he won her 1st olympic gold medal at the age of 15 she'd be 24 when the games begin in july. she's eager to actress 6 medal count and it dicky won't rule out breaking a record or 2. though watching news up next hour special focusing today on high risk groups who are still waiting to be vaccinated thank you for that. things become. the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. has the rate of infection been developing what does the latest research say. information and context the coronavirus update code 19 special. on t.w. . how does

a virus spread. why do we have it and when will. and we just threw the tag. and we couldn't read your blog. if you would like any information on the chrono laroche or any other science topic we should really check out our podcast wherever you get your podcast you can also find us at. science. your immune system is critical for fighting off disease but millions of people around the world are immunocompromised their immune system is weakened by a genetic disorder chronic illnesses like cancer or diabetes. living with such diseases is hard enough in the best of time spent in the age of coded 19 a post. test could be

a death sentence. as nations race to get their populations vaccinated various with an already compromised immune system are often not at the top of the list so how can an overburdened medical systems keep these at risk people from falling behind. welcome to a new edition of the 19 special here on d w i want to get johnson billing good to have you with us and even better if you are among the lucky ones those who already got vaccinated because the majority have to wait their turn even if their health is already compromised full for weeks now tossed in kabul has been at the last uk university medical center in germany the 49 year old was diagnosed with cancer last summer the chemotherapy and surgery made him weak and compromised his immune system while news about the coronavirus pandemic was dominating the headlines. are next of course it's scary you now have

this extra danger out there and you don't know what's on the horizon what are we walking into here and what kind of impact will the chemotherapy after because of the high risk of infection tossed in kabul lived in strict voluntary quarantine when still at home he was separated from his family with all possible hygiene measures. he will shortly be leaving the hospital and hopes for a vaccination soon to at least get rid of the fear of covert. that would be a huge huge leap forward it would be a massive relief when i'm in pretty bad physical condition but i can't imagine that i would survive even a moderate case of the coronavirus. of. a german government vaccination board regulates who will get the vaccine and when several 1000000 doses will arrive in the next few weeks this frees up places on the waiting lists and increases the chances for youngest seriously ill patients to be

vaccinated more quickly it's a real opportunity say experts to have at least a little bit of normalcy the psyche plays an important role in healing contactor contacts and social surroundings are a very important resource and coping with cancer and these are now very limited or not possible at all for some patients. and to compensate for that along with all the other problems is quite a challenge. doctors should now be able to directly register their seriously ill patients for an earlier vaccination appointment how this will work in practice needs to be regulated as soon as possible. in addition to the revised vaccination recommendations our organization is interested in working together with the cancer centers to create a kind of point system so that we can do justice to the situation of the individual

patient individual. patient that this news brings a ray of new hope for tossing garble he wants to fight for his health a vaccination would take away a lot of his worries. for more let's bring in caleb alexander a professor of epidemiology and medicine at johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health very good to have you with us and 1st of all please what is the difference between a week or a compromised immune system and a suppressed immune system. well thank you very much for having me and it's a pleasure to join you and your audience sometimes we use these terms interchangeably a weaker compromised immune system and a suppressed immune system but in health care sometimes we seek to suppress a person's own immune system using that dozens of people that have auto immune diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis or schroeder's syndrome and so

sometimes we use medicines to suppress the immune system and in other cases people have diseases such as cancer or aids hiv or advanced cardiovascular disease that weakens their own immune system so when i have either a weak and you system or my immune system has been suppressed how does the for affect my chances when fighting code in 1000. well it's an outstanding question and i wish that there was a completely simple answer for you of course we can start understanding that it's better to have a fully constituted immune system when possible but the effects of immunosuppression on being able to fight cove it may depend in part on why one is immunosuppressed and there's some good news as well for example we've been looking at the effect of medicines that cause chronic immunosuppression such as prednisolone or tacrolimus

or michael fennelly these are medicines that are often given to people to help suppress their immune system and what we've found is that individuals taking these medicines don't fare any worse than their counterparts if they're infected with cove it so the bottom line is that individuals with immunosuppression need to be vigilant need to engage in what we know are evidence based public health measures such as wearing masks and maintaining social distancing in order to minimize the likelihood of covert infection but the likelihood of severe disease if you do get infected may depend in part on why your immune system is being suppressed oh well that brings me exactly to the next question because when it comes to a suppressed or a weak immune system is the situation the danger of getting seriously ill with 19 is that the same for you mentioned any accounts of patients of those suffering from

diabetes for example and those whose immune system has been actively suppressed because of a heart and kidney transplant patient is there a difference. i think the totality of evidence to date suggests that the risks of severe code it or the risks of infection may vary depending upon why once immune system is suppressed so i've already told you for example that for individuals taking medicines that suppress the immune system that they have appeared to do ok i mean just as well as their counterparts if they get infected but we do know that many people with one condition that can sort that can cause immunosuppression say cancer don't just have cancer many of these individuals are of advanced age they may have diabetes some may have obesity and they may have a history of tobacco use i mean there are other risk factors and so what we see

that really put people at the greatest risk is not necessarily when they have one specific condition that can pose potential harm but individuals that have multiple co-morbid conditions and these stack up on one another and can really put people at increased risk of more severe outcomes right and of course there are already quite a few healthy people out there they're very skeptical skeptical towards getting vaccinated. to people with a weak immune system they will reach. well i'm an active internist and i have a clinical practice and i encourage my patients whether there are you know suppressed or not to get vaccinated the vaccines that are out there such as the am or in a vaccine these are not live virus there is no risk of causing posted by getting these vaccines but we do have to recognize that that the that the vaccines have not been studied in large numbers of individuals with immunosuppression so we don't

have all of the information that one might wish for i think the most likely thing is that the vaccines will ultimately turn out to be less effective because people may have a chronic condition such as cancer or they may be taking medicines that suppress their immune system they may not be able to mount as aggressive or as robust a response to the vaccine itself and so it's very important that so so i think this is an important consideration absolutely absolutely came about xander there professor of epidemiology and medicine attempts hopkins bloomberg school of public health thank you so much for your time thank you for having me. now while vaccination seems to be the best way out of this pandemic effective treatment is also important and that brings us to one of your questions and our science correspondent eric williams. could use

convalescent plasma from people who have been vaccinated as well as from people who are covered this turned out to be tricky to ensor i need to run over some background again convalescent plasma is taken from the blood of people who survived an illness and given to those who thought the illness it's a method that's been employed with varying degrees of success to treat patients for for over a century now the idea behind it is that the antibodies to a pathogen contained in the blood plasma of a survivor might help hinder the emergence of full blown severe disease in those who've been exposed to the pathogen for the 1st time potentially saving lives in the current pandemic there's still no really solid evidence from trials that convalescent plasma is definitely an effective treatment for hiv at 19 but there

are enough indicators that it does help when given at the right time for the f.d.a. to approve it for emergency use in the u.s. now vaccines also prompts an antibody response in recipients so theoretically blood from someone who's been vaccinated could also be used to produce convalescent plasma however in its guidance the f.d.a. says people who want to donate have to have actually had the disease within the last 6 months which is to ensure the covert 19 convalescent plasma collected from donors contain sufficient antibodies directly related to their immune response to info. action which is pretty vague so no specific reason given really for why but it's likely the decision involves the fact that approved vaccines only produce

antibodies against a quite specific target on the virus the spike protein having the disease on the other hand produces a wider spectrum of them so convalescent plasma from people who've been vaccinated would be different and require its own trials confusing the picture even more for a medicinal product where the experts are still trying to clarify effectiveness. that's all for today thanks for watching. the state from hong kong they couldn't be more different yet these 4 activists have one thing in common. they become enemies of the state in china and they currently live in exile in london. and from there they continue their fight against political

repression in their homeland. the close up. next on d w. eco india. the green home means more than having lots of crops the design the materials the energy source all have to be sustainable up cycling also reduces the climate impacts of. living and eco friendly life can be inspiring going green looks good to. the. people 60 minutes on t w. look closely. listen carefully.

don't just sit through these 2 tickets. to discover who. subscribed to documentary on you tube. my price tag was 100000 so if they calls me all maybe i can nab me all killed me then did some people could get paid 410-0000. been the last became a chinese enemy of the state overnight he is one of

a growing number of hong kong ours who are currently flaming to britain. the trend has been sparked by draconian laws introduced by china to massively restrict the rights of hong kong citizens. those who demonstrate against china such as photographer jim walsh face harsh police measures criminal charges and imprisonment . this is a. everybody just knowledge about this radio and all of them live in this style. from their london exile internationally known representatives of the hong kong democracy movement such as nathan law. trying to wake up europe my message to the european freedom loving people is don't take freedom for granted your liberal democracy sits on the called sun tracks.

nathan law is one of hong kong's best known democracy activists. americas time magazine recently listed him as one of the 100 most influential people worldwide. after china effectively declared the democracy movement illegal last summer citing its so-called national security law 27 year old nathan fled to london and has since been pursuing his campaign in exile. this comes at a high price for him. i don't know who the. 3

months ago when i had successfully and safely passed the border control of hong kong airport and boarded the flight to london i reminded myself leaving is not the ending leaving marks a new start. looking out on top of one of our comrades are leaving hong kong more and more for the u.k. due to political oppressions back home. and then they really have to overturn it if to say goodbye to my fellows and to my families because i understand that i will endanger them because see that the one who suffer. not only the ones who are being prosecuted but their families. all nathan law has become cautious. after he fled in june 2020 he kept his whereabouts a secret. i think many of the democracy activists are afraid that unknown assailants might ambush them harm them or kidnap them and take them to china do you

think the last speech in october was his 1st public appearance in his new home. they don't feel it's a boy at all we don't even know if our personal safety would be threatened you know we can never be sure what random guys turning up and approaching us are going to do hey something to get to both i thought i came home i think i. said oh it was all gloom and. doom. in nathan laws native hong kong a battle has been raging between 2 systems for years and it's now escalating. when britain handed over its former crown colony to the people's republic of china in 1997 beijing guaranteed hong kong as a certain amount of autonomy and democratic freedoms such as the right to vote. but

beijing has since been trying to restrict these freedoms with laws which undermine the freedom of expression and freedom of the press. nathan law has been fighting this since his student days he went into politics early and was the youngest politician ever to enter the city parliament and much to the disgruntlement of the pro china hong kong government. law and his fellow activists were also involved in the mass protests against the growing influence of china in 2019. china finally stifled these. tests in june 2020 where the draconian law which among other things allows for so-called dangerous persons to be extradited to china.

to cling to london seems to be the only safe way out for many critics of china but not all of the make it these exiled hong kong ers are demonstrating for the release of 12 young democracy activists beijing had arrested them as they were trying to flee to taiwan they have been detained in china ever since august monza seemed and humble the legacy and okami a move will not give up when you do one vote we could do whenever we are really really hopeless. nathan law is considered a hero by many hong kong years and particular those who recently had to flee just like have the. people such as photographer jim walsh see contact with him and ask his advice and want to be around to have a lot more they vote for all of them for their 1st home here. for

a dollar with a helmet gas mask and diving goggles. this is the gear worn by activists to protect themselves from tear gas and water cannons in hong kong one of the ok for many of the refugee activists such encounters will be a highlight in the coming weeks of their life in exile. the tog referred jim walsh fled to london 2 months after nathan long he too took part in the protests against china for which he faces a long prison sentence. this put him in a dilemma. either stay in hong kong and live with the constant fear of going to jail or swap his life with family and friends for the loneliness and supposed freedom. when i was

leaving i didn't tell anyone says. including my families but i. settled on the here and try to tell my story to my friends to my families to know. the situation of my. when i try to contact my family and the school that this really is a serious problem because i never go back to hong kong and they just cry on the phone. long is currently waiting to be granted asylum. he has hardly any money no job and no new friends as yet. his calls to his girlfriend in hong kong are often the highlight of his day. how about you are you planning to quit your job. not really i'm just waiting to get

fired. you are better off being fired you should discuss this with me if you want to leave are you planning to come here what's your plan or even that had been. it really depends on whether or not i get fired if i haven't signed the contract they would have fired me. of a meeting so we could only stay quit and wait and see let's talk again later. for the moment you know when i get home. or. the pain of separation whoa. i'm sickness and loneliness. the fact that jim one fled in the middle of a pandemic where everyone in the world is keeping their distance makes everything

more difficult. when i 1st arrived in london i feel bad because trying to cope at 19 or day country have been lost on i remember the fall of the moment this is set crazy all the work gone crazy because they says so i mean really. since the virus took a firm hold on london it's gone quiet in the metropolis. it's virtually impossible for new arrivals like hmong to meet people. he describes his new life in exile in a blog. to help the unemployed photographer make ends meet readers paid to read

it. his 1st blog entry shows his journey into exile. you can see this is the video when i was leaving hong kong. it just feels so unreal and so horrible and uncertain when i want to see hong kong again i can watch that video because that video means a lot to me. there is no forever in the world. when i look back at those things i feel it still complicated and yeah i wish i could go back in that moment. i

am back to the time when he and all the others in hong kong still believed that they could succeed in their fight for democracy i was the 31st of august 29th was the day that shattered that belief. in this underground station police action against the demonstrators was so brutal that hong kong hours have now turned the place into a memorial site for their protests. jim walsh is one of those who was seriously injured i thought i will be that natural because. the scenes all the presents were stationed on that night he said horrible you know everybody can't hurt just like at the sauce this movie. this is a i am god. everybody just knows about this we do and

all of them we did this i thought it was so you can see that still chasing. my breath and i just ran into the elevator because people who could have protested. the prosecutors accused wong of participation in an illegal gathering 8 further charges were added later he was threatened with up to 10 years in jail was when i realize that reality. i'm so desperate after 3 days i brought my ticket from the internet and tried to live in the movies secretly i don't even tell anybody just leave. the u.k. had previously granted hong kong years a 6 month stay without a visa. in summer the british government announced that citizens of the former colony could stay for up to 5 years and then become naturalized this is why so many

of them are heading to the u.k. . this former employee of the british consulate in hong kong was accused of espionage by the chinese authorities he was abducted and tortured. today he lives in a shared flat in london the u.k. has granted him political asylum. simon chang volunteered to work for the british consulate in hong kong when they were seeking local staff. his job was to report on the protests from the inside and document the activities on local social media channels he completely denies any allegations of espionage. from some of the people's perspective they thought that i'm spying but it just depends on your position i feel this color information as

you see it this kind of things are all public information but if i want to collect those public information and let the british diplomat to get better to get a better understanding what's actually happening in hong kong so why not. china saw it differently and arrested chang at hong kong airport in august 29th. when i've been out of detention center i almost immediately have been hanged coffee shop court. and apply for it. and then to trot me on to the point where. the whole scenario people like to keep interrupting and then stay true of me or to a known places and those that hold me up i cannot move just a little bit and when you if you are paying for sword get shot for one see a flu shot for the picture. there it may at the because.

it's way toward. ringback i can't feel for how many girls but it seems like it's was. for 15 days nobody knew where cheney was. whether it was due to the public campaign or pressure from the british government china released it after various detours he arrived in london 6 months later. i have always have an eye for example light china's age and want to bring me back in the u.k. or i realize i'm certainly home always that sense of feel good home to. be the uncertainty and fear. from the last time i can. i was still the worker for the car so that's now. i.

charge for the rest back to my hometown. simon chang is currently living from his savings and sometimes writes for the media . he doesn't know how long things will continue like this. china's policies also affect hong kong years who have been living in london for a longer time. property expert finland now moved to london for a job in early 2019. as mass protests got going in hong kong nobody realized he was one of the organizers of the movement writing in online forums under his pseudonym launch out. last fall mark latham his slogan us fight for freedom and stand with hong kong

have now become battle cries and i am. the man who nobody knew became an anonymous hero by day and conspicuous employee but after work and undercover force driving the democracy protests i cannot. and my friends is what it is doing and all the other by him. so should they i would not let them through no too many if not for it goes against the safety issue so i'm struggling because i can. tell. and they were what i faced. his cover was blown in the summer of 2020. journalists discovered and revealed the

identity of the person behind the pseudonym mom chow virtually overnight the 26 year old became an enemy of the chinese state at 1st he didn't know what to do after 2 months of a hole in the rail face and i just feel that i need to say he's now a wanted man in hong kong cloud decided to be proactive and publish the video in october a declaration of war on china from exile greetings this is the land shall alias feed now yes this is my actual appearance it was never our aim to become refugees hong kong a scanner cross the globe must demonstrate our unique words and strengths in impending the c.c.p. creating our own future and earning respect from international allies in the meantime give us liberty or give us death. many of the hong kong democracy activists started getting organized and monday in

the fall. some of them are more radical like these demonstrators in front of the chinese embassy. but most of them are fighting a peaceful campaign for democracy in their native country like photographer jim was . a lawful focus no protests on friday and every friday they would have a lot of guys coming to the u.k. from the hong kong and just want to. understand what the situation they are facing . up to. the regular fridays for freedom demonstrations during the winter have also increasingly become a networking event for the democracy activists. many of them are worried about their. livelihoods. i so you have been staying in the same place the high water the same place and i've started looking for

a job you like. for you this shouldn't be too much to worry about it's wiring i'm running out of money. it should be all right i should manage to find myself a job you shouldn't have any problem. often say how about either has that if i have to beg for money these days. the former staffer of the british consulate in hong kong simon chang is part of the group. i thought about the i was told. him we're going. to see or. each one of us is in. power and yet there is no difference between the ones who was standing in the front line and those who was a poor friend backstage we should encourage them to speak out but if there were no

he dares to speak out her own congress horses would be heard in transit this is being what the chinese communist party is trying to achieve so i can talk you know it's all i see is i was then they start singing their secret national anthem glory to hong kong was now a days they could be arrested for singing this in hong kong i am who i can speak for myself i can speak korean so that's a things how much money cannot buy so i was still feel lucky i'm still alive through was there during. the very different from what i found while long and chad campaign for hong kong from exile events in their homeland have come to a head. hong kong's security forces are arresting more and more. democratic politicians and journalists who are critical of china. the whole democratic opposition has resigned and increasingly more famous activists such as joshua long

are being given prison sentences. how do the activists in london react to such news from home. nathan law tweets his feelings. it is despairing to witness your dearest friends being imprisoned while you are living in exile yes you have your role overseas yet no matter how hard i work a sense of guilt always haunts me i feel like i owe them something that i cannot repay a speechless night. this is surely a reason why nathan law travels tirelessly throughout europe. here he has become one of the main activists of the democracy for hong kong mission.

when china's leadership is on a state visit like here in september in germany nathan law is not far away condemning the chinese regime and supporting local activists. but not written. for him in a some us saying that germany could take the lead to take the sanction of mccann is a main european union to implement. chinese officials who are responsible for the humor isolation and to consider contemn measures source the national such a she law. back in london the autumn's 2nd coronavirus way may have restricted laws travelling the pharmacy but it has not so . him down his mission. my message to the european freedom nothing people is don't take freedom for granted your liberal democracy says under constant

threat by the most basic we fed them for the past that case so i'm urging you to really get your head straight to start working on constraining these author of harry expansion and trying to implement policies that hold these people accountable there are millions of people there are suffering under this sort of terry game and we're not going to pretend nothing happened. 2 doesn't talk about how he feels personally or how he's coping with his lonely life in london. he hasn't yet decided whether he will stay in london and apply for asylum. law makes a clear distinction between his political activism and his personal life. does reveal this if we realize that there is

a probability that couldn't able to go back for at least that case it's not a good feeling. emotionally is very demanding but for me i see it as more than myself about myself it's about how we can advance the cause of holocaust movement even though i had to pay the price are i'm willing to do so. then organizer of the protest movement stand with hong kong also constantly wonders whether his mission is worth the sacrifice. my price tag was $100000.00 pounds so if they cost me or maybe kidnap me all q. me some people could get paid for 100000 a 1st it will i was quite shocked after hearing such

a remark but then i just at that to do these sorts of fear. and it doesn't stop me from all fighting. so what is next for the activists. jim wong has plans for a future in exile. as soon as his asylum is granted he wants to move to brighton on england's south coast to watch the ocean and hear the crashing of the way. look at that new. there's beauty of all is that. this is the 1st time i see the ocean again. when i look at all since i feel peaceful. and. a lot of bad things you know.

i think i will try. to be on. the side and also my son or my on my son off my father on my boyfriend my girlfriend and i also on the 1st i need to think of my future my girlfriend to my family. to you. there will be another force open for you it is that god said that i need to have faith and i believe that the homers can freedom. in the future and the c.c.p. responsible and.

saeco india. a green home means more than having lots of crunch to design the materials the energy source all have to be sustainable dumpsite also reduces the climate impacts of. living an eco friendly life can be inspiring and going green looks good to. me and 30 minutes on t.w. . is in freefall the state has lost control. point in its longest missions are going to billions of flowing dark channels currently is

missing. who are living. in 75 minutes long t.w. . we've got some hot tips for your bucket list. the magic corner. hot spot for some. and some great cultural memorials to boot. w. trouble we go. this is news and these are our top stories. the biden administration is defending its decision not to punish saudi arabia's crown prince for the death of u.s. based journalist jim out. shoji the white house said it would recalibrate its relationship with riyadh which remains a strategic ally

a declassified report revealed that prince mohammed bin solomon likely approved g.'s killing in 2018. the united states.