ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, AUGUST 27-28, 2021 SCIENCE 11

Health

EPA bans pesticide Earlier ‘diabetes’ tests urged for obese adults

NEW YORK, Aug 26, (AP): Overweight and obese Ameri- cans should start getting screened for diabetes earlier, at age 35 instead of 40, according to updated national guidelines pub- lished earlier this week. The new advice stems from rising rates of both obesity and Type 2 diabetes, and research showing health benefi ts of pre- vention methods and early treatment. Three out of four US adults is overweight or obese, which increases their chances for developing diabetes. Among adults aged 18 and older, 14% already have diag- nosed diabetes, and 33% have prediabetes. Screening is rec- ommended up to age 70. The guidance from the US Preventive Services Task Force, an advisory group to the US government, was published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It updates the task force’s 2015 recommenda- tions, and says even earlier screening should be considered for overweight or obese American Indians, Black people, Hispanics and other groups with dis- proportionately high diabetes rates. The American Diabetes Association says overweight or obese adults of any age should be screened. Screening means blood tests to measure sugar levels and sometimes involves drinking a sugary liquid fi rst. The new guidance suggests that peo- Biden ple whose tests are normal could be screened every three years. Type 2 diabetes impairs the body’s ability to use insulin to In this June 30, 2021, file photo, a health worker prepare a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Sumida ward of Tokyo. Japan’s health ministry said Aug 26, regulate blood sugar, leading to high levels that can cause heart that it is suspending use of about 1.63 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine produced by Moderna Inc after contamination was found in portions of unused vials, rais- problems, organ damage and blindness. Prediabetes means ing concern of a supply shortage as the country desperately tries to accelerate vaccinations amid the surge of infections. (AP) higher than normal blood sugar levels that can lead to full- blown diabetes. Type 2 diabetes incidence has increased in recent years along with obesity rates. A 2001-17 report in the same jour- nal shows the rate nearly doubled in kids aged 10-19, jumping Coronavirus from 34 cases per 100,000 kids to 67 per 100,000. Evidence The task force’s guidance says evidence shows diet and physical activity can prevent or delay diabetes in adults with Contamination reported from multiple vaccination sites prediabetes. The diabetes drug metformin has been shown to do the same but has not been approved for that use, the task force notes. The drug is not risk-free and some doctors oppose Japan suspends 1.63m Moderna doses using it that way, noting that two-thirds of people with predia- betes never develop the disease. A JAMA editorial says evidence shows that few US adults TOKYO, Aug 26, (AP): Japan sus- with prediabetes are referred to diabetes prevention or weight pended use of about 1.63 million doses loss programs that could help them avoid diabetes and its com- of Moderna vaccine Thursday after Pfizer seeking FDA approval for plications. It calls for a broader range of effective prevention contamination was found in unused vi- programs that are covered by insurance and accessible to peo- als, raising concern of a supply short- ple who need them most. age as the country tries to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine booster dose Meanwhile, US regulators took action recently that will vaccinations amid a COVID-19 surge. make it easier to get a cheaper, near-copy of a brand-name The health ministry said contamina- NEW YORK, Aug 26, (AP): Pfizer tries are not getting enough vaccine insulin at the drugstore. tion was reported from multiple vac- is seeking US approval of a booster for their initial rounds of shots. Doctors now have to specifi cally prescribe what’s called a cination sites. Some doses might have dose of its two-shot COVID-19 vac- Pfizer’s vaccine, jointly devel- biosimilar or OK substituting it for a more expensive brand- In this March 2021 photo provided by been administered, but no adverse cine. oped with Germany’s BioNTech, name insulin. Pfizer, vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech health effects have been reported so The drugmaker said Wednes- received full FDA approval earlier The move by the Food and Drug Administration will COVID-19 vaccine are prepared for far, offi cials said. day that it has started the applica- this week, also for those ages 16 allow pharmacists to automatically substitute the cheaper packaging at the company’s facility in Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, a Japa- tion process for a third dose of its and older. It had been given to that version, just as they do with generic pills for other kinds Puurs, Belgium. On Aug 25, the com- nese drugmaker in charge of sales and vaccine for everyone ages 16 and age group under an emergency of drugs. pany said it started the application pro- distribution of the vaccine in Japan, older. The company said it will com- use authorization, which is still the cess for US approval of a booster dose said it decided to suspend use of doses plete the application with the Food case for those ages 12 to 15. It’s the FDA’s first approval of an “interchangeable” and Drug Administration by the end More than 200 million doses of biosimilar, a near-copy of an injected biologic medicine of its two-shot COVID-19 vaccine for manufactured in the same production people ages 16 and older. (AP) of this week. the Pfizer vaccine have been ad- that’s manufactured inside living cells. It could save dia- line as a safety precaution. The FDA earlier this month said ministered in the US — and hun- betics and health plans millions of dollars annually and en- It asked Moderna to conduct an transplant recipients or others with dreds of millions more worldwide courage other drugmakers to create more biosimilar medi- emergency investigation and told med- weakened immune systems can — since it got the green light in cines. Health data firm IQVIA projects US savings from ical institutions and organizers to stop get an extra dose of Pfizer or Mod- December. increasing use of biosimilars from 2020 through 2024 will using the vaccine produced in Spain erna vaccines. Then last week, US The three vaccines used in the top $100 billion. and shared the production numbers health officials announced plans to US made by Pfizer, Moderna and The FDA agreed that Viatris Inc’s Semglee was inter- that may be affected. give COVID-19 booster shots to all Johnson & Johnson are still pre- changeable with widely used Lantus, a long-acting insulin. The health ministry and Takeda did Americans to shore up their protec- venting hospitalizations and deaths Approval of a second such interchangeable biosimilar of a not give details on the type of contami- tion amid the surging delta variant from COVID-19. But the vac- fast-acting insulin appears imminent from the same develop- nation or if the doses in question may of the coronavirus. cines don’t appear quite as strong ers, Pittsburgh-based generic giant Viatris and its partner, In- have been distributed outside Japan. That plan drew criticism from sci- against the highly contagious delta dia’s Biocon. The Moderna vaccine problem came entists at the World Health Organi- variant as they were against earlier Mylan N.V., one of two companies that merged to create Vi- just as Japan struggles with surging in- zation, who noted that poor coun- versions of the virus. atris last December, launched Semglee in the US last summer. fections, with daily new cases hitting Red tape, lengthy patents and pushback from brand-name Rose Zapata new highs in many parts of the country drugmakers have limited US sales of biosimilars to far below and severely straining the health care isolating at home or waiting for hos- tions diseases, experts say. levels in Europe. system. pital vacancies, and is staffed by three The Tokyo metropolitan govern- “These products are highly similar but much more afford- Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu doctors and 25 nurses. ment plans to add 110 more beds with able,” said Sean McGowan, head of biosimilars at Ameri- Discovery Kato told reporters the government The idea is to temporarily treat mild oxygen at prefectural-run hospitals by sourceBergen, a top drug wholesaler. and Takeda are discussing ways to cases with supplementary oxygen the end of August, while also prepar- ❑ ❑ ❑ minimize the impact on Japan’s vac- amid growing concerns that people ing to set up a makeshift hospitals that Judge nixes backup site: A Spanish cination progress. may get sicker — and possibly start can provide antibody cocktail infu- Children: The Biden administration said Wednesday it was judge in a decision cheered by environ- dying at home — in the absence of sions for those in the early stages of banning use of chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide long tar- mentalists has put a halt to backup plans Progress medical attention. infection, offi cials said. geted by environmentalists, on food crops because it poses for the construction of a giant telescope in “We will do utmost in order to avoid Tokyo has been under emergency But experts say oxygen only pro- risks to children and farm workers. the Canary Islands — eliminating at least any impact on vaccination progress, measures for the majority of the year, vides temporary relief and that the The Environmental Protection Agency acted after a for now the primary alternative location to most recently since July 12. But new government should quickly build a the preferred spot in Hawaii, where there especially at worksites and large-scale federal appeals court ordered the government in April to centers,” Kato said. daily cases have increased more than makeshift COVID-19 hospital. quickly determine whether the pesticide is safe or should have been protests against the telescope. Construction of the Thirty Meter Tel- Japan relies entirely on foreign- tenfold since then to about 5,000 in Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s be prohibited. developed vaccines by Moderna, as Tokyo and 25,000 nationwide, quickly government faced criticism for insist- During the Obama administration, the EPA had initiated a escope, or TMT, on Hawaii’s tallest mountain, Mauna Kea, has been stalled well as Pfi zer Inc and AstraZeneca. fi lling up hospital beds and forcing ing on holding the Tokyo Olympics ban, but the agency reversed that decision shortly after Presi- by opponents who say the project will Moderna has been since mid-June at many people to recover at home, some and Paralympics despite strong oppo- dent Donald Trump took offi ce in 2017. desecrate land held sacred to some Native large-scale centers and workplace in- of whom require supplemental oxygen. sition from the public amid the rising “Today EPA is taking an overdue step to protect public Hawaiians. oculations and has helped speed up As of Monday, nearly 40,000 patients infections led by the more infectious health,” Administrator Michael Regan said. “After the delays Telescope offi cials had selected the al- Japan’s rollout. in Tokyo are recovering at home or in delta variant. and denials of the prior administration, EPA will follow the ternate location near an existing scientifi c About 43% of the Japanese popula- hotels, compared to about 4,000 hos- On Friday, Japan expanded emer- science and put health and safety fi rst.” research facility on the highest mountain tion have been fully vaccinated, with pitalizations. A growing number of pa- gency measures to two-thirds of the Chlorpyrifos is applied on numerous crops, including soy- of La Palma, one of the Spanish islands daily doses of about 1 million. tients spend hours on ambulances trying country until Sept. 12 and is consider- beans, fruit and nut trees, broccoli and caulifl ower. It has been off the western African coast, in the At- Japan on Monday opened a tempo- to fi nd hospitals. Around 15,600 people ing adding more areas. linked to potential brain damage in children. lantic Ocean. rary facility in Tokyo to provide oxy- have died since the pandemic began. On Monday, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko The Pesticide Action Network North America and the Natu- But an administrative court in Santa gen for up to 130 coronavirus patients Although Japan has far fewer cases Koike and Health Minister Norihisa ral Resources Defense Council petitioned the EPA in 2007 to Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of the with mild symptoms, as the capital’s than many other countries, the wealthy Tamura met and jointly issued a fi rm revoke all approved levels of chlorpyrifos in food. Spanish archipelago, ruled last month that the 2017 concession by local au- health care system grows severely nation’s pandemic response is near request to all hospitals in the Japanese Exposure thorities of public land for the tenta- strained. collapse. Only a small percentage of capital to take in as many patients as “It is gratifying to see the EPA once again adhere to the best tive project was invalid. The ruling was The so-called “oxygen station” in hospitals are taking virus patients, ei- possible, or dispatch medical workers available science when making critical regulatory decisions,” dated on July 29, but only became pub- Tokyo’s Shibuya district is aimed at ther for fi nancial reasons or because to assist at temporary oxygen stations said Rep Eddie Bernice Johnson, chairwoman of the House lic this week after local media reported people who develop a problem while they lack the capability to treat infec- or other facilities. Committee on Science, Space and Technology. about the decision. EPA said it had found that chlorpyrifos did not meet a le- The island’s local elected government gally required standard of reasonable certainty that exposure to chief, Mariano Zapata, said it was “sad” 6, had arrived with a preexisting gastro- tute, which was not part of the original riorating. (AP) the pesticide wouldn’t be harmful. that advocacy groups “are so occupied by intestinal condition, the aquarium said at lawsuit, said Mystic has had a very good ❑ ❑ ❑ administrative matters instead of environ- the time. Naomi Rose, a marine mammal reputation when it comes to beluga care The European Union, Canada and some states including mental issues.” (AP) Smokestacks toppled by dynamite: California, Hawaii, New York, Maryland, and Oregon have ❑ ❑ ❑ scientist with the Animal Welfare Insti- and research, but said that is quickly dete- Six smokestacks at a decommissioned restricted its use on foods. Those limits — and development of power plant in Alabama crashed to the replacement pest controls — have led to a decline in farmers’ Beluga in failing health: Mystic ground Wednesday in a controlled implo- use of chlorpyrifos, EPA said. Aquarium says that a second of the fi ve sion that began with the boom of dyna- “The ban will safeguard farmworkers, their families, com- beluga whales it imported in May from mite and ended with a huge cloud of dust. munities and the food supply,” said Allison Johnson, an attor- a marine park in Canada is in failing Once charges were set, workers top- ney with the NRDC. “EPA is fi nally following its own fi ndings health. pled the structures in mere seconds at on this poisonous pesticide.” Tuesday night’s revelation comes the Colbert Fossil Plant, which oper- Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers, said three weeks after a male beluga, who was ated in northwest Alabama for more the group was “relieved that farmworkers and their families also part of the group that arrived from than six decades beginning in 1955. will no longer have to worry about the myriad of ways this Marineland in Niagara Falls, died at Mys- TVA said the project was part of its pesticide could impact their lives.” tic, an aquarium that specializes in beluga move away from coal toward cleaner research. This female whale is suffering fuel options. Corteva Inc had been the world’s largest manufacturer of from several health issues including a low Video of the implosion captured a man the pesticide but stopped producing it last year. The company, white blood cell count and gastrointesti- counting down and then yelling: “Fire in created after a merger of Dow Chemical and Dupont, said pre- nal issues, the aquarium said in a Face- the hole. Light it up, Roger,” referring viously that declining sales drove its decision and that it con- book post. to Roger Homrich, owner of the demoli- sidered chlorpyrifos safe. “The veterinarian team is monitoring tion contracting fi rm Homrich, based in EPA’s decision “effectively removes an important tool for the (female) beluga around the clock and Michigan. farmers,” the company said in a statement, adding that “it ap- is exploring every treatment option avail- Flashes appeared at the base of the pears that the rationale used by the agency is inconsistent with able to help her recover,” Mystic said in stacks and four of the towers collapsed al- the complete and robust database of more than 4,000 studies its social media post. “Mystic Aquarium most immediately, followed by two larger and reports that have examined the product in terms of health, has additionally reached out to beluga ones. safety and the environment.” experts from across the country who are TVA said the implosion was part of a EPA said it would continue reviewing whether to allow use making the journey to the facility to assist $43 million project to prepare the site for of chlorpyrifos for purposes not directly tied to food produc- with the situation.” development and cleaner energy. The util- tion, such as cattle ear tags and mosquito control. The whales were imported from ity announced plans last month to spend Bills seeking to prohibit use of chlorpyrifos and similar pes- Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, af- In this April 18, 2017 file photo, a woman with Type 2 diabetes prepares to inject $500 million, adding to generating units ticides have been introduced in Congress. ter a lengthy battle to obtain permits from herself with insulin at her home in Las Vegas. Overweight or obese Americans that are fueled by natural gas and operate both the United States and Canada. should start getting screened for diabetes and prediabetes earlier, at age 35 on the 1,300-acre (526-hecatare) Colbert The male whale, which died on Aug instead of 40, according to national guidelines updated on Aug 24. (AP) plant site. (AP)