Spring covid booster jabs available
A spring booster vaccine against Covid-19 is to be available in April to everyone over 75, care-home residents and people aged five and over who are extremely vulnerable, to protect them this summer. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said hospital admissions for Covid-19 showed the risk of being seriously ill was noticeably higher in people over 75. It is advised that a booster jab be given six months after someone's previous dose. Four different vaccines, made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Sanofi/GSK and Novavax could be used. The head of immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency said Covid-19 was still circulating widely with recent increases in the numbers of elderly being admitted to hospitals. It is important that those at the highest risk of severe illness do not become complacent, and we encourage everyone who is eligible to come forward once the booster programme starts. Different versions of the Omicron variant have been spreading the most.
Russia: Religious war
Russia is under the microscope for atrocities committed since the start of its war with Ukraine, from the killing and torture of religious leaders to the destruction of houses of worship. One Russian official even used the term ‘desatanization’ to describe the plan to cleanse the nation of many religious groups. Muslim Tatars in Crimea are repressed by Russian authorities, and many sentenced to long prison terms for principled opposition to the occupation. Russian forces attacking Ukraine have desecrated Holocaust remembrance sites and killed Holocaust survivors. It's not just Ukraine. Since the invasion, Moscow has been tightening its grip inside Russia on religious groups. 30% of Russian Jews have fled Russia since the war began with 50,000 emigrating to Israel. In Russia's occupied territories, the Russian military has bombed churches, monasteries, kingdom halls, mosques, synagogues, cemeteries, and other religious sites, and Russian soldiers have abducted and tortured religious figures because of their leadership roles.
Polish fighter jets for Ukraine
Poland announced that it’ll supply Kyiv with MiG-29 fighter jets, the first NATO member to do so. For months President Zelensky has implored America and Europe for warplanes to fight Russia. However, NATO allies have been slow-walking him because that might push the Russians to escalate on the battlefield. Yet the Soviet-era MiGs, of which Ukraine has a few dozen relics, are hardly the modern warplanes Zelensky wants and needs, and they’re no match for Russia’s Su-27s. The Sukhoi Su-27, NATO Codename ‘Flanker’, is a flying Missile Battery. Some believe Poland's action will encourage other NATO countries to follow suit and rethink on sending Ukraine high-tech warplanes. That's exactly what happened weeks ago with heavy tanks when the US and Germany changed their mind.
Israel: Call for protection of holy sites
The World Council of Churches’ General Secretary has condemned an attack that took place in the Church of Gethsemane in Jerusalem on 19 March and has expressed solidarity with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in calling for international protection of holy sites. ‘This terrible attack – which appears to have purposely targeted religious leaders – is an egregious violation of international law’, he said. ‘We stand in solidarity with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and all those calling for the protection of holy sites, and we reiterate our calls for such protection during Christian holidays and during all days of importance for all faith communities. We are extremely concerned about the increasing attacks on holy sites in Jerusalem and deem it necessary to facilitate a meeting of key religious leaders in the near future to discuss what can be done to stop these uncalled-for attacks on religious leaders, sacred places and institutions.’
