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The chief of the World Health Organization on Wednesday honored the late Henrietta Lacks, an American woman whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge during the 1950s and ended up providing the foundation for vast scientific breakthroughs, including research about the coronavirus. 

The recognition from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came more than a decade after the publication of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” Rebecca Skloot’s book about the discrimination in health care faced by Black Americans, the life-saving innovations made possible by Lacks’ cells and her family’s legal fight over their unauthorized use. 

“What happened to Henrietta was wrong,” Tedros said during a special ceremony at WHO Geneva headquarters before handing the Director-General’s Award for Henrietta Lacks to her 87-year-old son Lawrence Lacks as several of her other descendants looked on.

Reproduced infinitely ever since, HeLa cells have become a cornerstone of modern medicine, including the development of the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even COVID-19 vaccines. 

Tedros noted that Lacks lived at a time when racial discrimination was legal in the United States and that it remains widespread, even if no longer legal in most countries.

“Henrietta Lacks was exploited. She is one of many women of color whose bodies have been misused by science,” he said. “She placed her trust in the health system so she could receive treatment. But the system took something from her without her knowledge or consent.” 

“The medical technologies that were developed from this injustice have been used to perpetuate further injustice because they have not been shared equitably around the world,” Tedros added.

The HeLa cell line — a name derived from the first two letters of Henrietta Lacks’ first and last names — was a scientific breakthrough. Tedros said the cells were “foundational” in the development of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, which can eliminate the cancer that took her life.

As of last year, WHO said, less than 25% of the world’s low-income countries and fewer than 30% of lower-middle-income countries had access to HPV vaccines through national immunization programs, compared to over 85% of high-income countries. 

“Many people have benefited from those cells. Fortunes have been made. Science has advanced. Nobel Prizes have been won, and most importantly, many lives have been saved,” Tedros said. “No doubt Henrietta would have been pleased that her suffering has saved others. But the end doesn’t justify the means.”

WHO said more than 50 million metric tons of HeLa cells have been distributed around the world and used in more than 75,000 studies. 

Last week, Lacks’ estate sued a U.S. biotechnology company, accusing it of selling cells that doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took from her without her knowledge or consent as part of “a racially unjust medical system.” 

“We stand in solidarity with marginalized patients and communities all over the world who are not consulted, engaged or empowered in their own care,” Tedros said. 

“We are firm that in medicine and in science, Black lives matter,” he added. “Henrietta Lacks’ life mattered — and still matters. Today is also an opportunity to recognize those women of color who have made incredible but often unseen contributions to medical science.”
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A report marking the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction finds many deaths and economic losses from natural disasters could be averted by investing in preventive risk reduction measures. 

Climate-related disasters have nearly doubled over the past 20 years, with developing countries bearing the brunt of the damage. Though extreme weather events and other emergencies are growing, the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction says little money is being allocated to help countries prevent or reduce risks. 

The report finds $133 billion of official development assistance was allocated for disaster-related aid between 2010 and 2019, but only $5.5 billion was invested in measures to reduce the risks and lessen the impact of disasters. 

For every $100 spent on disaster-related development aid, only 50 cents goes toward protecting development from the impact of disasters, according to the report. 

Ricardo Mena, director of the Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, said even that low-level funding should be better targeted to address the needs of poorer, more vulnerable countries. 

“One would think that countries that are more prone to disasters and that experience higher mortality rates would be the ones where DRR, disaster risk reduction, financing would be allocated the most. But that is unfortunately not the case,” he said. “Insufficient investment is being provided to prevent future disasters in areas where high mortality is likely.” 

Mena said failure to invest in DRR is like buying a nice car that has no brakes.

“Investing in DRR, we know it makes sense and, in terms of cost-benefit, it is tremendously positive,” he said. “So, yes, we are saying it is better to attack the underlying factors of risk, then having to spend more money at a time when disasters actually happen.” 

Academic studies find every dollar invested in disaster risk reduction prevention can result in savings of $3 to $15 in disaster losses. 

Mena is calling for an increase in funding to help poor countries adapt to climate change and implement national strategies for disaster risk reduction. 

 
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Hurricane Pamela came ashore on Mexico’s Pacific coast Wednesday, bringing with it strong winds and rain. 

The Category 1 storm had just regained hurricane strength before hitting 65 kilometers north of Mazatlan, a port city and tourist destination. 

The storm has the potential for strong storm surge and possible flooding. 

At landfall, the storm had winds of 120 kph, but that was anticipated to dissipate quickly as the storm moves inland.

The remnants of the storm, which is expected to bring heavy rains across much of Mexico, could hit Texas on Thursday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. 

Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press. 
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Over 70 zoos in the United States are gearing up to inoculate some of their animals against COVID-19 amid a rise in cases. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports on the vaccine’s effectiveness for the animals and which species will get the jab first.
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A tropical storm set off landslides and flash floods as it barreled over the tip of the northern Philippines, leaving at least 11 people dead and seven missing, officials said Tuesday. 

More than 6,500 villagers were evacuated from homes in several towns and cities swamped by floods and battered by pounding rains and wind that toppled trees and knocked down power.  

Tropical Storm Kompasu was last tracked over the South China Sea heading toward China’s Hainan island and later Vietnam with sustained winds of 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour and gusts of 125 kph (78 mph), government forecasters said.  

Six villagers died in landslides that hit their houses in the northern mountain province of Benguet and three others in the region remain missing. A security guard was swept away by strong waves while inspecting a seaport and drowned in Claveria town in Cagayan, disaster response officials said.  

In western Palawan province, four people died and four others went missing in flash floods in Narra town, which was drenched by monsoon rains enhanced by the storm. 

The coast guard its personnel rescued elderly residents and children trapped in submerged homes Monday and carried them through floodwaters in a rural village in Brooke’s Point town in Palawan. 

About 20 storms and typhoons each year lash the Philippines, which also lies in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, making the Southeast Asian archipelago one of the most disaster-prone in the world. 
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As William Shatner prepares to be beamed up Wednesday for his first real-life spaceflight, and to become at 90 the oldest person ever to enter the final frontier, he’s bringing out the awe in the small handful of people around a rural Texas spaceport. 

Shatner’s 10-minute trip with three others on the second passenger flight from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin will be more like the first space launches of the 1960s than the fictional galactic voyages of the Starship Enterprise on “Star Trek,” but the very idea of him leaving the atmosphere is powerful. 

“It’s time Captain Kirk actually physically got up into space. I’m kind of excited about that,” said Becky Brewster, mayor of Van Horn, a rural town of about 1,800 people on what was once desolate desert ranchland in far West Texas that has been transformed by the presence of the Blue Origin spaceport facilities 25 miles away. 

The mayor, a lifelong “Star Trek” fan, said she was disappointed she wasn’t invited to the launch site but is savoring the moment anyway. She’s planning to watch from her backyard with the livestream playing. 

“He and Mr. Spock were the ones that got me interested in space and science fiction and and everything else,” Brewster said. “So, from junior high age up to now where William Shatner is actually in our town fixing to go up into space. You know, it’s kind of like the whole circle now for me.” 

Beyond his celebrity identity, Shatner being space-bound at his age is a kick for close observers. 

Joseph Barra, who works as a bartender for a Los Angeles catering company, heard only that he was getting an unusual gig at a remote Texas launch site. 

“I’m like stop. You had me at space. Had no clue what else,” Barra said. “And then all I heard was their gonna send some 90-year-old man into space. And I’m like, Dang, that sounds intense. Like, I wonder who that is. Then you get in site and I’m like, Oh, it’s William Shatner.” 

Barra said the experience of serving drinks to Shatner and his crew mates has been surreal and then some. 

“We’re seeing that the man who in a sense like made space popular or made or gave everybody dreams of going to space,” Barra said. “Now he’s the one going to space and he’s the one setting the bar. It’s inspiring. Some like here, this man is 90 years old, proving that no matter how old you are, you still have more to do and accomplish on this Earth, and you can still give people an inspiration and a source and something to aspire to.” 

Barra said he heard Shatner say he plans to just gaze out the window at Earth during his minutes of weightlessness. 

But he has a bit more planned apparently. 

A Twitter user asked Shatner, an avid tweeter, on Tuesday whether he will post from space. 

“I cannot bring my phone but I’ve prearranged a little something,” Shatner replied with a wink emoji. 

[[ https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner/status/1447906641823756288?s=20 ]]  

Earlier in the week he tweeted a photo of himself and his fellow crew members in blue flight suits that are far more futuristic than the yellow leotard-style uniform he wore on the original “Star Trek.” 

“Aren’t we all adorbs!” Shatner said. 

Bezos, who was on Blue Origin’s debut flight in July, is also a big “Star Trek” fan, and invited Shatner to take the flight as a guest. 

He’ll join three others — two of them paying customers in the burgeoning business of space tourism — aboard a Blue Origin capsule. 

The fully automated flight, delayed by a day due to weather, will take them no higher than about 66 miles (106 kilometers). The capsule will parachute back to the desert floor, not far from where it took off. 

Shatner plans to get right back to his work as Captain Kirk once he’s back down to Earth. 

“I’m doing Space, then Indiana Comic Con, & then on Sunday Wizard World Chicago,” he tweeted. 
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