Pfizer plans to briefly cut back deliveries of Covid vaccines to Europe

A picture taken on January 15, 2021 shows a pharmacist holding a vial of undiluted Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19 with gloved hands, which is stored at -70 ° in a super freezer at Le Mans hospital in northwestern France became country runs a vaccination campaign to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Jean-Francois Monier | AFP | Getty Images

LONDON – Pfizer will temporarily reduce the number of doses of its coronavirus vaccine shipped to Europe.

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health received a message from Pfizer “shortly before 10 a.m.” Friday, according to a statement released shortly afterwards by the agency. The NIPH statement said supplies of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine would be reduced from next week “and for an upcoming period”.

“In week 3, Pfizer predicted 43,875 doses of vaccine. Now we appear to be receiving 36,075 doses,” the statement said.

NIPH said the temporary reduction in deliveries was “related to an upgrade in production capacity”. “The temporary reduction will affect all European countries,” he added.

Pfizer later confirmed the interruption in supplies in a statement. “As part of normal productivity improvements to increase capacity, we need to make changes to the process and facility that require additional regulatory approvals,” he said.

Pfizer added that while this would “temporarily affect shipments from late January to early February, it will significantly increase the doses available to patients in late February and March”.

Meanwhile, Pfizer said there could be fluctuations in orders and shipping schedules at its facility in Puurs, Belgium, “in the near future”.

Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday that he was confident of “dramatically increasing” production of the vaccine this year, with the goal of producing up to 2 billion doses.

Bourla also said that Pfizer currently has more doses of its vaccine available than are being used.

The European Union announced last week that it was doubling its inventory of Pfizer BioNTech vaccines.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said the deal would allow the EU to buy an additional 300 million cans on top of its existing inventory. The EU executive has already been criticized for not buying more of the vaccine.

Rollouts have been slow in many EU countries including France, Germany and the Netherlands, and this latest news is likely to weigh on vaccination programs in those countries. Canada has also confirmed that its deliveries will be delayed, but said it is hoped this will not affect its vaccination program.

The Biden Covid advisor asks Cuomo’s letter to purchase the vaccine straight

Dr. Coveline Gounder, a member of the Covid Advisory Board of President-elect Joe Biden, slammed the Trump administration’s piecemeal Covid response as some states in the US struggled to get the vaccine doses they needed.

“I think we have already received too many patchwork reactions in the states,” said Gounder in an interview on Monday evening for “The News with Shepard Smith”.

In a briefing on the coronavirus on Friday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the federal government was sending his state 50,000 less doses of vaccine than the week before. The state received fewer doses when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded immunization rights to people over 65 years of age on Jan.

On Monday, Cuomo sent a letter to Pfizer asking if New York State could buy vaccines directly from the company. Last week, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer made a similar request to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.

Gounder told host Shepard Smith that this approach could cause more problems than it could solve.

“I think Governor Cuomo himself had already said in the spring that the ventilator situation was essentially ‘one big Ebay’ with all states bidding against each other for ventilators, and I think this is one approach to vaccine allocation In all honesty, this will lead to the same situation that he himself criticized last spring, “said Gounder.

Data from the CDC shows that the US gets an average of 900,000 vaccinations per day. During an interview with Fox News, Azar quoted the CDC number and criticized the Biden government’s goal of “100 million gun shots in the first 100 days.”

“We’ll have 250 million doses of vaccine distributed by the end of April,” said Azar. “If by then they have only had 100 million vaccinations, it will be a tragic waste of the opportunity we gave them.”

Gounder, an epidemiologist at NYU, qualified Azar’s testimony, noting that the distribution did not mean actual injections of the vaccine.

“We saw, however, that the distribution is very different from shooting in the arms, that the last mile of delivery is really the hardest part here,” explained Gounder. “Second, we have to confirm that this number of doses, the 250 million figure he cites there, will really be down.”

Cuomo beat him up in a separate letter to Azar for “confusing” the public about vaccine supplies. Azar admitted on Friday that there are currently no supplies.

Biden consultant Dr. Michael Osterholm warned that the worst of the Covid pandemic is yet to come and the data supports his dire prediction. The U.S. is rapidly approaching 400,000 deaths in the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That is roughly one in 822 Americans. According to the Covid Tracking Project, at least 23,000 people were in intensive care units in the United States for 19 consecutive days due to Covid. The HHS reported that nearly 80% of ICU beds nationwide are occupied.

Gounder said the US is “at our fifth peak right now” and that the next few months will be all about “shift protection” to avoid another.

“We really need to focus on things like masking and social distancing, outside instead of inside, well-ventilated spaces,” warned Gounder. “If we do these things it may be our final climax, but it really depends on each of us doing what needs to be done to get back to normal life.”

Pure gasoline costs in Asia could have peaked after latest highs: Eurasia

SINGAPORE – Natural gas prices in Asia hit a record high last week and are likely to fall from here, according to political risk adviser Eurasia Group.

“We heard individual loads actually sold in the high 30s, I heard one at $ 39 [per million British thermal units]”said Henning Gloystein, director of energy, climate and resources in Eurasia. This level appears to be the” high mark “for prices and the climax, he said.

According to S&P Global Platts, the Japan-Korea marker (JKM) reference price for liquefied natural gas hit a record high of $ 32.49 MMBtu in February last week. Demand for natural gas for heating increased after a cold spell in Northern Asia, the report said.

The price jump was “pretty extreme” but won’t last long as the cold season ends and demand for heating will fall, Gloystein told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday.

“At some point it will of course get a little warmer,” he said. “February and March prices will likely go down because … winter is sure to end.”

“This is probably the high point of the peak,” he added.

The cargo ship Cygnus Passage from Russia with liquefied natural gas (LNG) will dock in Tianjin, China on January 7, 2021 at an LNG terminal operated by the China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group).

VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images

Natural gas prices in Asia fell to a record low in the second quarter of last year as the coronavirus crisis spread. However, since July they have increased by more than 1,000%.

Gloystein said cold weather and some utility outages had contributed to this surge, but a “major overlooked factor” was the large number of households in China that switched from coal to natural gas last year.

It is estimated that more than 10 million households in China have switched from coal to natural gas to heat their homes. Most of these transitions happened in the final quarter of 2020, just before winter came, he said.

This gasification program and the move to cleaner fuels in China will no doubt continue.

Henning Gloystein

Eurasia Group

“Then it got really cold and suddenly they had to meet all of this new demand, which some estimates put all Australian households in a different fuel in a single year,” said Gloystein.

Utilities and energy companies didn’t have enough storage to prepare for such a sharp surge in demand, he added. As a result, demand exceeded supply and brought prices to record highs.

According to Gloystein, companies typically build storage in the summer and use it in the winter to replenish as needed. This time around, however, China suddenly had to buy more gas for new customers at “literally any price and nobody in the market was prepared for it”.

Still, the trend to switch from coal to gas is likely to continue, he added.

“This gasification program and the move to cleaner fuels in China will no doubt continue,” he said.

Social media reacts to Lil ‘Wayne signing up for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. thanks

In honor of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. recognized Lil ‘Wayne the Revolutionary and said he was grateful.

He went to Twitter and tweeted“Because he had a dream, I can live out my dreams. I am mindful forever. Forever grateful. Because he had a dream, I will never stop dreaming and dreams are forever. King. Forever.”

A couple of Twitter followers were a bit surprised because Wayne had testified in the past and most recently his photo op with Donald Trump before the 2020 elections.

One person wrote, “I thought you said there is no racism.” Another wrote, “Should have considered that before I endorse Trump.”

If you remember, Wayne stated in 2016 that he had never experienced racism there.

During an interview with UndisputedExplaining why “a lot of white kids love rap,” Skip Bayless, co-host, Wayne said there was no such thing as racism.

He said, “I don’t want to be beaten up … but I think it’s a message that there is clearly no racism,” Wayne said.

Wayne went on to say his “blessings” and experience as an entertainer allowed him to form an opinion on racial relations. “I’ve never dealt with racism,” Wayne said. “And I’m glad I never had to. I think it’s over. But obviously it isn’t. “

When asked if he had ever experienced anything “offensive” because of the color of his skin, Wayne replied, “No, sir.”

Puppy

Trump installs MAGA extremists in navy companies forward of Biden’s inauguration

Donald Trump appears to be installing MAGA loyalists at the helm of the military and intelligence agencies just days before Joe Biden takes office.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow alerted Trump about the step behind the scenes and openly asked what the outgoing president thinks these agencies can be dealt with in less than 48 hours before Biden is sworn in.

“What do the Trump people think they can do with the military and the secret services in the last few days?” asked the MSNBC host. “Why would you bother installing all of these new ones at the end before Biden gets there?”

Video:

Rachel Maddow is sounding the alarm because Donald Trump installed MAGA loyalists at the top of the military and intelligence services a few days before he left office. #maddow pic.twitter.com/mVYS2AGtsa

– PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) January 19, 2021

Maddow said:

The question is why are they trying? At the very last minute they are literally trying to swear this guy down to head the NSA 24 hours before Biden’s inauguration. And, you know, yes, on a surface that Biden faces the annoying task of figuring out a way to fire this guy or, as you know, assign him to a very important job in Antarctica, the paint dry outside to observe. Or something else to do with this guy. But think about where the impetus for this comes from. What do the Trump people think they can do with the military and intelligence in the last few days? Why would you bother installing all of these new ones in the end before Biden gets there? We will see.

Trump is still playing with coup fantasies

In less than 48 hours, Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. There is nothing Donald Trump or his gang of white supremacist terrorists can do to prevent this from happening.

But Trump’s eleventh attempt to put his loyalists at the helm of the military and intelligence agencies seems to suggest that coup fantasies are still swirling around in his head.

In one version of Trump’s reality, if he leaves office, he either still believes he can pull off a coup, or he believes he can influence the military and intelligence by installing his loyalists now.

Either way, Donald Trump is likely to be disappointed as he leaves office at 12:00 p.m. on Jan. 20 and any MAGA extremist he installs at the last minute is likely to be canned by Joe Biden.

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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as the Outreach Organizer of the Affordable Care Act in 2014, helping Northeast Ohio residents get health insurance.

Job alternatives, quick rising industries in Southeast Asia: LinkedIn

Careers in health care, education and digital services will be among the fastest growing in Southeast Asia this year, according to a new report released Tuesday.

LinkedIn’s first report on Jobs on the Rise points to a surge in demand for medical professionals, teachers and creatives in 2021 as the coronavirus changes the face of the employment landscape in the region.

The study – a special edition of the website’s annual emerging jobs report – also notes the continued demand for technical specialists such as data analysts and engineers. However, LinkedIn’s Feon Ang, vice president of talent and learning solutions for the Asia-Pacific region, said the results indicate a change of direction this year.

These (trends) have occurred in direct connection with the global pandemic.

Feon Ang

Vice President (APAC), Talent and Learning Solutions, LinkedIn

“These (trends) are directly related to the global pandemic and reflect the current landscape around us,” Ang told CNBC Make It.

For its report, the Professional Networks website tracked the growth in offerings for over 15,000 job titles to identify those that grew the most in 2020 compared to the previous year. These titles were then grouped into 15 major career trends for various markets around the world, including the United States

Cravetiger | Moment | Getty Images

Ang particularly highlighted the rise of medical roles. This includes not only working for frontline medical staff such as doctors and nurses, but also social workers and mental health professionals.

In other countries, rapid digitization – for example the shift to online trading due to blockages – has opened up new roles in e-commerce and in the supply chain. These trends, in turn, have led companies to implement new digital technologies, which has led to an increase in the demand for software and cybersecurity specialists.

“These growing jobs show that job seekers with different skills and experience still have different options,” Ang said.

She added that they also offer opportunities for young professionals or the unemployed to move into growing industries, for example by learning new skills online. “By adopting a lifelong learning mindset and learning new or improving their current skills, workers can prepare to take on these new roles.”

Based on LinkedIn’s report, here are the top 15 career categories of 2021, including the most in-demand positions, key skills required, and major cities hiring for each role.

1. Digital content

Top job roles: Editor, Copywriter, Podcaster, YouTube Content Creator, Video Editor

Skills needed: Public speaking, proofreading, video editing, Adobe Premier Pro, creative writing

Where the jobs are: Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Manila, Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore

2. Data analyst

Top job roles: Business Operations Analyst, Business Development Analyst, Data Analyst

Skills needed: Data analysis, data visualization, analytical skills, database programming language SQL, requirements analysis

Where the jobs are: Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; Chachoengsao, Thailand; North Sumatra, Indonesia

3. Software & Technology

Top job roles: Web developer, systems analyst, mobile application developer, full-stack engineer, front-end developer, DevOps consultant who manages software development and IT operations

Skills needed: JavaScript, web development, Amazon Web Services (AWS), MySQL programming languages ​​and HTML

Where the jobs are: Bangkok, Thailand; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Singapore

4. Finance & Insurance

Top job roles: Financial advisor, accountant, financial planner, financial specialist, insurance agent

Skills needed: Financial planning, insurance, risk management, financial analysis, accounting

Where the jobs are: Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; Manila, Philippines; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore

5. Education

Top job roles: Second language English teacher, Chinese teacher, academic tutor, information technology teacher, math teacher

Skills needed: Pedagogical management, curriculum development, English as a second language (ESL), tutoring

Where the jobs are: West Java Province, Indonesia; Manila, Philippines; Samut Songkhram, Thailand; Bangkok, Thailand

6. Digital Marketing

Top job roles: Social media manager, specialist in digital marketing, specialist in social media marketing, marketing analyst

Skills needed: Social media marketing, copywriting, Google Analytics, lead generation, digital marketing

Where the jobs are: Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Manila, Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore

7. E-commerce

Top job roles: Online specialist, e-commerce coordinator

Skills needed: Online marketing, e-commerce, search engine optimization (SEO) to increase web traffic

Where the jobs are: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Manila, Philippines; Jakarta, Indonesia; Singapore

8. Business development and sales

Top job roles: Sales specialist, account manager, account manager, business development specialist

Skills needed: Negotiation, account management, business development, business planning, lead generation to keep consumers interested

Where the jobs are: Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Manila, Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore

9. Health care / medical assistance

Top job roles: Medical technician, pharmacy assistant, health worker, doctor, specialist

Skills needed: Healthcare, medical care, pharmaceuticals, medical training, clinical research

Where the jobs are: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Manila, Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore

10. Customer service

Top job roles: Customer service representative, customer service specialist, contact center specialist

Skills needed: Contact center customer service, customer care, team leadership

Where the jobs are: Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Manila, Philippines; Singapore

11. Healthcare / Medical Front

Top job roles: Doctor, general practitioner, doctor, nurse, paramedic

Skills needed: Nursing, Medicine, Healthcare, Basic Life Support (BLS), Emergency Medicine

Where the jobs are: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Riau Islands Province, Indonesia; Singapore

12. Cyber ​​security roles

Top job roles: Cyber ​​security analyst, cybersecurity consultant, information security specialist

Skills needed: Penetration testing, information security, security information and event management (SIEM), cybersecurity

Where the jobs are: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore

13. Supply chain

Top job roles: Dealer, logistics manager, operations specialist, logistics manager

Skills needed: Operations management, supply chain management, warehouse operations

Where the jobs are: Bangkok, Thailand; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Manila, Philippines; Singapore

14. Public Relations

Top job roles: Public Relations Coordinator, Public Relations Director, Public Relations Officer

Skills needed: Public relations, media relations, writing press releases, event management, social media marketing

Where the jobs are: Jakarta, Indonesia; Bandung, West Java, Indonesia; Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia; East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia; Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

15. Specialized technology

The Biden workforce says journey restrictions on Europe and Brazil won’t be lifted regardless of Trump’s appointment

A traveler leaves a test center at Heathrow Airport in London on January 17, 2021.

Hollie Adams | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The incoming Biden administration said Monday it would not lift an entry ban for most visitors from Europe, the UK and Brazil shortly after President Donald Trump ordered an end to travel restrictions on Covid-19.

“With the pandemic worsening and its contagious variants around the world, this is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel,” tweeted President-elect Joe Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

Trump used the rules at the beginning of the pandemic to contain the spread of the virus and lifted them on Monday, just days before Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. They prohibit most non-US citizens from entering the US if they have been to Brazil, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe, Ireland or the UK in the past two weeks.

Trump’s order came less than a week after the US announced that overseas travelers, including US citizens, would have to take a negative test for Covid-19 before flying. This requirement will take effect on January 26th, the day the travel restrictions are lifted.

Airlines have repeatedly urged the U.S. government to lift travel bans, which have contributed to a sharp drop in demand for air travel, in advance of the flight with Covid-19 tests.

Chloe at Siesta Key says she’s stepping down from the “Poisonous” present

Chloe Trautman clears up rumors about her status on Siesta Key. E! News learned that she left the show.

The reality star took part in her Instagram story on Sunday January 17th, announcing that she is pulling out of the MTV series without a script because it has become “extremely toxic”.

She posted a quote attributed to the @spiritualbear account that read, “Make people hungry for you. Be unavailable from time to time, you focus on your s – t.”

Chloe herself wrote: “Me [cannot] Stand to see these lies spread further. I wasn’t fired. I decided to take a step back from filming because it became extremely toxic. I am not ready to risk my journey and my luck for fame and money. “

The series’ original cast member did not specify what type of toxicity it was referring to, but claimed that the issues will be clear once the upcoming fourth season airs.

“You will all have clarity when the show goes on air,” she continued. “Now please stop telling lies.”

The “ethical failure” of the world, says the WHO

Healthcare workers administer the COVID-19 vaccine to residents of the Jackson Heights neighborhood at St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church on January 10, 2021 in Tampa, Florida.

Octavio Jones | Getty Images

LONDON – The head of the World Health Organization said Monday the fair distribution of coronavirus vaccines was “seriously at risk”.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of a “catastrophic moral failure”, saying “the recent emergence of fast-spreading variants makes the quick and fair introduction of vaccines all the more important.”

But he added that this distribution could easily become “another building block in the wall of inequality between the world’s owners and non-owners”.

“With the use of the first vaccines, the promise of fair access is seriously jeopardized,” he said at a meeting of the WHO Executive Board.

While more than 39 million doses of various vaccines have now been administered in at least 49 higher-income countries, only 25 doses have been administered in one of the lowest-income countries.

“I have to be dull, the world is facing catastrophic moral failure and the price for that failure is paid for with life and livelihood in the poorest countries in the world.”

At the beginning of his speech, Tedros emphasized that developing and approving safe coronavirus vaccines less than a year after the virus emerged in China in late 2019 was an “amazing achievement and a much-needed source of hope”.

However, he added, “It is not right for younger, healthier adults in rich countries to be vaccinated before health workers and older people in poorer countries.”

“There will be enough vaccines for everyone, but right now we must work together as a global family to prioritize (those) who are most at risk of serious illness and death in all countries.”

Without naming names, according to Tedros, some countries and companies speak the language of fair access but continue to prioritize bilateral deals, bypassing COVAX, which is driving prices up and trying to jump to the top. “That’s wrong,” he said.

COVAX is a global program jointly led by an international vaccine alliance called Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, and the WHO. It was established to ensure equitable access to vaccines for every country in the world. The goal is to deliver 2 billion doses of safe, effective vaccines that have passed regulatory approval and / or prequalification by the WHO by the end of 2021.

The WHO urged wealthier countries that had pre-ordered millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines, such as the US, UK and Europe, to share some of those vaccines with COVAX so they could then pass them on to poorer countries.

Wealthier nations have been accused of “hoarding” more vaccines than they need, even though the vaccine supply is still in its infancy, as mass vaccination – which began in the West in December – is largely still in its first phase of distribution.

Tedros urged countries with bilateral agreements with vaccine manufacturers and controls of supply to “be transparent to COVAX on quantities, prices and delivery dates” and to share their own doses with COVAX once they have vaccinated their own health workers and older populations.

Covid-19 vaccine passports are an funding sooner or later, not now

Global scientists have reiterated the importance of herd immunity before the economy can fully open again, but a number of startups and big tech companies are trying to accelerate the return to normal.

Microsoft, Apple and Google have shown interest in developing vaccination records or certificates to enable safer travel.

“It’s pretty clear that vaccination certificates are evolving,” said ID2020 CEO Dakota Gruener. With this in mind, how do we ensure that this investment is made in the best possible way?

As one of the experts in a working group sponsored by the World Health Organization, Gruener and others hope to establish global standards for digital vaccination certificates.

Still, some public health officials are wary of vaccination certificates to prove immunity to the coronavirus. For one thing, inadequate data on the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines make them risky. There are also a number of equity concerns: Black, Latin American and indigenous peoples are particularly badly affected by the virus and are particularly skeptical of the vaccine. And there is currently no widespread and equitable access to the vaccines.

“I think it’s premature to talk about how we humans get these vaccination certificates,” said LJ Tan, the chief strategy officer for the Immunization Action Coalition. “Our focus should be on getting people vaccinated. As soon as we have vaccinated enough people, we can use this vaccinated pool for analysis.”

Onfido is one of the many startups hoping to innovate in this area. Kevin Trilli, chief product officer, said that while the universal use of vaccine certificates is near impossible, it can be effective for certain companies or industries. In any case, they are a smart investment in the future.

“If we miss the window a little and don’t make any money from it or whatever, we’ve all realized that it has to be there,” Trilli said.

Watch the video to learn more about how digital vaccination records are developed with security in mind.