Feast of the Epiphany (Jan. 6 annually) -- how to be observed in 2021? in Greece?

 from Washington Post dot-com

Greek churches held services Wednesday to mark the Feast of the Epiphany, flouting government restrictions to halt the spread of the coronavirus on one of the most important Orthodox Christian holidays.

Greece entered a hard lockdown Sunday amid a new rise in cases and ahead of a planned reopening of schools on Jan. 11. The lockdown included a ban on religious ceremonies, a move that angered the Greek Orthodox Church.

Earlier this week, church leaders wrote to the government and vowed to defy the ban. The Orthodox Church is highly influential in Greece, where the majority of the population is Orthodox Christian.

On Wednesday, congregants attended services in the capital, Athens, and other cities. Attendance was limited to between 25 and 50 people, depending on the size of the church, Greek media reported.

Police patrolled outside churches but did not prevent people from entering, Reuters reported.

The Feast of the Epiphany commemorates the baptism of Jesus. In some places, believers mark the holiday with a ritual that includes a priest throwing a cross into a body of water. Swimmers race to retrieve the cross and the diver who carries it back is believed to be blessed with good luck.

Greece has escaped some of the widespread covid surges in the rest of Europe, but suffered a peak in infections in November. About 133,000 people in Greece have contracted the virus, while some 4,400 people have died.

Inaugural Schedule (Monday, Jan. 18) ahead of Biden-Harris taking of oaths

from CNN dot-com

President-elect Joe Biden's inaugural committee will promote the national day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day as part of festivities ahead of the inauguration on January 20.

The President-elect, his wife Jill Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff are expected to participate in the day of service on January 18, a committee official said, though the details for their events were not immediately available.

The committee plans to work with organizations on the state, local and national level as well as service leaders and members of various communities to organize events. Organizers said the events will focus on providing Covid-19 relief and addressing issues highlighted by the pandemic, including "poverty, hunger, racial injustice, homelessness, mental health and educational disparities."

"President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris are empathetic leaders who know the crisis millions of American families are facing," Tony Allen, CEO of the inaugural committee, said. "And like Dr. King, they know that we must have a shared commitment — in word and in deed — to bring the nation together in service to others."

The inaugural committee will encourage the majority of events be held in a virtual format, but there may be some limited in-person events, which would follow health and safety protocols because of the pandemic, organizers said.

The committee plans to post service events and urge Americans to sign up for volunteer opportunities through its inaugural website. 

23 and me: Genetic Testing and Analysis -- my feedback from them in 2021

 We're extracting the DNA from the cells in your 

saliva sample. This step usually takes 1-2 weeks.

It’s time to free your DNA from the cheek, gum, and white blood cells in your saliva. Once done, we copy your DNA millions of times, before cutting it up into many pieces, cleaning it, and measuring it.

Studebaker National Museum - hours 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; opens noon Sundays

 SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) -You can check out some iconic rides of the 70′s at the Studebaker National Museum’s new Disco Decade Rides exhibit.

These cars came out after Studebakers stopped production, but mark a turning point in the way many North American cars are designed.

Folks are invited to check them out during the museum’s normal hours.

Location
201 Chapin Street
South Bend, IN 46601
(574) 235-9714
(888) 391-5600

COVID-19 POLICIES

• In accordance with Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s Executive Order, visitors are required to wear masks when in the Museum.
• Visitors are asked to practice social distancing and maintain six (6) feet between themselves and others.
• Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is available throughout the building.
• The Museum may be open with a reduced capacity limit depending on final guidance from the Governor and state health officials.
• We ask visitors who are sick to stay home until symptoms resolve.

School Closings (N. Indiana & SW Michigan) - January 2021

 Due to power outages - also Elkhart, IN Schools

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – All South Bend Community schools will be closed Monday, Jan. 4, 2021

due to power outages across the corporation.

All virtual and in-person learning is canceled on this day.

Tragedy at Winona, TX -- Jan. 3, 2021

Starrville Methodist Church (Winona, TX) -- coverage from online article Longview, TX News-Journal 

Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said the pastor opened the bathroom door and was confronted by a person who was hiding. The pastor had a firearm, drew his firearm on the person and ordered him to stop. He came toward the front door, lunged and took the pastor's firearm and killed him.

Two other victims have gunshot wounds and are being treated.

A Harrison County Deputy caught the suspect who took the pastor's vehicle. The person had the church bank bag.

One person is dead and several others are injured after that church shooting. 

First Vaccine granted EUL (Emergency Use License) - 12/31/2020 - Geneva HQ

 from WHO World Health Organization information public internet announcement:

The World Health Organization (WHO) today Friday 31 December 2020 listed the Comirnaty COVID-19 mRNA vaccine for emergency use, making the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine the first to receive emergency validation from WHO since the outbreak began a year ago (2019).

The WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL) opens the door for countries to expedite their own regulatory approval processes to import and administer the vaccine. It also enables UNICEF and the Pan-American Health Organization to procure the vaccine for distribution to countries in need.

“This is a very positive step towards ensuring global access to COVID-19 vaccines. But I want to emphasize the need for an even greater global effort to achieve enough vaccine supply to meet the needs of priority populations everywhere,” said Dr Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant-Director General for Access to Medicines and Health Products. “WHO and our partners are working night and day to evaluate other vaccines that have reached safety and efficacy standards. We encourage even more developers to come forward for review and assessment. It’s vitally important that we secure the critical supply needed to serve all countries around the world and stem the pandemic.” 

Regulatory experts convened by WHO from around the world and WHO’s own teams reviewed the data on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine’s safety, efficacy and quality as part of a risk-versus-benefit analysis. The review found that the vaccine met the must-have criteria for safety and efficacy set out by WHO, and that the benefits of using the vaccine to address COVID-19 offset potential risks.

The vaccine is also under policy review.  WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) will convene on 5 January, 2021, to formulate vaccine specific policies and recommendations for this product’s use in populations, drawing from the SAGE population prioritization recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines in general, issued in September 2020.

The Comirnaty vaccine requires storage using an ultra-cold chain; it needs to be stored at -60°C to -90°C degrees. This requirement makes the vaccine more challenging to deploy in settings where ultra-cold chain equipment may not be available or reliably accessible. For that reason, WHO is working to support countries in assessing their delivery plans and preparing for use where possible.

How the emergency use listing works

The emergency use listing (EUL) procedure assesses the suitability of novel health products during public health emergencies. The objective is to make medicines, vaccines and diagnostics available as rapidly as possible to address the emergency while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy and quality. The assessment weighs the threat posed by the emergency as well as the benefit that would accrue from the use of the product against any potential risks.

The EUL pathway involves a rigorous assessment of late phase II and phase III clinical trial data as well as substantial additional data on safety, efficacy, quality and a risk management plan. These data are reviewed by independent experts and WHO teams who consider the current body of evidence on the vaccine under consideration, the plans for monitoring its use, and plans for further studies.

Experts from individual national authorities are invited to participate in the EUL review. Once a vaccine has been listed for WHO emergency use, WHO engages its regional regulatory networks and partners to inform national health authorities on the vaccine and its anticipated benefits based on data from clinical studies to date.

In addition to the global, regional, and country regulatory procedures for emergency use, each country undertakes a policy process to decide whether and in whom to use the vaccine, with prioritization specified for the earliest use.  Countries also undertake a vaccine readiness assessment which informs the vaccine deployment and introduction plan for the implementation of the vaccine under the EUL.

As part of the EUL process, the company producing the vaccine must commit to continue to generate data to enable full licensure and WHO prequalification of the vaccine. The WHO prequalification process will assess additional clinical data generated from vaccine trials and deployment on a rolling basis to ensure the vaccine meets the necessary standards of quality, safety and efficacy for broader availability.