cd highlights is selected for you. you every week in your inbox, subscribe. now. i am cathy k, a here in iowa, sexual assault survivor extent to step out and say the 2 half women in asia are empathy is infeasible. nothing can stop me. that is out. they can deal with these into starts july 6th. ah ah, it's summer in europe and people are spending a lot of time outdoors. few are worried about getting cove it now. almost all of the health restrictions and safeguards have been lifted, but in many places,

cases are on the rise. again. what stage are we at in the pandemic? that's the question will be asking in this edition of our coven 19 special, the head of the world health organization certainly sounds concerned with continued transmission. decreasing testing and sequencing, and 40 percent of the world's population is still unvaccinated, that pandemic is not, is not over. it's vital that old countries continue to bucks innate, especially those most atrocious, including held workers and people aged over 60. we began with a look at new corona virus studies on long coded and we'll meet a mexican researcher who's working on a new treatment for cove in 19. but 1st to germany. very few restrictions remain here in everyday life. politicians are debating the possible introduction of safety

measures for the coming fall in case the country is hit by another wave of infections. what do people on the street think? we canvassed opinion and berlin in the evenings when it's cooler and the sky is still light. people spill out on to prevent streets and into the parks. on the longest day of the year, the fates dilemma zeke always offers free outdoor concerts. this year, the events took place without any restrictions for the 1st time since the start of the pandemic. no proof of vaccination or negative code test was required. there wasn't a mask in sight and no way to socially distance. many have simply had enough precautions . they want to party together again and leave the pandemic behind them. it's wonderful. it's just 3 alive with though not everyone is so completely care

free. it does feel a bit strange, but it's archaic outside when i go indoors i do where mosque. and that still important on public transport. but it's nice to be able to bay here at dogs with how to mask again. but despite the nice summer weather, the number of covey cases is rising in berlin as elsewhere. the 7 day incidence now stands at over 430 per 100000 in people, and the actual number is likely to be far higher as few people are getting tested now, zebra, the cotton shine is a g. p in berlin, who's been treating covered 19 patients ever since the pandemic began. in recent weeks, she's been seeing more young people in us. many find it scary that their performance is impaired for many weeks, that they feel pressure in their chest. so self protection is still important. you can't prevent it completely kind of if you get it,

you get it. but it's not as if i'm a con doesn't cause an unpleasant enough and quite protracted illness. oh, it was a long each day between 30500 people come to this chest center and central berlin. it's operator says on average 20 percent of them are testing positive till now. the rapid anti gen tests were performed for free. but as of july, most people will have to pay for them and i met him in circumstances. i haven't been poor districts, it's extremely hard for people to pay 20 euros or something for a test. which means that once again, the things will split into those who have money and can get tested. and those in more disadvantage areas will be left behind and catch cove. it more often to prepare for the expected rise and infections. the german government plans to enact new measures before parlance summer break. 2 years ago berlin's 1st coven 19

patient was discovered in the mitch a district almost by chance. ever since the head of its health authority has fought for better equipment and more personnel. yet in september, the contracts of most support staff are set to expire. that right, that's good. who knows what kind of variant is coming out. we'll try once again to reach out to people who don't have the g. p to vaccinate and advise them as the assist it's high time to start planning things less the one the current omicron variant has even caused staff here to take a more relaxed approach. still dr. lucas morita cautions that any one who feels ill should stay home. the bullet album, gonzalez's vulnerable groups should get vaccinated, wear masks, and enclose spaces that can't be aired out. must otherwise have fun. and having fun is certainly what berliners are doing, boy. oh,

late. oh, boy, you're not. and what does the situation look like in south africa? the highly infectious alma khan berryanne was discovered here 6 months ago. it's now winter and yet the situation seems very relaxed as of africa is exiting its 5th cobit wave and restrictions have largely been lifted. no man, it's. he is returning to downtown to his back. last go on your man to was his boss. the sun is shining. we took some pictures of the good david ahmed with that to probably be over now. and there were 2 things are coming back to normal only a few months ago. the 1st global epicenter of the, on the cranberry and was right here. this area of the steep beaker academic hospital became be immediate response center for the spike and hospitalizations at the beginning of the countries full waive late last year. dr. reed abdulla

runs the hospitals cov, at 19 board. his team published the 1st paper on the severity of on the kron with only kron in our 4th wave. we saw a decoupling of the cases and the dix. you know, although there were lots of cases, we had fewer hospital admissions, less civility of disease. and then with our, of 12, with the be a $4.00 and $5.00 barriers. we had even a continuation of the most of the responsible. it's at the hospital of decommissioned. i did, i believe the mildest wave as a result of immunity billed from prior infection or vaccination, or both, which provides enough protection against only crohn and others. sauce covey to variance a survey of blood has indicated that

about 98 percent of some african population has lucky been exposed to the virus in some form. though the disease could be becoming endemic, dr. do this as managing it's spread, is still important. testing is completely up in south africa, most people don't test if they have suspect of coven. only those people who severely ill come to a hospital who get tested. so we can't really measure our cases by testing. interpreting trends in this new phase and determining the appropriate public health response required alternative covered 19 indicators. and that's the aim of the south african medical research councils, wastewater surveillance program. we visit the waist, what's appliance? every monday we will collect up to 9 samples, and we use or to detect did our,

a ne, in order to get an idea of the spread of cove at 19, in a community. the lab receives the samples, analyzes them, and reports results on this dashboard. and these electronic maps depict are, in a trends for over 80 sites and some of the countries most populous district 40 at another laboratory genome sequencing surveillance continues. though immunity to the highly mutated, highly transmissible army kron variant is likely to grow among the population. scientists advise caution is always a possibility q period. we don't always know what draws it, but it seems to be retired since immune priest passions. also just to avoid immunity, but it's also possible that the b maybe animal resorts that dr. additionally, mutations, research is agree, vaccination is the best line of defense vaccination drives like this one aim to

raise awareness and improve, take up curtailing the spread of the virus is harder and the cramped living conditions of many south african townships was really hard because we were like a little scared. what if some would get infected? yeah. so how is green trick you look for showed you still in the small house you might? yes it did. you do it. but despite increased access to vaccines and boosters, oh, the country's vaccination rates, dance are just 31 percent in this community where we work. we see that people have not been actively taking the lead in because most of all, they don't see the numbers as they so interface to with the one in about saving fixed. so those boxes and they will say for those who have taken them, and the last one is because they don't trust the government messaging. different

contexts affect how cove it develops. whilst of africa appears to have got off likely in the 5th life. the same might not be the case for other countries. do you have any questions on coven? 19, or science correspondent derek williams has the answers based on the latest research and analysis. send an email to covey producer at d. w dot com. this week's question is from e n such, he asks, how soon can we expect vaccines that target the owner, con variant. from the early days of the pandemic, experts had talked a lot about a big strength of messenger r n. a vaccines which is that it's easy to tweak them to respond to fast changing pathogens. when the highly mutated i'm a chron variant hit the scene and late 2021. it seemed like it was time for them to

really finally start fulfilling that promise. manufacturers announced that they could adjust and shift vaccine production by march. but that promised delivery date past months ago, and we're still waiting for our microns specific boosters. so what's taking so long? well, it's complicated and the experts that i read say that there are several issues, but really the central one seems to be that clinical trials with our micron specific m r n. a vaccine so far have returned kind of a, a mixed bag of results. alma crohn specific vaccines did do better against our micron than older ones did, but not really significantly better. and if they're not significantly better, then it'll be a lot harder to convince people that they need an arm, a chron booster. and if people aren't convinced that they really need them, then they just won't get them. which of course lowers

a pharmaceutical companies incentive to produce them. madonna now wants to provide what's called a bi vaillant booster this fall, which is a mix of its old vaccine against the original virus and a new i'm a chron specific one, pfizer and by on tag also just announced results with an army chron update vaccine, that look quite positive, but health care authorities are still looking at all that data. this issue really boils down to how health care authorities define the goals of vaccination. are they to prevent infection completely, but maybe only for a short time? or are they to build up more long term protection, but only against serious disease or hospitalization or death? because so far, at least existing vaccines appear to still be doing that quite well against amazon,

to green lighting and all mcclellan specific vaccine that just incrementally improves on that is not going to be enough to set off new mass vaccination drives, especially when most experts expect sorres' co be to, to continue to mutate and we have no idea what possibly vaccine resistant variance might pop up next. so long and short on the chron specific vaccines could be available by september, or so, at least in, in, by vaillant booster form. but ultimately, now it looks like they'll only be one piece in the corona virus vaccine puzzle. ah, to respond to the changing course of the pandemic, researchers worldwide are not only working on coven vaccines. they're also

developing new medications to help reduce the severity of infections. and minimize the symptoms. the efficacy of these drugs against new variance needs to be tested continually. we went to mexico to meet a scientist who is working on a new treatment and has some hurdles to overcome in the process. while many of us were confined to our hands during the pandemic, paola kasteel was also locked up. in this laboratory, the microbiologist is developing a bio pharmaceutical that's designed to stop south covey to from entering the cells and multiplying in the body. it focuses on sequences of the virus which have so far remained unchanged, meaning it should work for any variant and dances. if families jaron, the processes are testing the drug on all the variance that have emerged so far.

and i think that if we're expecting it to show 90 percent effectiveness against all the variance, to see of my thinking look, isn't a separate exam. that would mean that in 90 percent of cases, the drug prevent sauce covey 2 from replicating in humans cells. but this still needs to be tested on animals and later in clinical trials. developing new drugs is a lengthy and expensive process. and one of the biggest obstacles for paula castillo is work is finding the funds. because mexico government has cut the budget for science and research course when it comes to developing research project. getting financing in mexico's difficult project of the mystic error, but to come in the public funding that we get for our institution. projects is generally very limited by young female scientists like her steel, have a particularly hard time in mexico's male dominated science community. where the researcher was even urged to abandon her career after becoming pregnant. but she

refused to give up. the bio pharmaceutical she's developed has already passed the 1st phase and is due to undergo animal testing scene. but new cove at variance are slowing her down because she has to test her drug against each one on top of already dealing with a slash budget. see a kettle assisting one. if i want to do 50 trials, i need to remember my budget and restrict myself to what was planned at the start at me for originally i expected to be done in a year. now we're up to 3 years because there's not enough money for what we need to call in 2 months, she hopes to publish interim results. however, one epidemiologist at unit the largest university and latin america has expressed doubts about the real potential of this by a pharmaceutical. he points to the lack of reported evidence and the haste of the polytechnic institute in publicizing its findings. e,

in the same only clinical trials which have to be a publisher can show whether or not a product is genuinely effective. if it gets you bid i got here, they assume in advance that it must be effective because they're so convinced by its molecular structure wellness other than that if he says yet. but despite the doubts and lack of funding, it could ultimately be the need for effective ways to combat coven 19 that gives a boost to paula castillo work. and now science, update the cobit studies making the news this week long covered risks after vaccination. and how stress impacts mortality. some scientific studies have titles that are really hard to decipher. but this one is pretty self explanatory. you know, straight away that it's but long cove it end whether it can affect anyone, even someone who's vaccinated. one of the most important takeaways is that the research is found. that vaccination does lower your chances of getting long covered

if you end up catching the disease despite being vaccinated, a breakthrough infection. it also lower your risk of dying from the disease. he has a breakdown of some of their results. first, how probable is it that someone with a breakthrough infection will end up later with long cove its symptoms? to answer that question, the scientists compare the group of 33000 breakthrough patients with a range of different control groups. in total data from around 13000000 patients flowed into the study. so it was quite a large 1. 1 of the authors interpreted the articles long covered results in a twitter threat compared to unvaccinated people who got covered 19, he said, vaccinated people with breakthrough infections were 34 percent less likely to die. and 15 percent less likely to develop long cove its symptoms. so in summary,

the study helps clarify an issue that's long been under debate. it indicates that although vaccination does indeed lower the risk of developing long cove, it, it does so less than experts, had hoped. it's not a silver bullet against the condition. stress is bad for you. every one knows that, right? the authors of this new study, however, are a lot more specific. they say they've shown it's bad for the immune system and can cause diseases like coven 19 to be more severe and potentially deadly. the researchers looked at the distribution of immune system cells called lucas sites, and how they change in situations of acute stress. and held that process as tailored and guided by distinct regions in the brain. also known as white blood cells. lucas sites help defend the body against pathogens like south coffee. 2. by

the way, the study has so far been published on the what's known as accelerated article preview. so it hasn't yet completed the full editing process. and another caveat, the study was also in mice. that's important to know because it means we can't be certain the same things happen in the same ways in humans. even so though the results are interesting, they reveal that levels of certain white blood cells fell when the animals were exposed to acute stress. exactly the cells that are able to recognize and neutralize specific pathogens. then the research is exposed the most to the south covey to virus. and they observe that compared to the relaxed piers in a control group. the stressed out animals had higher viral loads and died at higher rates from the disease. in other words, in mice, at least, stress seems to play a role in both covet 19 severity and progression.

oh, despite progress made in the field of cove and research, the virus has resulted in large numbers of deaths world wide. so far, the virus has claimed over 6000000 lives in london. those who have lost friends and relatives have organized a memorial site. a place to commemorate those who lost their fight against the virus. one quiet act of love, a collective cry of grief and anger. each heart mocking a life in the u. k. los to cove it 19 inscribed by friends and loved ones left behind. the 1st hall i painted this, this one here, which is got steve snowman. steve is my partner for a long time, and my husband for 3 weeks friend haul, is among a group of bereaved volunteers who helped create and preserve london's cove at

memorial wall. it's now grown to is of 150000 hearts spanning a staggering 500 meters. it's just flabbergasted and see in this wall now. and how far it goes. it's just puts into perspective, it allows me to remember my partner am and make sure that he's old was your name, but will never forget these people. and obviously no one has they. i really appreciate seeing this. but behind this official looking memorial lies a remarkable story. it's a renegade project created without permission. and on the day the 1st hans were painted, fran was risking not only a fine, but jail. i've never broken the law letting me in my life. so, you know, there was a feeling of like, oh my goodness, i hope i don't go arrested. but actually at the same time, those last she don't care, i don't care. the worst thing in the world has happened to me and i don't carry, i don't care about anything like that anymore. behind the scenes they were being

advised by the antique of contact of his group known as lead by donkeys, who helped set them up with signs and son, which bulls to appear as official as possible. over a year later, the wolf still stands, but it's not without its controversy. deliberately such opposite parliament, it's making a political statement. seeking to criticize the government's handling of the pandemic. but should a memorial, which aims to represent all, promote the political opinions of some. i think the beauty of the whole is that it can be whatever you want it to be. if you just want the wall is a place of remembrance, then that is what the wall can be useful. if actually you feel angry at the government, putting a hole in the wall is a, is an act of almost the max of protests. but it doesn't have to be all those things . the government says it's planning to establish an official commemoration. but to create as like tom, the grass roots origins of this memorial or at the heart of its power. we felt really strongly. it was right that this act of memorial zation was,

was not in the hands of the government. this wall is, is a people's wall is a wolf for the people who lost loved ones that i think is the beauty of it. it's been installed by thousands of people over many weeks and it's still living and breathing. now if you like, for friends, every heart she paints is an act of love for her husband, steve, and the many others who were last is to wallace, absolute tumor and grief, and loss and fury, and rage and confusion. how has this happened in our country that this many people have gone? they're all dead. they're all dead. and and this symbolizes that lost in such a powerful way. in the years to come, it may be hard to memorialize the loss and the pain wrought by cove. it countless commemorations and countless countries. the countless dead will seek to try and

this was made by those who can tell the story of the pandemic best could be a model as we all attempt to process our collective grief. that's it for today. next week we had to portugal where the new omicron sub barry it be a 5 sa cobit infection sore despite the warm summer temperatures. scientists are still researching the barrier, which also pushed up portugal overall death rate. we'll see you next week until then stay healthy. ah ah ah ah

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this is the 77 percent. the platform for africa. you to repeat issues and share ideas. ah, you know, or this channel, we are not afraid to happen. delicate, because population is growing. and young people clearly have the solution. the future belongs to you. is 77 percent every weekend on d w. ah, leonardo da vinci's, mysterious masterpiece, perhaps the greatest leonardo masterpiece in the collection of the louvre and no, it is not the mona lisa. it is the virgin of the rocks, 2 versions, multiple copies, and

a hidden drawing. was there another symbolic meaning to this beautiful painting that perhaps we just don't understand? the search for answers starts july 7th on d, w. o . this is dw news live from berlin. china is leader visits hong kong to mark 25 years since britain returned the territory to chinese rule. she's in pings, visit comes 2 years after beijing imposes sweeping security law and hong kong that silenced the opposite.