What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus Vaccine Front-Runners From Moderna and Pfizer

By Emily Drooby

It’s a shot at hope: two coronavirus vaccines front-runners have emerged, Moderna and Pfizer.

In July, a local Georgia news anchor became the Moderna vaccine’s first trial patient. Now that trial is coming out to be about 95% effective, like the Pfizer trial.

Dr. Robert Tiballi, an infectious disease expert with the Catholic Medical Association, says that for Catholics, the Moderna vaccine presents a slight ethical issue when it comes to the dignity of human life.

“The fetal cell lines were not directly used in the Moderna, but they were indirectly used several steps away from the actual development of the vaccine,” he told Currents News.

Dr. Tiballi added that a lot of the information about these vaccines are protected, meaning it’s hidden, so that could change.

Both vaccines use messenger RNA, which teaches the body to fight the virus without having to use the virus.

“These vaccines will not give you coronavirus,” explained Dr. Tiballi, “Your body’s immune system sees the spike protein and goes, ‘Oh we are under attack, we have to build the antibodies against this.'”

He added that if approved, it would be a medical milestone; “We’ve never had a messenger RNA vaccine ever.”

Both shots have to be frozen, but Moderna can last in a fridge for a month — Pfizer for only 5 days. Pfizer also has to be kept in extreme cold at minus-70 degrees Celsius, which creates an extra distribution challenge.

“You’re going to have to go to specially designated places that have been trained how to keep this vaccine cold enough and therefore keep it effective,” said Dr. Tiballi.

The next step is for both companies to apply to have the FDA authorize their vaccines. Pfizer plans to do that on Nov. 20 and Moderna in the next few weeks.

If approved, the FDA will review the data for a few weeks. After that, an FDA advisory committee will review the data in public meetings scheduled for mid-December.

The federal government has pre-purchased hundreds of millions of vaccine doses, but getting everyone vaccinated could still be a long way off.

St. Andrew Avellino Wins Honorable Mention for Live Mass Broadcast at Parish Excellence Summit

By Jessica Easthope

Lights, camera, Amen!

At St. Andrew Avellino Church nothing’s impossible with faith and fast internet, that’s why the Flushing, Queens parish won an Honorable Mention Parish Excellence Award for its live mass broadcast.

What started out as an iPad on a stand became a high-tech operation. The church got a new HD camera from DeSales Media, the communication and technology arm of the Diocese of Brooklyn that operates NetTV. It allowed the Word of God to be sent into the homes of parishioners at lightning speed.

“We were fortunate enough, with the help of DeSales Media to get a wonderful camera that has been just extraordinary,” said Father Joseph Holcomb, the pastor of St. Andrew Avellino.

But installing cameras for live streaming mass didn’t start because of the pandemic. Last fall DeSales Media Group tested the cameras out in two parishes. Now 90 parishes across the Diocese of Brooklyn are fully equipped.

“I can’t say that when we started doing this program last fall that we ever envisioned this kind of rollout and effort and it’s a really great feeling and gives me a sense of purpose when I go to work every day,” said Cristian Ortiz, the Account Development Manager for DeSales Media.

Not only do the cameras allow people at home in Brooklyn and Queens to watch mass at their local parish, the broadcasts reach across the world.

“We’ve reached continents St. Clare’s in Queens has reached as far as South Africa, St Mel’s, St. Kevin’s they’ve reached Argentina, Italy, it’s really amazing and I think this has been a great tool not only during COVID-19 but for evangelization as well,” Ortiz said.

At St. Andrew Avellino the live masses have been viewed in Peru, Colombia and the Philippines.

Saying Mass to an empty church wasn’t easy, but Father Holcomb quickly learned how much of an impact the new technology could make.

“Once we realized more and more people were watching the broadcast it became a little bit easier to know that we were delivering something in the midst of this very, very difficult time,” Father Holcomb said.

Lynn Scott has been a parishioner at St. Andrew Avellino for 13 years and she picked up where DeSales left off, helping to coordinate every aspect of the broadcast, she knew just how much it was needed.

“I was scared and just being able to watch and listen to God’s word, it gave comfort to me,” Lynn said.

And as the COVID-19 numbers climbed, so did the number of views. During the height of the pandemic Sunday mass was being streamed by 1,500 people, prompting the church to keep its livestream up indefinitely.

Starting December 1, DeSales will be rolling out even more cameras. The media company is expecting to have 60 more parishes in the Diocese of Brooklyn set up for live streaming by the end of next year.

Catholics Want to Know: Were Potential COVID Vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer Ethically Made?

Currents News Staff

Now that we have two potential COVID vaccines the question on many Catholics’ minds is: How were they made, and more specifically, were they made ethically?

John Brehany, an ethicist with the National Catholic Bioethics Center, joins Currents News via interview to discuss the moral dilemma that Catholics could face if the vaccines use cells from aborted fetuses.

In July, a local Georgia news anchor became the Moderna vaccine’s first trial patient. Now that trial is coming out to be about 95% effective, similarly to the Pfizer trial.

In this Currents News report Dr. Robert Tiballi, an infectious disease expert with the Catholic Medical Association, says that for Catholics the Moderna vaccine presents a slight ethical issue when it comes to the dignity of human life.

Democracy, Voting and Mail-In Ballots: Assessing Technology’s Role in the Election Process

Currents News Staff

With Georgia recounting ballots by hand and a climate rife with claims of voter irregularities and fraud, the accuracy of computer election technology is once again under the microscope.

President Trump says, “this is a fraud on the American public,” while President-Elect Joe Biden says it’s “more embarrassing for the country than debilitating.”

Not since the 2000 presidential election has a fight for the White House caused such a stir. The controversy “back then” led to computerized voting systems that are creating problems now.

“The introduction of computers into the process of casting and counting ballots introduced a level of vulnerable technology that is easily, that can easily be compromised,” explained Co-Founder of Open Source Election Technology Gregory Miller, “so that doesn’t do anything to engender trust.”

Issues like reprogramming machines remotely or inserting fraudulent media cards or even hacking into vote scanners while using wireless modems to connect to the internet, has researchers debating how to fix such a huge and largely unregulated problem. Gregory thinks those problems extend to the companies who produce our election systems too.

“Today we have three vendors in the United States who own 90 percent of America’s voting infrastructure,” he added.

Those companies – Election Systems and Software, Hart InterCivic and Dominion Voting Systems – are privately owned and bristle at any sort of governmental oversight. That leads to arguing that their software is proprietary and therefore off-limits to election officials and computer scientists looking for flaws and potential security risks. That, Gregory says, is putting our election infrastructure in a dire state.

“This is an industry that is entirely proprietary, a great deal of opacity,” he noted, “that is no transparency in what they’re actually producing. And yet our critical democracy infrastructure depends upon those three vendors.”

One of those vendors, Dominion is under intense scrutiny. The Trump campaign alleges that their machines switched votes from the president to Joe Biden.

No evidence has emerged so far to support that claim, but flaws in the process are real.

“No machinery is infallible,” Gregory reminds. “No technology is perfect. Mistakes, glitches do happen. But there’s been no evidence to this point that any machinery has been maliciously or nefariously compromised or altered.”

Equipment problems coupled with a record shattering 65-million mail in ballots, according to Pew Research. Rules on how to count them vary from state to state, also playing a role in this year’s election controversy.

Gregory predicts the intense scrutiny will force lawmakers to look at restoring credibility into a process central to our Democracy.

“We need to step back and stop triage financing and start really systemically financing the innovation necessary to get us more verifiable, accurate, secure and transparent equipment,” he said. “It needs to be completely redesigned and rethought as if it were truly a national security asset.”

According to experts, those are urgently needed solutions that could be implemented by the next presidential cycle, as another highly contested race sheds light on the cracks in our election system.

Currents News full broadcast for Wed, 11/18/20 (Catholic news)

Currents News reports secular and religious news from the Catholic perspective.

Some of the top stories on this newscast:

New York City public schools forced back into remote learning because of a surge in COVID cases – Catholic schools remain open.

Promising news about two vaccines to fight the virus.

Back to back hurricanes ravage Central America – could migrants flee to our borders?

How Catholics are helping feed their neighbors this holiday season.

NYC Public Schools Close Buildings, Schools of Brooklyn Diocese to Stay Open for In-Person Learning

By Emily Drooby

It’s the moment parents are dreading: back to remote learning for all of New York City’s public-school students, and it’s not clear when they’ll be back in class.

The city hit the percent COVID infection rate on Wednesday Nov. 18, and as promised, they announced they would shut school doors.

However, the announcement was plagued by confusion. Just minutes before the NYC Department of Education’s chancellor announced the closing, Governor Andrew Cuomo patronized a reporter for asking questions on the matter.

“First of all, let’s not try to be obnoxious and offensive in your tone, because you’re 100% wrong,” the governor said to a reporter who asked him if schools would open on Thursday in NYC.

As his press conference was ending, reporters got word of NYC Department of Education Chancellor, Richard Carranza’s announcement, and let the governor know.

When it comes to Catholic schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn, Thomas Chadzutko, the Superintendent of Catholic Schools for Brooklyn and Queens, says they will not close. They will still keep all 69 of their schools open for in-person learning.

“We really want the children in the classrooms,” he said while speaking with Currents News.

He added that they’re more than prepared to keep students safe.

“Our confidence really started when we submitted our reopening plans. We met with every principal and if possible board chair or pastor,” said Chadzutko. “They’ve documented all of the protocols.”

“We all have to make the basic minimum requirements that the Department of Health, both city and state, has put forth for us, we go beyond those requirements as well,” said Joan McMaster, Associate Superintendent for Principal and Teacher Personnel in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Along with the normal health checks like daily screenings, they’ve been able to prevent the spread by staying diligent and communicating.

“The cases that have come in, been reported to us, are really when we traced them back, these are events that are beyond our control on the weekend. Events where there have been Halloween parties, sporting events, oddly enough, sleepovers,” said Chadzutko.

The situation right now is similar to the beginning of the year, when public schools were closed and catholic schools remained open.

If the state designates New York City an orange zone, then all schools would have to briefly close and pass a certain level of COVID testing to reopen.

Orange zone schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn recently had to test everyone to reopen. However, if all of the city became orange, it’s not clear if that formula for reopening would stay the same or change.

The schools are also facing a steep financial hurdle: how to pay for mandatory testing in hot spot zones.

It can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 a week per school, which adds up. For example, all yellow zone schools testing combined is an estimated $84,000 a week. That’s money the schools have to cover.

“I was provided information about applying for a grant, I’m actually in the process of working that grant out,” Chadzutko said. “The grant would cover about 1.3 million, that’s the ask.”

They won’t have the final number for that grant until — and if — it comes through.

‘Catering for the Homeless’ Works to End Hunger, Help U.S. Cut 133 Billion Pounds of Food Waste

By Jessica Easthope

This Thanksgiving tens of millions of Americans will go hungry and the pandemic has only made it harder to feed those in need, just ask Crystal Wolfe, the founder of Catering for the Homeless.

“I just can’t stand seeing the suffering and there’s a growing need there’s a growing homelessness crisis and a growing hunger crisis, and it’s not getting any better with the coronavirus,” she explained. “It got astronomically worse. It’s worse than the days of the great depression.”

Crystal’s mission is to end hunger with the 133 billion pounds of food excess in the United States every year.

“There’s literally enough food going to waste that no one needs to be hungry,” Crystal said.

The COVID-19 crisis has motivated Crystal to expand her operation across the country, but in New York City, she partners with more than 100 restaurants, schools, and catering companies, gathering and distributing excess food; one of them is St. Teresa’s in Woodside, Queens.

Norberto Saldana has been in charge of the parish’s food pantry for nearly two decades. During the pandemic, it went from feeding about 100 people a week to 500.

“I see people who used to work and now they’re in the line and we don’t judge but it surprises you when you see all these people,” Norberto said.

Volunteers say it’s a testament to how great the need still is that when the pantry doors open, all 150 packed bags of food are gone in minutes.

Norberto says even those who have jobs are hungry. They come before work and save spots along the street outside the church with plastic bags. The bags show up hours before the people do.

“It’s either spending more money on food and getting food for my children, or pay the rent,” Norberto said. “People have to choose.”

Norberto said the work they do would have been impossible without Crystal’s help.

“Oh my God, it’s not only that she brings the food, she stays with us,” he explained. ‘During the pandemic we didn’t allow people to come in here but she stayed and volunteered and was a big help,” he said.

Crystal says God has called her to take action — she relates to those struggling because she’s been there.

“I’ve gone hungry, I’ve been homeless briefly at different times, and I think it’s such a tragedy for so many people to be suffering when there’s a solution. And I feel called to do something about it,” Crystal said.

Crystal is working to expand her operation to Pennsylvania and Indiana and is accepting donations, food and supplies online at cateringforthehomeless.com.

Father Cosmas Nzeabalu Says It’s Time to Speak Out on Christian Persecution in Nigeria

Currents News Staff

Christian persecution is nothing new in the streets of Nigeria, but recent attacks have brought attention to the country now more than ever.

Father Cosmas Nzeabalu from St. Fortunata’s parish joined Currents News to discuss the attacks occurring in his native country.

He will be praying for the persecuted Christians in Nigeria every Sunday. You can help by joining him in prayer at St. Fortunata parish.

To Join in Sunday Prayer With Father Cosmas:

St. Fortunata Church
2609 Linden Blvd.
Brooklyn, NY 11208

An inside Look at the Facility Producing Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine

Currents News Staff

Two companies — Moderna and Pfizer — appear likely to be the first out of the gate with a coronavirus vaccine.

A manufacturing facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, plays a big role in Moderna’s production.

Instead of providing a non-active strain of the virus like a flu shot, the head of Lonza’s Engineering tells Currents News the vaccine focuses on a person’s DNA.

“So this goes in and reprograms the DNA to produce an anti-virus response to the virus itself,” Mark Caswell, head of Lonza Engineering Facilities, explained.

Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, the Moderna vaccine does not need deep cold storage to survive.

Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah says this means it can be delivered to more rural areas.

‘It can even be stored in a regular refrigerator for a number of days as well, and still have shelf stability and not degrade or deteriorate,” Dr. Shah added.

It certainly makes the supply chain for this vaccine very easy, compared to other vaccines that require that deep cold storage requirement,” agreed Casewell.

Production is underway, but the timetable for when the vaccines will be ready is unknown.

‘All we do is supply the product, so I don’t know anything related to the potential of when that approval could come,” Casewell explained.

Moderna says early results from clinical trials show its vaccine is almost 95 percent effective.

Both Pfizer and Moderna plan to apply for emergency use authorization.

A source familiar with the process says the FDA could make a decision about that as early as December 10.

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens Annual Turkey Giveaway Helps Families in Need

Currents News Staff

With Thanksgiving a little more than a week away, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens (CCBQ) is already getting into the spirit of giving.

More than 900 turkeys and food vouchers were given to families in need so they can celebrate the holidays like everyone else.The annual giveaway is being held this year at St. Francis of Assisi-St. Blaise Parish in Prospect Lefferts Gardens in Brooklyn.

The CEO of CCBQ, Msgr. Alfred LoPinto says the giveaway is needed now, more than ever. Catholic Charities will hold a second giveaway this Friday, Nov. 20.

It will be held at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Convent. The address is 159-23 89th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. It starts at 10 a.m.