Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.

A crowdfunding initiative by the finance minister amid reports of government spending on new vehicles for Cabinet members has only swelled public anger. Some local non-governmental organizations on Friday blamed the government for the deaths in an outbreak that is spreading beyond the capital and raising fears of a repeat of the 2008 epidemic that killed over 4,000 people. “It is alarming and quite unusual for such a medieval and preventable disease to continue to claim such valuable lives in this day and age,” said the Civil Society Health Emergency Response Coordinating Committee in a statement. It warned that government failure to “guarantee the right to health is a serious violation of both local and international law.” The government, which this week declared an emergency, has said it is committed to ending the outbreak. Health Minister Obadiah Moyo, while visiting a suburb identified as the epicenter of the outbreak on Friday, said it is not time “for a blame game.” United Nations agencies such as the World Health Organization say they have intervened to assist the southern African country whose economy collapsed under former leader Robert Mugabe, who resigned in November under military pressure. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube used Twitter to announce a crowdfunding initiative to help fight the outbreak, infuriating some Zimbabweans long frustrated by the country’s currency crisis and high unemployment rate. ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa
Zimbabwe’s government criticized over cholera outbreak.

Major European stock markets dived more than 7%, Japanese indexes fell over 5% and U.S. markets sank over 7% after Saudi Arabia launched an oil price war with Russia that sent investors already spooked by the coronavirus epidemic running for the exits. In Italy, scene of Europe’s worst outbreak with infections and deaths still soaring, the government took its most drastic steps yet to contain the outbreak, affecting some 60 million people. It ordered everyone across the country not to move around other than for work and emergencies, banned all public gatherings and suspended sporting events, including soccer matches. Deaths in Milan’s Lombardy region - which had already been on lockdown with cinemas, theaters and museums closed and restaurant hours restricted - jumped 25% in a day to 333, while the national death toll soared by 97 to 463, the highest in the world after China. Over 9,000 people have become infected in Italy in little over two weeks, out of a global total of more than 113,000 in over 100 countries. Nearly 4,000 people have died across the world, the vast majority in mainland China. “Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. But he welcomed Italy’s tough measures, noting that just four countries - China, South Korea, Italy and Iran - accounted for 93% of cases worldwide. Israel ordered anyone entering the country to self-quarantine for 14 days on Monday. “It would be the first pandemic that could be controlled,” Tedros added. “The bottom line is we are not at the mercy of the virus.”  In the United States, which has reported over 600 cases and 26 deaths, the administration scrambled on Monday to assure Americans it was responding to the outbreak as stock markets plunged and top health officials urged some people to avoid cruise ships, air travel and big public gatherings. U.S. President Donald Trump, who continued to play down the threat posed by the flu-like virus, said he would announce economic measures on Tuesday and would discuss a payroll tax cut with Congress to bolster the economy. Trump recently spent time with two members of Congress, including one who rode on Air Force One, who are self-quarantining over concerns about exposure to the virus. Vice President Michael Pence said he did not know if Trump had been tested for coronavirus. Around the world, flights have been canceled, communities and cruise liners isolated, and concerts and trade fairs postponed. While some countries, such as China and Italy, have turned to drastic measures to try to delay the spread of the virus, others remain in a “containment” phase, where individual cases can still be tracked. Britain, with five deaths from almost 300 confirmed cases, said it would remain in that phase for now, allowing major gatherings and sporting events to continue, while making extensive preparations to move to the “delay phase.”  In neighboring Ireland, acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said a 3 billion euro ($3.4 billion) coronavirus package had been agreed. Funds set aside for a potential sudden rupture in trade ties with Britain, which has left the European Union, were to be diverted to coronavirus mitigation. Perhaps just as dramatically, Varadkar announced  cancellation of all parades planned for the national St. Patrick’s Day festival on March 17, including one in Dublin that draws more than 500,000 people from all over the world. In Spain, schools were closed across the Madrid region and the Basque capital Vitoria for two weeks as cases topped 1,200 nationwide. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said an emergency economic plan had been prepared. In the Gulf region, where most cases stem from travel from Iran, the emphasis has been on border control. Saudi Arabia said it would fine people who did not disclose health information and travel details at entry up to $133,000. Iran, with 7,161 cases and 237 deaths, said it was temporarily releasing about 70,000 prisoners because of the coronavirus. China and South Korea both reported a slowdown in new infections. Mainland China, outside the outbreak center of Hubei province, recorded no new locally transmitted coronavirus cases for the second day. South Korea reported 165 new cases, bringing the national tally to 7,478, while the death toll rose by one to 51. With the rate of increase in new infections at its lowest  in 11 days, President Moon Jae-in said South Korea could enter the “phase of stability” soon. In Italy, that phase still seems far off. Authorities said seven prisoners died as riots spread through more than 25 jails across the country over measures imposed to contain the coronavirus. Police and fire trucks massed outside the main prison in the northern town of Modena, the site of some of the worst violence. Barkeepers in Rome and Milan said police had visited them to warn that they risked closure if they let customers huddle together. “We went into the cafe together but were told to stand far apart. It was really odd because we are friends,” said Ilaria Frezza, a 21-year-old student. But the bar she was in was, in fact, almost deserted. “I wish I was having problems keeping people apart, but that’s the least of my worries,” said Franco Giovinazzo, who runs the Spazio Caffe in Rome. “The real problem is there’s no-one here.”  (Graphic: Coronavirus spreads in China and beyond, here)  (Graphic: Tracking the novel coronavirus, here)  (Online package of coronavirus news, here)
Stocks savaged, Italy on lockdown, Trump seeks to reassure as coronavirus spreads.

There’s no mention of how much a gonorrhea vaccine might cost. In the U.S. meningitis B vaccine Bexsero, which contains manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, costs $99 for a pediatric dose and $106 for an adult dose. Two doses are required. A discussion of cost and cost-effectiveness is particularly important when considering a widespread public vaccination campaign. The story just passes the bar, giving actual numbers far down in the story. It states researchers “found people who were vaccinated were 31 percent less likely to be infected with gonorrhea than those who hadn’t received the meningococcal B vaccine.” We would have liked to see that data higher in the story. Instead, the story states in the third paragraph that the gonorrhea rate was “significantly lower” among those who were vaccinated. The story doesn’t give the overall risk of getting gonorrhea, so it’s hard to tell whether a 31 percent drop amounts to a significant benefit for individuals. The study itself states that the findings provide preliminary evidence of “moderate” cross-protection, and we think that should have been given more discussion so people get a better sense of how little is known about the efficacy compared to other vaccines. Any vaccine has potential side effects, and these aren’t mentioned. According to the CDC, more than half of the people who get meningitis B vaccines have mild problems such as headaches or soreness where the shot was given. Fainting, allergic reactions and shoulder pain are less common effects. Also, the vaccine appears to be only moderately effective, meaning people may get infected regardless. Overall, not much is known about this vaccine’s safety–whether it’s being used for meningitis or gonorrhea. As Bloomberg News explained, many health experts decry the lack of data on the vaccine. Discussing this issue would have made the story stronger. The story states that the findings were observational and adds: “Clinical trials will need to be conducted to see if the effect researchers have observed is actually due to the meningococcal B vaccine.” It explains that only a particular vaccine component that protects against one strain of meningitis appears to offer some protection against gonorrhea, while meningococcal vaccines that protect against other strains do not. The story could have mentioned the number of vaccinated young people in the study, which was nearly 15,000. The story dramatizes the threat of antibiotic resistance with an unattributed statement: “The last remaining drugs to cure this sexually transmitted infection are showing signs they may only have a few more years of usefulness left.” It also gives a quote from a GSK spokeswoman who calls the findings “a positive step in the search for a vaccine against this common and distressing disease that is increasingly resistant to antibiotic treatment.” As this Scientific American article explains, that actual rate of antibiotic-resistance–while on the rise–is still pretty small. Independent sources would have been useful on this point, but we wouldn’t say this rises to the level of disease mongering. The story reports that the study was funded by GSK and Auckland Uniservices, the commercialization arm of the University of Auckland. It does not mention that one of the researchers in the study has been a paid consultant for GSK and other drugmakers. The story appears to use one independent source, Dr. Jean Longtin, head of Quebec’s public health laboratory. It also quotes from an accompanying editorial by Kate Seib, of Australia’s Institute for Glycomics, who declared no conflicts. There’s no discussion of other strategies to address the spread of gonorrhea. The CDC has urged the development of new treatments for gonorrhea. Public health education, including condom use, can prevent new cases. A report sponsored by health agencies in the U.S. and the United Kingdom highlighted the need for strong data-driven public health surveillance to better understand how resistant strains evolve and get transmitted, as well as point-of-care diagnostic testing to identify resistant strains. At least a line or two discussing these alternatives would have informed readers that the vaccine isn’t the only solution. The story says the single-component vaccine used in New Zealand is no longer made but that the component is part of GSK’s Bexsero vaccine, which is on the market. The story also distinguishes the B vaccine from others on the market: “Meningococcal vaccines that protect against the other strains do not seem to have the same effect (on gonorrhea).” Significance is conveyed in the headline: “Vaccine shows protection against gonorrhea for first time, study says.” The story does not appear to rely on the news release from The Lancet.

Vaccine shows protection against gonorrhea for first time, study says