Month: August 2021

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents say they have now seized more than 121 shipments containing more than 3,000 counterfeit COVID-19 vaccine cards this year alone.

In a release, the agency said agents have intercepted the shipments at the port of Memphis, Tennessee, all of them from China and bound for different U.S. cities. The manifest usually indicates the contents are paper or greeting cards. Inside were packs of 20, 51 or 100 of the counterfeit cards.

The officers say the cards have blanks for the recipient’s name and birthdate, the vaccine maker, lot number, and date and place the shot was given, as well as the logo of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the upper right corner. But the cards contain typographical errors, unfinished words and often misspellings, and they are always imported by a non-CDC or medical entity.

The agency says there is no attempt to hide or disguise what is inside the packages.

The discoveries come as more and more businesses and entertainment venues are requiring proof of vaccination to enter. New York City will this week begin phasing in its vaccine mandate for bars, restaurants and other venues.

The FBI has warned the public that buying, selling or using a counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination card is a crime. It can be categorized as the unauthorized use of an official government agency seal — such as the CDC or U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — and violators could face a fine and up to five years in prison.

In the agency release, Area Port Director of Memphis Michael Neipert said counterfeits are a waste of time and resources, considering vaccinations are free and available everywhere.

“If you do not wish to receive a vaccine, that is your decision. But don’t order a counterfeit, waste my officer’s time, break the law and misrepresent yourself,” he said.

On Sunday, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on federal officials to crack down harder on the fake cards.

Source: Voice of America

GENEVA – United Nations agencies say they intend to stay in Afghanistan to provide aid to millions of Afghans facing the impending fall of the country to Taliban insurgents.

United Nations agencies are pledging to remain in Afghanistan as urban areas, especially the capital, Kabul, are overflowing with people who have fled Taliban offensives in rural parts of the country.

Jens Laerke, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, says the U.N. has been in Afghanistan uninterrupted for the last 70 years and it is still there. He says the U.N. is concerned about the safety of its international and national staff and is closely monitoring events to ensure they are protected.

“Of course, it is a very volatile, fluid, rapidly changing situation,” he said. “But we are staying where we are. We have all intentions to stay and deliver for the Afghan people. The deal that we have in Afghanistan is with the Afghan people, with the civilians. And we are there to stay and help them.”

The United Nations has 720 staff assigned to Afghanistan. About 300 U.N. staff members are on the ground in the country. The rest are working remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. OCHA coordinates much of the humanitarian assistance that has been provided by 156 U.N. and nongovernmental agencies to 8 million Afghans this year.

Laerke says there has been a surge of displacement since May. This coincides with the accelerated withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan. Before the exodus began, he says 21,000 displaced people were recorded in Kabul.

Now, he says thousands more people are rushing into the capital. He says most have no place to sleep and the delivery of aid is becoming more difficult. He says missions are being conducted to assess the needs.

“As humanitarians, we will engage with anyone including the Taliban if it pertains to accessing people in need and if that… is based fully and firmly on the core humanitarian principles of complete neutrality, impartiality, and independence of delivery,” he said.

The U.N. refugee agency, one of the agencies working in Afghanistan, has assessed the needs of nearly 400,000 people who have become newly uprooted this year. The agency is providing food, shelter, hygiene, and other aid.

The World Food Program reports it is increasing food assistance programs to reach 9 million acutely hungry people through December.

The World Health Organization reports violence induced trauma is a major public health concern. Consequently, it says it is supporting trauma care in 130 facilities. It says it also is supporting blood banks and training health workers on mass-casualty management.

Source: Voice of America

Fred regained its tropical storm status Sunday and is expected to move across the Gulf of Mexico, reaching the Gulf Coast before Tuesday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The hurricane center posted tropical storm warnings or watches for the Florida Panhandle and parts of the Alabama coast. And Florda’s Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for the Panhandle.

Tropical Storm Fred was 380 kilometers (235 miles) south of Panama City, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, moving north-northwest at 17 kph (10 mph), the hurricane center said.

Grace, however, lost its tropical storm status, and tropical storm warnings for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Island were canceled. Haiti, which was struck by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Saturday, is under a tropical storm watch, the hurricane center said.

Grace was 560 kilometers (345 miles) east-southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, moving west at 25 kph (15 mph).

Whatever their status, forecasters said, Fred and Grace threaten to bring heavy rain and flooding.

Fred is expected to bring 10-20 centimeters (4-8 inches) of rain to the Florida Panhandle. And Grace could bring 7.5-15 centimeters (3-6 inches of rain) to the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico through Tuesday.

Source: Voice of America