VOA News for Sunday, February 28th, 2021

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VOA News for Sunday, February 28th, 2021
This is VOA news. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd.
The United States is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two.
The FDA said J&J's vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospitalization and death.
Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the approval was done with rigorous standards or safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.
One dose was 85 percent effective against the most severe COVID-19 illness in a massive study that spanned three continents- protection that remained strong even in countries such as South Africa, where variants of most concern are spreading.
The House of Representatives has approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that was championed by President Joe Biden, the first step in providing another dose of aid to a weary nation as the measure now moves to the Senate.
Biden's vision for infusing cash across a struggling economy to individuals, businesses, schools, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line vote of 219-212. Speaking at the White House Saturday morning, the president said there is "no time to waste" in passing the legislation in the Senate.
"We're one step closer to helping millions of Americans feed their families and keep a roof over their head. We're one step closer to getting our kids safely back in school. And we're one step closer to getting state and local governments the money they need to prevent massive layoffs for essential workers.”
The bill faces a tough fight in the Senate where a battle over raising the minimum wage threatens to derail passage.
This is VOA news.
Police in Myanmar launched their most sweeping crackdown in three weeks of protests against military rule on Saturday. Reuters Emily Wither reports.
In the toughest crackdown yet, police in Myanmar clashed with protesters detaining dozens of people. Several media workers were also detained.
Despite the crackdown, their numbers building through the morning to chant and sing, melting away into side streets as police advanced.
Three domestic media outlets said a woman was shot and killed in the central town of Monwya. Police there were not immediately available for comment.
The Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since the army seized power and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership, alleging fraud in a November election her party had won in a landslide.
That's Reuters Emily Wither.
Gunmen in Nigeria on Saturday released 27 teenage boys who were kidnapped from their school last week in the northern state of Niger, where security forces continued to search for more than 300 schoolgirls abducted in a nearby state.
Abubakar Sani Bello is the governor of Niger. "We are carefully watching their health and their condition. And they will be reunited back soon with their families.”
Earlier this month, 27 students, 3 staff and 12 members of their family were abducted by an armed gang who stormed the Government Science secondary school in the Kagara district of Niger state.
The release of the school boys comes just a day after a raid on a school in Zamfara state where gunmen seized 317 girls.
Schools have become targets for mass kidnappings for ransom in northern Nigeria by armed groups, many of whom carry guns and ride motorcycles.
Funeral services were held for Captain Tom Moore, the British World War II veteran who raised millions of dollars for health service workers on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19. AP's Karen Chammas reports.
A World War II-era plane flew over the funeral service where soldiers also performed ceremonial duties for the captain who died on the 2nd of February in hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.
The private service was small, attended by just eight members of the veteran's immediate family. But soldiers carried his coffin draped in the Union flag from the hearse to a crematorium and formed a ceremonial guard.