在美國撤軍的最後期限之後，塔利班發動了阿富汗的重大攻勢

阿富汗安全部隊在過去24小時內對赫爾曼德省南部的一次塔利班重大攻勢進行了反擊。

由路透社

2021年5月4日19:01

塔利班代表團成員在與阿富汗高級政治家在莫斯科舉行和平會談後離開，2019年5月30日

（照片來源：EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA / REUTERS）

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官員和居民周二表示，阿富汗安全部隊在過去的24小時內對赫爾曼德省南部的塔利班重大攻勢進行了反擊，激進分子在錯過了美國撤軍的最後期限之後在全國各地發動了進攻。

儘管美國沒有達到去年與塔利班會談中商定的5月1日撤軍截止日期，但撤軍已經開始，總統拜登宣布所有部隊將於9月11日撤軍。伊斯蘭激進分子將試圖重新奪回政權。

赫爾曼德省省會拉什卡爾加（Lashkar Gah）郊區的居民穆拉·簡（Mulah Jan）對路透社說：“雷聲暴雨襲擊了這座城市，小武器的聲音就像有人在爆米花一樣。”

他說：“我把所有家人帶到房間的角落，聽到沉重的爆炸聲和槍聲，好像是在牆後發生的一樣。” 負擔得起的家庭逃離了家園，但他一直無法離開，在塔利班被推回之前，與家人在恐懼中等待著。

赫爾曼德省省議會負責人阿富汗阿富汗人阿塔拉（Attaullah Afghan）表示，塔利班星期一已從多個方向發起進攻，襲擊了拉什卡爾加（Lashkar Gah）郊區的檢查站，並接管了其中一些。

阿富汗安全部隊進行了空襲，並向該地區部署了精銳突擊隊。他補充說，叛亂分子被迫退縮，但戰斗在星期二仍在繼續，數百個家庭流離失所。

諧振

塔利班在赫爾曼德（Helmand）的激增將特別引起共鳴，因為鴉片種植的沙漠省是美英軍隊在20年戰爭中遭受大部分損失的地方。

作為撤軍行動的一部分，兩天前，美軍將赫爾曼德的一個基地移交給了阿富汗政府軍。

在華盛頓，美國軍方表示，迄今為止，撤離過程的約百分之二至百分之六已經完成。

美國中央司令部說，相當於價值60架C-17飛機的材料已從阿富汗撤出，並移交了1,300多件設備予以銷毀。

阿富汗國防部表示，在過去的24小時內，除赫爾曼德省外，安全部隊還對塔利班在至少六個其他省份的襲擊作出了反應，其中包括加茲尼省東南部和坎大哈省南部在內的至少六個省。

國防部說，剛在赫爾曼德省殺死了100多名塔利班戰士。它沒有提供阿富汗安全部隊人員傷亡的細節。塔利班沒有立即回應置評請求。

去年總統唐納德·特朗普（Donald Trump）同意在5月1日前撤軍。塔利班拒絕了拜登的宣布，即軍隊將繼續前進，但在接下來的四個半月內撤軍。

截止日期之前，暴力激增，洛加爾省的一顆汽車炸彈在星期五晚上喪生，炸死了近30人。星期一，塔利班在法拉省西南部挖出一條隧道走私的炸藥時，至少有七名阿富汗軍事人員被殺。

Taliban launches major Afghan offensive after deadline for US pullout

Afghan security forces fought back a major Taliban offensive in southern Helmand province in the last 24 hours.

By REUTERS

MAY 4, 2021 19:01

Members of a Taliban delegation leave after peace talks with Afghan senior politicians in Moscow, May 30, 2019

(photo credit: EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/REUTERS)

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Afghan security forces fought back a major Taliban offensive in southern Helmand province in the last 24 hours, officials and residents said on Tuesday, as militants launched assaults around the country after a missed US deadline to withdraw troops.

Although the United States did not meet the May 1 withdrawal deadline agreed in talks with the Taliban last year, its pull-out has begun, with President Joe Biden announcing all troops will be out by Sept. 11. Critics of the decision to withdraw say the Islamist militants will try to sweep back into power.

"There was a thunderstorm of heavy weapons and blasts in the city and the sound of small arms was like someone was making popcorn," Mulah Jan, a resident of a suburb of the Helmand provincial capital Lashkar Gah, told Reuters.

"I took all my family members to the corner of the room, hearing the heavy blasts and bursts of gunfire as if it was happening behind our walls," he said. Families that could afford to leave had fled, but he had been unable to go, waiting with his family in fear before the Taliban were pushed back.

Attaullah Afghan, the head of Helmand's provincial council, said the Taliban had launched their offensive on Monday from multiple directions, attacking checkpoints around the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, taking over some of them.

Afghan security forces had carried out air strikes and deployed elite commando forces to the area. The insurgents had been pushed back but fighting was continuing on Tuesday and hundreds of families had been displaced, he added.

RESONANCE

A Taliban surge in Helmand would have particular resonance, as the opium-growing desert province was where US and British forces suffered the bulk of their losses during the 20-year war.

As part of the pullout, US forces handed over a base in Helmand to Afghan government troops two days ago.

In Washington, the US military said that about two to six percent of the withdrawal process had been completed so far.

United States Central Command said that the equivalent of about 60 C-17 aircraft worth of material had been moved out of Afghanistan and more than 1,300 pieces of equipment had been handed over to be destroyed.

The Afghan defence ministry said that in addition to Helmand, security forces have been responding to attacks by the Taliban in at least six other provinces, including southeastern Ghazni and southern Kandahar in the past 24 hours.

The defence ministry said just over 100 Taliban fighters had been killed in Helmand. It did not provide details on casualties among Afghan security forces. The Taliban did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The May 1 deadline for US troops to pull out was agreed last year under then-President Donald Trump. The Taliban rejected Biden's announcement that troops would stay on past it but withdraw over the next four-and-a-half months.

The deadline has been met with a surge in violence, with a car bomb in Logar province killing almost 30 people on Friday evening. On Monday, at least seven Afghan military personnel were killed when the Taliban set off explosives smuggled through a tunnel they had dug into an army outpost in southwestern Farah province.

伊朗表示希望與沙特阿拉伯和平，但改為派胡西無人機

那麼，土耳其如何看待沙特阿拉伯與伊朗的緩和呢？

由SETH J.FRANTZMAN

2021年5月4日17:29

在9月份的一場運動中，胡特人站在也門堆積如山，為戰鬥與政府部隊的戰鬥人員收集物資。

（照片來源：KHALED ABDULLAH /路透社）

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如今，關於伊朗與沙特阿拉伯關係升溫的討論已經眾所周知，伊朗的戰略是什麼？

首先，有趣的是，儘管土耳其政權一直假裝要與沙特阿拉伯和埃及和解，但真正的實質性討論可能涉及沙特阿拉伯和伊朗。這是因為土耳其可能對沙特阿拉伯在該地區的領導角色構成更大的威脅，而伊朗是一個可以通過討論而平息的對手。

第二，要知道的重要一點是，伊朗已經承認與沙特阿拉伯的討論-同時伊朗媒體吹噓胡塞使用無人機對沙特阿拉伯發動了更多襲擊。

伊朗外交部長穆罕默德·賈瓦德·扎里夫（Mohammad Javad Zarif）甚至會見了胡希斯（Houthis）。他正在一次區域“齋月之旅”中，以支持伊斯蘭共和國。他的另一個目標表面上看起來是使伊朗看起來像在推動該地區的穩定和某種“ Pax Irana”。

伊朗外交部發言人賽義德·哈蒂布扎德（Saeed Khatibzadeh）說明了德黑蘭對互動與合作新時代的興趣。這些討論起初是比較秘密的，至少可以追溯到一月份。他們恰逢美國總統拜登就職。

美國前總統唐納德·特朗普（Donald Trump）卸任後，土耳其和沙特阿拉伯意識到該地區的情況將會改變。對利雅得而言，這意味著擔心美國將不會提供支持。對於土耳其來說，也存在類似的問題。

本週，向哈提布扎德詢問了有關沙特阿拉伯的關係。

他說：“改變語氣和話語將有助於減輕緊張氣氛，但在行為改變之前不會導致嚴重的實際結果。” “我們一直準備與包括沙特阿拉伯在內的我們的鄰居進行任何級別的任何形式的對話。”

卡蒂布扎德說：“我們認為，該地區的國家和兩國人民將看到這種談判的結果，這種談判將帶來更多的和平，穩定與進步。” “毫無疑問，兩國對此毫無疑問。”

據伊朗塔斯尼姆通訊社報導，在外交部談論穩定問題時，伊朗支持的胡希斯在納吉蘭和沙特阿拉伯的哈立德國王軍事基地發射了無人機。自美國新政府上台以來，胡西無人駕駛飛機的襲擊也有所增加。控制該國三分之一土地的也門胡塞叛軍發起了對馬里布市的進攻。

沙特人多年來一直在應對無人機和彈道導彈襲擊。但是，利雅得面臨的問題是美國是否會繼續提供支持。沙特阿拉伯可能已經計算出與伊朗的討論可以減少胡塞人的襲擊。

這是伊朗伊斯蘭革命衛隊可能控制胡塞關於瞄準沙特阿拉伯的決策的默許。這似乎是協調一致的，因為在2019年，對伊朗的一系列升級攻擊，包括來自伊拉克的Kataib真主黨的明顯攻擊，對Shaybah的攻擊以及隨後對伊朗的Abqaiq的攻擊，表明IRGC正在與也門的Houthis和PMU進行協調（人民動員部隊，主要是什葉派民兵）在伊拉克針對沙特阿拉伯。

從利雅得的角度來看，這是一個重大威脅。它在過去四年中試圖與伊拉克恢復關係，並在這方面取得了一些成功。當然，這很重要，因為1990年沙特阿拉伯受到侵略性薩達姆·侯賽因（Saddam Hussein）伊拉克的威脅。伊拉克被以美國為首的聯盟壓垮後，它成為一個軟弱的國家，不再能夠威脅鄰國。

伊拉克現在已部分由伊朗支持的民兵接管。對於利雅得而言，這一輪事件無濟於事。削弱薩達姆也許是必要的，但是將伊拉克變成伊朗的前線是一個重大威脅。

在也門擁有伊朗是另一個威脅。與沙特阿拉伯達成某種協議以減輕伊拉克和也門的緊張局勢，並製止另一場阿布凱克，符合沙特阿拉伯的利益，尤其是在美國沒有明確承諾的情況下。

這些是美國政策的餘波，也是伊朗對該地區的侵略和變化的餘波。自2015年以來，這些變化從某種程度上使沙特阿拉伯和以色列拉近了距離。但是利雅得也必須在現實政治與現實之間取得平衡。

令人感興趣的不僅是伊朗面對賈努斯的行為，在該國與利雅得進行穩定對話，而且告訴胡斯人加強對沙特阿拉伯的無人機襲擊。土耳其也看到了一個不斷變化的地區。在特朗普任職期間，安卡拉利用其華盛頓遊說者從美國獲得一張空白支票，不僅侵蝕了在家中的自由，而且發起了種族清洗行動，入侵了敘利亞的阿夫林和特拉維夫，並將僱傭軍出口到利比亞和阿塞拜疆。

安卡拉意識到華盛頓的空白支票已經結束。美國已經承認亞美尼亞種族滅絕，這是對土耳其專制領導人雷傑普·塔伊普·埃爾多安的無盡威脅的象徵。

那麼，土耳其如何看待沙特阿拉伯與伊朗的緩和呢？

專欄作家布爾哈內丁·杜蘭（Burhanettin Duran）週一在土耳其親政府《每日沙巴》（Daily Sabah）寫道：“拜登政府在也門拋棄了沙特阿拉伯，希望擺脫孤立是不為人知的。” “ [沙特阿拉伯]王儲決定放棄建立反伊朗集團的決定有很多方面。”

人權組織透露，土耳其媒體幾乎完全由埃爾多安（Erdogan）的AK黨或對政府的控製完全控制著這一事實，稱安卡拉是最大的新聞工作者之一。這意味著《每日沙巴》中顯示的內容表示政府的認可印章。

這就是安卡拉對利雅得正在做的事情的可能看法。土耳其認為沙特阿拉伯是孤立的。

“土耳其與埃及和阿拉伯聯合酋長國實現正常化的嘗試，以及傳聞其與沙特阿拉伯和以色列進行降級的傳聞，都與這一現實直接相關，”薩巴赫日報報導。

土耳其似乎認為應該進行區域“重置”。伊朗似乎也這麼認為。利雅得面臨的問題是，它與德黑蘭的討論能否帶來也門降級的成果。

伊朗擁有的一張牌是它的代理人對該地區構成恐嚇並發揮了槓桿作用。這就是為什麼它在最近幾個月對美國在伊拉克的設施進行了火箭襲擊的升級。它使用這些攻擊為國家提供了類似黑手黨的提議：“如果您給我們達成協議，我們可以減少攻擊。”

從維也納到與利雅得的會談，德黑蘭都扮演著同樣的角色。而且，沒有一個國家決定對伊朗做它對其他國家所做的事情，例如在伊斯蘭共和國境內發動無人機襲擊，並聲稱有一些無名集團這樣做了。

伊朗外交部表示希望穩定。它甚至提出了一些名為“希望”的奇特協議，以減輕海灣緊張局勢，這種緊張局勢由於伊朗的行動而上升。

問題在於它的外交部不代表伊朗發言。IRGC會這樣做，並且IRGC會繼續進行攻擊。

Iran says it wants peace with Saudis, but sends Houthi drones instead

So what does Turkey think about Saudi Arabia’s possible détente with Iran?

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN

MAY 4, 2021 17:29

HOUTHI FOLLOWERS stand by piles of Yemeni currency during a campaign in September to collect supplies for fighters battling government forces.

(photo credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/ REUTERS)

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What is Iran’s strategy now that discussions of an Iran-Saudi Arabia warming of relations have become well known?

First, it is interesting that while Turkey’s regime has been pretending it wants reconciliation with Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the real substantive discussion may involve the kingdom and Iran. That is because Turkey can be more of a threat to Saudi Arabia’s leadership role in the region, while Iran is an antagonist that might be quieted by discussions.

Second, what is important to know is that Iran has acknowledged the discussions with Saudi Arabia – at the same time that Iran’s media brags of more Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia using drones.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif even met with the Houthis. He is on a regional “Ramadan trip” to shore up support for the Islamic Republic. His other goal is ostensibly to make it seem like Iran is pushing stability and a kind of “Pax Irana” in the region.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh has illustrated Tehran’s interest in a new era of interaction and cooperation. These discussions, which were at first more secret, go back at least to January. They coincide with US President Joe Biden taking office.

After former US president Donald Trump left office, Turkey and Saudi Arabia understood that things would change in the region. For Riyadh, that means a concern that the US will not be as supportive; for Turkey, a similar problem exists.

This week, Khatibzadeh was asked about the Saudi ties.

“Changing the tone and discourse will help reduce tensions but will not lead to a serious practical result until the behavior changes,” he said. “We have always been ready for talks at any level and in any form with our neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.”

“We think that the countries of the region and the people of the two countries will see the result of such talks, which are more peace, stability and progress,” Khatibzadeh said. “Undoubtedly, the two countries have no doubts about this.”

While the Foreign Ministry was talking about stability, the Iranian-backed Houthis launched drones at Najran and King Khalid military base in Saudi Arabia, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported. Houthi drone attacks have also increased since the new US administration came into office. The Houthi rebels in Yemen, who control a third of the country, have launched an offensive on the city of Marib.

The Saudis have dealt with drone and ballistic-missile attacks for years. However, the question for Riyadh is whether US support will continue. The kingdom may have calculated that discussions with Iran could reduce Houthi attacks.

This is a tacit admission that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may control Houthi decision-making about targeting Saudi Arabia. It appears coordinated because in 2019, a series of escalating attacks on Iran, including an apparent attack from Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq and an attack on Shaybah and then on Abqaiq from Iran, showed that the IRGC was coordinating with the Houthis in Yemen and the PMU (Popular Mobilization Units, a mostly Shi’ite militia) in Iraq against the kingdom.

From Riyadh’s point of view, this is a major threat. It has sought to repair relations with Iraq over the past four years and has achieved some success on that front. Of course, this matters because Saudi Arabia in 1990 was threatened by an aggressive Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. After Iraq was crushed by the US-led coalition, it became a weakened state, no longer capable of threatening neighbors.

Iraq has now been taken over in part by Iranian-backed militias. For Riyadh, this turn of events is not helpful; weakening Saddam may have been necessary, but turning Iraq into an Iranian front line is a major threat.

Having Iran in Yemen is another threat. Securing some kind of deal with Iran to reduce tensions in Iraq and Yemen, as well as stopping another Abqaiq, is in Saudi Arabia’s interests, especially in the absence of a clear US commitment.

These are the aftershocks of US policy as well as Iran’s aggression and changes in the region. In some ways, these changes have brought Saudi Arabia and Israel closer since 2015. But Riyadh must balance that with realpolitik as well.

Of interest is not only Iran’s Janus-faced behavior, where it talks stability with Riyadh but tells the Houthis to step up the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. Turkey also sees a changing region. During the Trump years, Ankara used its Washington lobbyists to get a blank check from the US to not only erode freedoms at home but to launch ethnic-cleansing invasions of Afrin and Tel Abyad in Syria and to export mercenaries to Libya and Azerbaijan.

Ankara realizes that Washington’s blank check is over. The US has recognized the Armenian Genocide, a symbolic standing-up to Turkish authoritarian leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s endless threats.

So what does Turkey think about Saudi Arabia’s possible détente with Iran?

“It is no secret that the Saudis, who the Biden administration abandoned in Yemen, wish to come out of isolation,” columnist Burhanettin Duran wrote Monday in Daily Sabah, a Turkish pro-government daily. “The [Saudi Arabia] crown prince’s decision to abandon building an anti-Iran bloc has many dimensions to it.”

Turkish media is almost completely controlled by Erdogan’s AK Party or answers to the government, a fact revealed by human-rights organizations that say Ankara is one of the largest jailers of journalists. This means that what appears in Daily Sabah indicates a stamp of approval from the government.

So this is Ankara’s possible view of what Riyadh is doing. Turkey thinks Saudi Arabia is isolated.

“Turkey’s normalization attempts with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with its rumored pursuit of de-escalation with Saudi Arabia and Israel, are directly related to this reality,” Daily Sabah reported.

Turkey seems to think a regional “reset” is in order. Iran also seems to think so. The question facing Riyadh is whether its discussions with Tehran can bring the fruits of de-escalation in Yemen.

One of the cards Iran has is that its proxies terrorize the region and give it leverage. That is why it has escalated rocket attacks on US facilities in Iraq in recent months. It uses these attacks to give countries a mafia-like offer: “We can reduce the attacks if you give us a deal.”

From Vienna to the talks with Riyadh, Tehran plays the same game. And no country has decided to do to Iran what it does to others, such as launch drone strikes inside the Islamic Republic and claim that some nameless group did it.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says it wants stability. It even pitches some oddly named agreement called “HOPE” to reduce tensions in the Gulf, tensions that rose because of Iran’s actions.

The problem is that its Foreign Ministry doesn’t speak for Iran. The IRGC does, and the IRGC continues the attacks.

磋商開始時里夫林會見貝內特·拉皮德

接近里夫林的消息人士稱，他很可能在星期三底之前提出任務授權。

通過GIL HOFFMAN

2021年5月5日11:25

里夫林于2021年4月5日與MK對話。

（照片來源：YONATAN SINDEL / FLASH90）

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魯文·里夫林（Reuven Rivlin）總統週三與耶什·阿迪德（Yesh Atid）領導人Yair Lapid和Yamina主席納夫塔利·貝內特（Naftali Bennett）會面，開始了促進新政府組建的進程。

里夫林邀請其他黨的領導人在下午2點之前以書面形式轉達他們的立場。

總統官邸哈雷爾·圖比（Harel Tubi）總幹事在致黨首長時說：“如果需要進一步澄清，總統將考慮邀請您的政黨代表按照法律規定的時機向他介紹自己的立場。”

總理本傑明·內塔尼亞胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）成立政府的任務在星期二晚上結束，但沒有成立聯盟。

根據法律規定，里夫林必須在星期五之前提出第二項任務。

但接近他的消息人士說，他想迅速進行，很可能在當天結束時提出任務。

同時，新希望派在星期三早上決定推薦拉皮德組建政府。薩爾說，這是邁向統一政府道路的正確步驟。

利庫德派系主席米基·佐哈爾（Miki Zohar）說，他仍然希望可以成立一個右翼政府。

“對於所有對返回任務令我們感到欣喜的人，即使返回的路很長，我們也不擔心。”

他警告貝內特，新希望領導人吉迪恩·薩爾（Gideon Sa'ar）和宗教猶太復國主義黨領袖貝扎萊爾·斯莫特里奇（Bezalel Smotrich），公眾將因阻止內塔尼亞胡組建政府而受到懲罰。

佐哈爾在推特上寫道：“以色列人民不會再為那些吊死內塔尼亞胡的人投票。”

Rivlin meets Lapid, Bennett as consultations begin

Sources close to Rivlin said he was likely to present the mandate by the end of Wednesday • Sa'ar's New Hope decides to recommend Lapid

By GIL HOFFMAN

MAY 5, 2021 11:25

Rivlin speaks to MKs on April 5 2021.

(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

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President Reuven Rivlin began the process of facilitating the formation of a new government on Wednesday by meeting with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett.

Rivlin invited other party leaders to convey their position in writing by 2 p.m.

"If further clarifications are required, the president will consider inviting representatives of your party to present their position to him, in line with the timeframe set out in the law,” director-general of the President's Residence Harel Tubi wrote to the party leaders.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mandate to form a government ended Tuesday night without a coalition being formed.

By law, Rivlin has until Friday to present a second mandate.

But sources close to him said he wanted to proceed quickly and is likely to present the mandate by the end of the day.

Meanwhile, the New Hope faction decided on Wednesday morning to recommend Lapid to form the government. Sa'ar said it was the right step on the path to a unity government.

Likud faction chairman Miki Zohar said he still hoped a right-wing government could be formed.

"To all those exulting over us returning the mandate, we are not worried, even if the path back could be long."

He warned Bennett, New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar and Religious Zionist Party head Bezalel Smotrich that the public would punish them for preventing Netanyahu from forming a government.

"The people of Israel will not vote again for those who hung [Netanyahu]," Zohar wrote on Twitter.

同時，美國代理機構預計將在下周初授權公司12至15歲年齡段的COVID-19拍攝

由TOI工作人員今天，上午11:23 0

說明性：Logan Garnica於2021年3月25日在猶他州的西班牙叉子接受了他的輝瑞疫苗。（美聯社照片/里克·鮑默）

輝瑞公司（Pfizer-BioNTech）週二在季度財報電話會議上表示，該公司將尋求美國食品藥物管理局（FDA）的批准，將其COVID-19疫苗用於2-11歲的兒童。

該公司正在申請批准，從9月開始對年幼的孩子接種該疫苗。此外，輝瑞表示將在八月前獲得有關孕婦疫苗安全性的試驗數據。

預計FDA將在下週之前授權輝瑞公司（Pfizer）的COVID-19疫苗用於12至15歲的年輕人。

以色列衛生官員表示，一旦美國當局批准，他們將針對該年齡段的青少年開展疫苗接種運動。

2021年2月25日，一名孕婦在Oryehuda的Clalit Covid-19疫苗接種中心接受Covid-19疫苗注射（Flash90）

輝瑞公司於3月下旬發布了一項針對2260名12至15歲的美國志願者進行的疫苗研究的初步結果，結果顯示，完全接種疫苗的青少年中沒有COVID-19的病例，而注射假疫苗的青少年中只有18例。

該研究將繼續跟踪參與者兩年，以獲取有關長期保護和安全的更多信息。

輝瑞公司並不是唯一一家希望降低其疫苗使用年齡限制的公司。美國對12至17歲的Moderna疫苗進行的一項研究也有望在今年年中取得結果。

檔案：戴著口罩的孩子們將於2020年11月1日回到班上第一天在採法特上學（David Cohen / Flash90）

美國官員希望，將疫苗接種擴大到青少年，將進一步加快美國減少病毒感染的負擔，並使學校在今年秋天以最小的中斷重新開放。

目前，輝瑞疫苗已根據緊急使用授權分發給美國人，可以在COVID-19危機結束後撤銷。該公司宣布，正在尋求FDA的完全批准，這將使該疫苗繼續投放市場並直接出售給客戶。

此舉可能有助於提高美國的疫苗接種率，在美國，最近幾周成年人對疫苗的需求急劇下降，因為這將增強人們對疫苗安全性的信心，並使其更容易獲得。

2021年3月29日，法國面對新一輪冠狀病毒的新一波感染，在里昂萬國宮（Palais des Sports）舉辦疫苗接種中心的輝瑞（Pfizer-BioNTech）COVID-19疫苗瓶。（JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK /法新社）

輝瑞公司已經在美國註射了超過1.31億劑疫苗。

上個月，以色列 簽署了購買數百萬片輝瑞-BioNTech和Moderna疫苗的交易，以使該國為另一次接種運動做好準備，其中也包括青春期。

當輝瑞BioNTech疫苗在美國獲得批准時，以色列兒科協會呼籲父母和家庭醫生為12歲及以上的兒童接種疫苗。目前，該疫苗已獲得緊急授權，可用於16歲及以上的人群。

Meanwhile, US agency expected to authorize company’s COVID-19 shots for ages 12 to 15 by early next week

By TOI STAFFToday, 11:23 am 0

·

Illustrative: Logan Garnica receives his Pfizer vaccine on March 25, 2021, in Spanish Fork, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Pfizer-BioNTech will seek the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval to administer its COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 2-11, the company said Tuesday in its quarterly earnings call.

The company is applying for clearance to start administering the vaccine to young children in September. In addition, Pfizer said it will have trial data on the safety of its vaccine for pregnant individuals by August.

The FDA is expected to authorize Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for youngsters ages 12 to 15 by next week.

Israeli health officials have said they will launch a vaccination drive for teens in that age group as soon as US authorities approve it.

A pregnant woman receives a Covid-19 vaccine injection, at Clalit Covid-19 vaccination center in Or yehuda, on Purim, February 25, 2021. (Flash90)

Pfizer in late March released preliminary results from a vaccine study of 2,260 US volunteers age 12 to 15, showing there were no cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared with 18 among those given dummy shots.

The study will continue to track participants for two years for more information about long-term protection and safety.

Pfizer isn’t the only company seeking to lower the age limit for its vaccine. Results also are expected by the middle of this year from a US study of Moderna’s vaccine in 12- to 17-year-olds.

File: Children wearing face masks make their way to school in Safed on their first day back to classes on November 1, 2020 (David Cohen/Flash90)

US officials hope that extending vaccinations to teens will further accelerate the nation’s reduced virus caseload and allow schools to reopen with minimal disruptions this fall.

Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is being distributed to Americans under an emergency use authorization, which can be revoked when the COVID-19 crisis ends. The company announced that it was seeking full FDA approval, which would allow the vaccine to remain on the market and be sold to customers directly.

This move could help increase vaccination rates in the US, where demand for vaccines among adults has dramatically slowed in recent weeks, as it would boost confidence in the vaccine’s safety and make it more widely accessible.

Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Palais des Sports venue in Lyon, hosting a vaccination center, on March 29, 2021, as France faces a new wave of infections of the novel coronavirus. (JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP)

More than 131 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine have already been administered in the US.

Last month, Israel signed deals to purchase millions of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine doses to ready the country for another inoculation campaign that would also include young adolescences.

The Israeli Pediatric Association has called for parents and family doctors to vaccinate children ages 12 and up when the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine gets approval in the US for those ages. Currently, the vaccine has emergency authorization for use in people 16 and older.

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