients' consent, we used data from their wearables, such as their Fitbit, Oura ring, and iPhone, to track their sleep and exercise.Tracking data and focusing on holistic care separated Nue Life from other telehealth providers. Other companies might have offered similar elements, but I believe Nue Life was unique in its commitment to patient care.<h2 id="7ed9a14e-96a0-4475-aa16-38ba73439aad">The telehealth industry has shifted in recent years</h2>When we launched Nue Life, I think patients were willing to pay a slight premium for our protocol.But two and a half years later, I felt I couldn't compete with companies offering more doses for less money.We always knew there would be some tension between maintaining ethical patient care and meeting investors' financial expectations. As low-cost providers flooded into the at-home ketamine space, it became very difficult to compete in a way that wasn't solely focused on selling patients more <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-for-anxiety-how-it-helped-me-2023-7">ketamine</a>.We reached a stage with Nue Life where we needed to raise more capital to break even.When I spoke to prospective new investors, they asked me about customer acquisition costs and the company's lifetime value to customers. It felt like I was being asked what I was going to do to sell people more ketamine.I realized I would need to start treating patients like customers to raise this capital, and I didn't want to do that.I decided not to raise additional funding, and the company was acquired by a larger company in October 2023. That decision was difficult. When I sold Nue Life, I thought I was doing the best thing for our patients.<h2 id="594b794f-e34c-4e0c-a2a9-e8e8c1954e16">It feels like the ketamine telehealth industry is in a race to the bottom</h2>While at Nue Life, I witnessed through mystery shoppers how some providers prescribed ketamine without what I believed to be an adequate assessment of patient suitability.Since leaving, people still working for ketamine providers have confided in me about slipping standards. They have shared stories about over-prescribing ketamine and a growing focus on providing ketamine over aftercare and follow-on support.Government bodies are also issuing warnings. The FDA released <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/fda-warns-patients-and-health-care-providers-about-potential-risks-associated-compounded-ketamine">a warning in October 2023</a> about the risks associated with compounded ketamine, including oral formulations. In January 2024, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmo/pr/st-louis-area-doctors-accused-illegally-administering-ketamine">DEA took legal action</a> against St. Louis-area doctors for illegally administering ketamine.It feels like the standard of care in the telehealth ketamine industry is being pushed down not elevated. I felt an obligation to speak up about the economic incentives driving the race to the bottom in this industry.<h2 id="b9c4fdf7-5d82-442f-b9c6-91d424f65446">I hope that Matthew Perry's death will be a wake-up call for the industry</h2>The recent tragic events involving <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matthew-perry-dead-2023-10">Matthew Perry</a> are a stark reminder of the dangers inherent in this industry.I'm saddened by the potential that more cases of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-therapy-depression-treatment-addictive-drug-clinics-2023-1">addiction to ketamine</a> will inevitably arise. I'm hoping this event will be a wake-up call for the industry.I don't know Perry's medical history, but I'm not surprised that medical practitioners were willing to let him try ketamine. He appears to have liked it and started <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matthew-perry-death-arrest-law-enforcement-investigation-2024-8">getting the drug on the black market.</a> Two doctors have now been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czrgp7pj4g2o">charged</a> over his death.On social media, I've called for a voluntary pause on at-home <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-did-ketamine-therapy-for-my-depression-and-it-helped-2022-4">ketamine therapy</a> while the industry develops minimum standards for care because currently, it's a wild wild west.Standards like mandatory assessments before ketamine is prescribed, ongoing monitoring of patient outcomes, rigorous certification for all practitioners and regular audits and penalties for non-compliance, enforced by federal health agencies and professional associations. The FDA has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/fda-alerts-health-care-professionals-potential-risks-associated-compounded-ketamine-nasal-spray">released multiple warnings</a> on their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/fda-warns-patients-and-health-care-providers-about-potential-risks-associated-compounded-ketamine">website,</a> and the DEA has opened a case mentioned earlier, but this is not enough.I believe no medical practitioner should be insured to prescribe ketamine unless they live up to those minimum standards. This is a vulnerable patient population.Ketamine's positive impact on mental health <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8715255/">is well-documented</a>. The issue is the lack of meaningful regulation for an industry sending <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13580285/warning-mail-order-ketamine-therapy-injectable.html">increasingly powerful psychological medications</a> to patients' homes.The data we collected at Nue Life showed that ketamine therapy can be promising, but sustainable improvements often require therapy, aftercare, and integration, which aren't always economically viable for providers to offer.Ignoring the ethical and medical dilemmas of 'maintenance ketamine therapy' risks prioritizing profits over patient welfare.Editor's note: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matthew-perry-death-arrest-law-enforcement-investigation-2024-8#:~:text=Inside%20Matthew%20Perry's%20last%20days,big%20one'%20in%20a%20jacuzzi&amp;text=The%20last%2C%20drug%2Daddled%20days,the%20dose%20that%20killed%20him.">Matthew Perry's death</a> was attributed to the "acute effects of ketamine" as well as drowning and coronary artery disease in a report from the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office, according to prior BI reporting. Anne Milgram, a DEA administrator, said in an August press conference that Perry became addicted to intravenous ketamine after seeking treatment for anxiety and depression at a local clinic, BI reported. Five defendants, including two doctors, have been charged in connection with his death.Juan Pablo Cappello is not affiliated with the successor of Nue Life Health, who operates <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nue.life">www.nue.life</a>. The opinions expressed herein are solely Mr. Cappello's and are focused on the at-home ketamine industry and not any one provider in particular.In a statement shared with Business Insider, the current CEO of Nue Life, Daniel Love, said he and Capello agree that patient safety should be prioritized over economic gain. He also said he's never felt pressured by investors to pursue profit over purpose."Our first and foremost goal is to provide safe and affordable access to those in need," he said.Love said Nue Life's current screening procedures involve medical consultations, a review of patient psychiatric history, and an assessment of their home environment. He said that judgements around prescribing medication are made solely by medical providers after conducting a review of data maintained by state Prescription Monitoring Programs.According to Love, the company requires patients to have a "supportive caretaker" during treatments and offers one-to-one coaching and medical provider consultations as part of its Nue Reset program.Love said that Nue Life would welcome clearer standards across the industry, but suggested that Capello's call for an industry-wide pause could impact patient support: "We cannot just hit 'pause' for a patient in the middle of treatment. There are second-order impacts one would need to think through. What would people who need support and help do in the interim?"

I launched a ketamine startup but now feel obligated to speak out against the industry. Matthew Perry's death should be a wake-up call.  

The far-reaching consequences of the <keyword id="19955291" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="COVID-19-pandemic" source="keywords">COVID-19 pandemic</keyword> have reshaped humanity’s future in ways we are only beginning to understand. This global health crisis didn’t just disrupt lives—it also shattered nearly a decade of global health progress, a startling new report by the <keyword id="19902256" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Health-Organisation" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="World Health Organisation" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="World Health Organisation">World Health Organisation</keyword> (<keyword id="19895006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="WHO" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="WHO">WHO</keyword>) has revealed. According to the <keyword id="21164185" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Health-Statistics" source="keywords">World Health Statistics</keyword> 2024 report, the <keyword id="8763838" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="COVID-19" source="Orion">COVID-19</keyword> pandemic reversed over a decade of advancements in <keyword id="21716169" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-life-expectancy" source="keywords">global life expectancy</keyword> within a mere two years. From 2019 to 2021, <keyword id="14078" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="life-expectancy" source="Orion">life expectancy</keyword> worldwide plummeted by 1.8 years, dropping to 71.4 years. Similarly, global <keyword id="21842689" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="healthy-life-expectancy" source="keywords">healthy life expectancy</keyword> decreased by 1.5 years, falling to 61.9 years. The last time both these levels were so low was back in 2012! The report also underscores the uneven impact of the pandemic across different regions. The WHO regions of Southeast Asia and the Americas were hit the hardest, experiencing a decline in life expectancy by approximately three years and a drop in healthy life expectancy by 2.5 years between 2019 and 2021. In stark contrast, the Western Pacific Region saw minimal effects during the same period, with losses of less than 0.1 years in life expectancy and 0.2 years in healthy life expectancy. Furthermore, COVID-19 swiftly became a leading cause of death, ranking as the third highest globally in 2020 and the second in 2021, claiming nearly 13 million lives during this period. The latest data indicates that, except in the African and Western Pacific regions, COVID-19 was among the top five causes of death, notably becoming the leading cause of death in the Americas for both years. “There continues to be major progress in global health, with billions of people who are enjoying better health, better access to services, and better protection from health emergencies. But we must remember how fragile progress can be,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “In just two years, the COVID-19 pandemic erased a decade of gains in life expectancy. That's why the new <keyword id="21604359" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic-Agreement" source="keywords">Pandemic Agreement</keyword> is so important: not only to strengthen global health security, but to protect long-term investments in health and promote equity within and between countries.” The new Pandemic Agreement, also known as the ‘Pandemic Accord’ or ‘Pandemic Treaty’, is an international pact currently under negotiation by the 194 member states of the WHO. This accord aims to enhance global readiness and response to pandemics, ensuring the world can effectively prevent, prepare for, and respond to future health crises. The negotiation process is spearheaded by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), established by the <keyword id="20294860" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-health-assembly" source="keywords">World Health Assembly</keyword> in 2021. The INB's goal is to finalise the agreement for adoption at the 2024 World Health Assembly, scheduled from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva, Switzerland. This year's Health Assembly theme, ‘All for Health, Health for All,’ underscores the universal commitment to this crucial initiative.

COVID-19 pandemic caused global life expectancy to fall back to 2012 levels, erasing a decade’s worth of progress: WHO

The pharmaceutical giant <keyword id="19910149" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AstraZeneca" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="AstraZeneca" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="AstraZeneca">AstraZeneca</keyword>'s <keyword id="20040659" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="COVID-19-vaccine" source="keywords">COVID-19 vaccine</keyword> is being withdrawn worldwide after the company acknowledged for the first time in court documents that it can cause a rare and dangerous side effect, according to a report in the British Newspaper 'The Telegraph'. AstraZeneca has announced that the <keyword id="19959412" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vaccine" source="keywords">vaccine</keyword> was being removed from markets for commercial reasons. It further said that the vaccine was no longer being made or supplied, having been superseded by updated vaccines that fight new variants. The application to withdraw the vaccine was made on March 5 and came into effect on May 7. The vaccine can be no longer used in the European Union following the company's decision to withdraw its "marketing authorisation." Similar applications will be submitted in the UK and other nations in the coming months that have given a go-ahead to the vaccine, known as Vaxzevria. In recent months, Vaxzevria has come under scrutiny over a very rare side effect, which causes blood clots and low blood platelet counts. In court documents, AstraZeneca in the High Court in February admitted that the vaccine "can, in very rare cases, cause <keyword id="20218859" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="TTS" source="keywords">TTS</keyword>". TTS which stands for <keyword id="21475609" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Thrombosis-with-Thrombocytopenia-Syndrome" source="keywords">Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome</keyword> has been associated with at least 81 deaths in the UK and hundreds of serious injuries. More than 50 alleged victims and grieving relatives have filed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca in a High Court case. AstraZeneca has insisted that the decision to withdraw the vaccine is not related to the case or admission that it can cause TTS and termed the timing a pure coincidence, according to The Telegraph report. "We are incredibly proud of the role Vaxzevria played in ending the global pandemic. According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over three billion doses were supplied globally. Our efforts have been recognised by governments around the world and are widely regarded as being a critical component of ending the global pandemic," The Telegraph quoted AstraZeneca as saying. In a statement, the pharmaceutical giant said, "As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed, there is a surplus of available updated vaccines", adding that it has led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied, The Telegraph reported. It further announced its decision to initiate the withdrawal of the marketing authorisations for Vaxzevria within Europe. The company said, "We will now work with regulators and our partners to align on a clear path forward to conclude this chapter and significant contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic." Last week, AstraZeneca reiterated its commitment to patient safety while emphasising the vaccine's overall safety profile. An AstraZeneca spokesperson had stated, "Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones or reported health problems. Patient safety is our highest priority, and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines." This comes in the wake of a recent admission by AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company, that its <keyword id="19896627" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid" source="keywords">Covid</keyword> vaccine Covishield and Vaxzevria "can, in very rare cases, cause Thrombosis Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS)." Despite these rare occurrences, the pharmaceutical company maintained that extensive clinical trial data and real-world evidence consistently support the vaccine's safety and efficacy. Regulatory agencies worldwide continue to assert that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of such extremely rare side effects. 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AstraZeneca withdraws COVID-19 vaccine worldwide, cites commercial reasons

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gov. Ron DeSantis was an early proponent of the COVID vaccine, urging the elderly to get the shot.</li><li>But as Republican sentiments toward the vaccines shifted, DeSantis began downplaying his support.</li></ul>Gov. Ron DeSantis is building his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/desantis-campaign-launch-on-twitter-spaces-off-to-gltichy-start-2023-5">fledgling 2024 presidential campaign</a> on the <a href="https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/florida-got-it-right-gov-desantis-touts-states-pandemic-recovery-success-at-cpac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supposed merits of his COVID-19 response in Florida</a>, often touting the state's prioritization of protecting personal freedoms over mask mandates and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/desantis-offended-police-coronavirus-vaccine-mandate-florida-biden-lawsuit-2021-10">vaccine requirements.</a>But a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/22/us/politics/ron-desantis-covid.html?unlocked_article_code=z9mcZHbXGsYC9NPeydXsslIz4V9QWmOnLvyrwsWicVl_oi_eiI-nzMpmYHQTUaZDSx7YdAHgndrir75VLOLTxS6wJQAxUpFZjqjPTNumViMSf6D3LcKjkp1ACoGUrXLvzcXuPLjYUPIr5wX9AEenyY2VYcCQfIAhSB5zyLUFIQ23MBGI0BFhOIIhk-MFG-nDnOmyk_iB5XBBhsgbARVVEnLoj1KAAQHKVgde9nbO1a_EpQccws9OZuHZg3mEhWNdSh-3qL8cc-QbuObb7ivu7kuTohJ25zJbqAfXMJ3mtptQ82l3BtXbxY8mVOVxeNfVBj_zvOR5mF-T2rXsKdeTWQ&amp;smid=tw-share">New York Times report</a> published Saturday suggests the Florida governor's <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2022/12/15/gov-ron-desantis-shifting-positions-vaccines-under-fire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shifting public attitude toward vaccines</a> throughout the pandemic may correlate with an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-florida-reports-its-highest-death-toll-yet-2020-7">unnecessary spike in deaths throughout the state during the brutal Delta wave</a> in the summer of 2021. The Times found that the majority of Florida's COVID deaths took place after vaccines were readily available to all adults — not before, as was the case in many Democratic-led states, as well as nationwide. A spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Florida was initially one of the early success stories of the pandemic. The state's death rate throughout the first year of the pandemic was lower than all but 10 other states, The Times reported, and Florida was ahead of the curve in vaccinating people 65 and older in early 2021. While <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-texas-vaccinating-people-65-and-older-covid-2020-12">DeSantis made efforts to get elder Floridians vaccinated early on</a>, his approach seemed to shift as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/just-45-of-house-republicans-say-theyve-gotten-a-covid-19-vaccine-2021-5">the Republican party stoked increased skepticism about the science behind the shots.</a> By the spring of 2021, as the vaccines became more readily available to adults of all ages, DeSantis was instead emphasizing his opposition toward mandates and offering some appraisals of the shot, according to The Times.The governor also bolstered medical officials who have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-surgeon-general-cut-data-covid-19-vaccine-safety-study-2023-4">downplayed the severity of the virus</a>, including appointing Florida State Surgeon General, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-surgeon-general-joseph-ladapo-covid-19-vaccine-mask-mandate-2021-9">Dr. Joseph Ladapo, in September 2021, who publicly questioned the vaccine's effectiveness</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-florida-public-health-ron-desantis-9bcb627b5168b0a957a2064ec29b6dd1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">would not say whether he himself got the shot.</a>By July 2021, Florida's vaccine numbers had fallen from their early lead, and rates of vaccination among younger adults in the state were below the national average, the outlet reported. The consequences of that downward trend would be on full display when the Delta variant ravaged the country in the summer of 2021. The Times analysis found that Floridians died at a higher rate, adjusted for age, than people in almost any other state during the Delta wave. Florida made up 14% of deaths between July and October 2021, despite representing less than 7% of the country, according to The Times. Twenty-three-thousand Floridians died during the Delta wave, and 9,000 of them were younger than 65 — a majority of whom were either unvaccinated or had not finished their two-dose regimen, the newspaper reported. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/republican-gop-now-urge-people-vaccines-after-anti-vaxx-stance-2021-7">DeSantis suddenly began recommending vaccinations again</a> as July 2021 came to a close and cases skyrocketed, The Times reported.The governor has previously taken issue with the suggestion that his comments about vaccines played a role in Florida's case count, suggesting that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/governor-ron-desantis-signed-legislation-prevent-florida-covid-vaccine-mandates-2021-11">his opposition was toward mandates</a> and not the shots themselves. But local officials in Florida told The Times that DeSantis' public shift on vaccines was notable.Dr. Alina Alonso, the recently-retired health director for Palm Beach County, told The Times DeSantis' messaging went from, "Let's get everybody vaccinated 65 and older" to "Vaccines are not really useful." Florida's death rate eventually fell in the autumn, as many other states' rates did when the wave subsided. In total, Florida's death numbers throughout the pandemic, when adjusted for age, actually trended better than the national average, according to The Times. But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/desantis-latest-anti-covid-vaccine-action-draws-contrasts-with-trump-2022-12">DeSantis' vaccine pivots</a> are worth reckoning with, Dan Gelber, the Democratic mayor of Miami Beach, told The Times."There are people in the state who will do what he says," Gelber said. "He's a popular governor."

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