Month: June 2021

Categories
Entertainment

‘Within the Heights’ y el colorismo: lo que se pierde cuando se borra a los afrolatinos

‘In the Heights’ y el colorismo: lo que se pierde cuando se borra a los afrolatinos

HERRERA En el fondo, el acto de la crítica es una labor de amor. Criticamos los objetos culturales porque tenemos esperanza en ellos y queremos que sean mejores. A menudo pienso en una entrevista de 2019 en The Nation con el poeta y escritor Hanif Abdurraqib. Habla de la noción de que la crítica es algo que surge de la ira, la amargura o los celos. Para mí, esa ira está al servicio de algo más: nos permite imaginar un futuro político más justo. Como dice: “La crítica, para mí, tiene que ser un acto de amor, si no, es una pérdida de tiempo. Así que tengo que encontrar la manera de honrar a los artistas que me importan sin dejar de entender que mi trabajo no es necesariamente inclinarme ante ellos”. También me ayuda a interpretar el arte fuera de “esto es bueno” y “esto es malo”.

SCOTT Ese es un punto tan importante sobre la crítica, que con demasiada frecuencia se malinterpreta como “odiar” o “cancelar”. La otra noche, en el programa The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Rita Moreno trató de defender a Miranda —“un hombre que, literalmente, trajo la latinidad y la puertorriqueñidad a Estados Unidos”— deseando, en efecto, que sus críticos se callaran, o que esperaran hasta un momento no especificado y más apropiado. Desde entonces se ha disculpado, y un reciente documental detalla la intolerancia a la que se enfrentó a lo largo de su carrera. En cualquier caso, proteger las obras de arte de las críticas no les hace ningún favor. Es tan simplista como descartarlas por sus defectos.

HERRERA Creo que un aspecto importante de este debate es que ha puesto de manifiesto una vez más las limitaciones de una conversación centrada en la representación. Durante mucho tiempo, la representación ha sido anunciada como una solución al racismo; momentos como este realmente exponen la farsa de esa idea. A menudo se argumenta que la representación, especialmente en espacios donde las comunidades marginadas han sido históricamente excluidas, nos salvará de la discriminación. Pero lo que puede hacer la representación tiene sus límites.

Cuando centramos toda nuestra atención crítica en la representación y la inclusión, nos distrae del trabajo de comprender las condiciones que crean el racismo en primer lugar. La conversación no es solo sobre In the Heights o sobre el número de creadores latinos en Hollywood, sino sobre la historia de la antinegritud, que ha permitido que los latinos blancos y de piel más clara sean los más visibles en todos los aspectos de nuestra cultura.

El hecho de que haya un latino en la sala no significa que no pueda perpetuar sistemas de poder dañinos, o que no sea capaz de excluir. Así que quiero terminar con un recordatorio a mis compañeros latinos blancos, que tienen una responsabilidad única de escuchar este tipo de conversaciones. No voy a hablar desde un pedestal y pretender que no soy cómplice de estas dinámicas como mujer blanca dominicana. Pero quiero que pensemos profundamente en cómo estamos usando nuestro privilegio en estas industrias. No para centrar la blancura en la conversación, sino porque necesitamos considerar la forma en que usamos nuestro acceso a ciertos espacios y si estamos comprometidos con el trabajo antirracista en ellos, sin importar lo incómodo que nos pueda resultar.

Isabelia Herrera es crítica de arte becaria en el Times. Cubre la cultura popular, con especial atención a la música latinoamericana y latina en Estados Unidos. Anteriormente fue editora colaboradora en Pitchfork y ha escrito para Rolling Stone, Billboard, GQ y NPR, entre otros. @jabladoraaa

Concepción de León es una reportera de viajes que vive en Nueva York.

Maya Phillips es crítica principal de The New York Times. Es autora de la colección de poesía Erou (Four Way Books, 2019) y de NERD: On Navigating Heroes, Magic, and Fandom in the 21st Century, que Atria Books publicará en el verano de 2022. @mayabphillips

A.O. Scott es crítico principal y cocrítico jefe de cine. Se unió al Times en 2000 y ha escrito para Book Review y The New York Times Magazine. También es autor de Better Living Through Criticism. @aoscott

Categories
Health

Covid’s Delta Variant: What We Know

Covid's Delta Variant: What We Know

The super-contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus is now responsible for about one in five Covid-19 cases in the United States, and its prevalence has doubled in the past two weeks, health officials said on Tuesday.

Delta was first identified in India and is one of several “Concerning Variants” named by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. It quickly spread to India and the UK.

Its appearance in the United States is not surprising. And with vaccinations rising and Covid-19 case numbers falling, it’s unclear how much of a problem Delta will cause here. Still, its rapid surge has raised concerns that it could jeopardize the nation’s progress in fighting the pandemic.

“The Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the US to our attempt to eliminate Covid-19,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s foremost infectious disease expert, at the briefing. The good news is that the vaccines approved in the USA work against the variant. “We have the tools,” he says. “So let’s use them and crush the outbreak.”

Here you will find answers to some frequently asked questions about the Delta variant.

Delta, formerly known as B.1.617.2, is believed to be the most transmissible variant to date and is spreading more easily than both the original strain of the virus and the alpha variant first identified in the UK. Public health officials said Delta could be 50 percent more contagious than Alpha, although exact estimates of its infectivity vary.

Other evidence suggests that the variant may be able to partially bypass the antibodies produced by the body after a coronavirus infection or vaccination. And the variant can also make certain monoclonal antibody treatments less effective, the CDC notes.

Delta can also cause more serious illnesses. For example, a recent Scottish study found that people infected with the Delta variant were about twice as likely to be hospitalized as people infected with alpha. But uncertainties remain, scientists said.

“The article on serious illnesses is the one question I think that hasn’t really been answered,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Delta has been reported in 80 countries. It is the most common variant today in India and the UK, where it accounts for more than 90 percent of cases.

Delta was first identified in the United States in March. Although Alpha remains the most widely used variant here, Delta has spread quickly. At the beginning of April, Delta only made 0.1 percent of cases in the United States, according to the CDC. By early May, the variant accounted for 1.3 percent of cases, and by early June that number had risen to 9.5 percent. A few days ago, the estimate was 20.6 percent, said Dr. Fauci at the meeting.

The delta variant is unlikely to pose a huge risk for fully vaccinated people, experts said.

“If you are fully vaccinated I wouldn’t worry about that,” said Dr. Ashish K. Jha, Dean of Brown University School of Public Health.

According to a recent study, the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine protected 88 percent against symptomatic illnesses caused by Delta and was nearly 93 percent effective against the alpha variant. But a single dose of the vaccine was only 33 percent effective against Delta, the study found.

“Fully immunized people should be able to cope with this new phase of the epidemic,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. “However, the protection that a single dose offers seems to be poor and if you are not vaccinated at all you naturally consider yourself at high risk.”

Understand India’s Covid Crisis

Delta will likely infect “large numbers” of unvaccinated people, he said.

The pandemic is decreasing in the United States, with cases, hospital admissions and deaths falling. The seven-day case average, around 10,350 per day, is the lowest since March 2020, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, at the briefing on Tuesday. “These numbers show the extraordinary progress we’ve made against a formidable opponent,” she said.

So while Delta may represent an increasing percentage of cases, it is not yet clear whether this will increase the total number of cases.

“I don’t think we’re going to see another big, national surge in the United States because we have enough vaccinations to prevent this from happening,” said Dr. Osterholm.

Still, vaccination rates were very uneven and lower in certain states and populations. Delta could fuel outbreaks in the south, where vaccinations are delayed, or in young people who are less likely to be vaccinated than their elders.

“In places where the virus is still very vulnerable, this opens a window for the resumption of cases,” said Justin Lessler, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University. “But even in these states, and certainly nationally, we are unlikely to go back to the numbers we saw last winter.”

Still, he said, it could make our way out of the pandemic longer. “The slack continues,” he said.

To be vaccinated. If you’ve already been vaccinated, encourage family, friends, and neighbors to get vaccinated. Vaccination is likely to slow the spread of all variants and reduce the likelihood that new, even more dangerous, variants will emerge.

“I encourage people who have been vaccinated to trust vaccines, but be aware that there will continue to be new varieties of transmission,” said Saskia Popescu, infectious disease epidemiologist at George Mason University. “So it’s really about ensuring local, national and global vaccinations.”

Categories
Politics

Stephen Ross-funded PAC spent over $1 million going into NYC major election

Stephen Ross-funded PAC spent over $1 million going into NYC primary election

A super PAC funded largely by real estate billionaire Stephen Ross spent just over $1 million to influence New York City’s primary race for City Council, with part of that investment going against progressives who are running for key council posts.

The organization, Common Sense NYC, has raised over $2 million. Ross, the chairman and founder of the real estate giant Related Companies, donated $1 million, and Ronald Lauder, also a billionaire and the youngest son of makeup legend Estee Lauder, contributed $500,000. Ross and Lauder have a combined net worth of over $12 billion, according to Forbes.

Ross, who is also the owner of the Miami Dolphins, came under fire in 2019 when he hosted a fundraiser in the Hamptons for former President Donald Trump. Equinox and SoulCycle, two luxury fitness brands owned by Related Companies, distanced themselves from the Trump event as customers threatened to boycott. In August, CNBC reported that Lauder, who has been a friend of Trump’s for years, had yet to start raising money for the then-president’s reelection campaign.

The financial might of the group was evident in the 24 hours before the official primary day. The New York City Campaign Finance Board shows that the organization spent over $100,000 and distributed at least nine mailers on Monday, the day before the election, opposing a group of progressive City Council candidates.

The PAC may not be done trying to sway voters away from various City Council contenders. A leader of the committee told CNBC they’re leaving open the possibility of continuing their efforts into the November general election.

“In the event that there are competitive NYC Council races in the general election, Common Sense NYC may be involved. I personally don’t anticipate more than two or three Council races being competitive in November,” Jeff Leb, the PAC’s treasurer, said in an email to CNBC on Tuesday.

The sheer amount raised and spent going into Tuesday’s primary by the group, officially labeled an independent expenditure committee, shows the importance to business leaders of influencing the lesser known City Council races. The PAC’s messaging has been focused, in part, on pushing back on the idea of defunding the police and other progressive causes.

The New York City Council is the legislative body responsible for creating and voting on proposed New York City laws. A group such as Common Sense can raise and spend an unlimited amount of money on the City Council races they deem important. Wall Street executives have already poured over $9 million into the race for New York’s next mayor, with most of the big money going to former presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

Longtime New York Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf told CNBC that beyond the group being worried about New York in a post-pandemic world, the move by the Ross-backed PAC to spend a ton against progressive candidates for City Council represents a power play by the real estate community.

“This is an attempt to … prove how powerful they are,” Sheinkopf told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday. Sheinkopf noted that members of the City Council have publicly taken on New York’s big business leaders and said Common Sense’s campaign is a test of how much power New York executives have going forward.

“Well, let’s say if they don’t win those races, will people be afraid of them? The fact is people aren’t afraid of them now. If they win, people will be more afraid. Power is about fear and not friendship,” Sheinkopf said.

The political strategist said that the City Council has become more and more progressive over the years and business leaders have often been criticized by those politicians, which led to the creation of PACs such as Common Sense NYC. “Business interests have been attacked by this council and there’s been an attempt to constrain the business community, including pushback on the power of the real estate community,” Sheinkopf said.

Leb defended the candidates the group supported in a separate email to CNBC.

“Common Sense NYC supported a broad slate of candidates who are pragmatic in their thinking and who are demonstrably qualified to help New York recover from the pandemic,” Leb said on Tuesday. “We are highlighting which candidates are qualified for local office and which are not, in races that are getting little attention otherwise. None of our funders played an active role in the operation or direction of Common Sense and they did not pick the races we engaged in.”

Leb, who is also a managing partner at Capitol Consulting, is ranked by City & State as one of the top lobbyists in New York.

The PAC has spent over $540,000 supporting 18 local candidates for office and nearly the same amount opposing eight others.

Representatives for Ross and Lauder did not respond to requests for comment before publication.

One of the big targets of Common Sense NYC has been Michael Hollingsworth, who is running for Brooklyn’s 35th District on the City Council. The PAC has spent over $100,000 opposing him. Two mailers against Hollingsworth were delivered to voters on Monday. One of the mailers reviewed by CNBC takes aim at Hollingsworth wanting to cut back on New York policing.

“While crime continues to go up, Michael Hollingsworth wants police funding to go down,” the mailer reads. “We must stop Michael Hollingsworth from defunding the police!” the ad says. The Gotham Gazette reports that Hollingsworth is supported by New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America and has received an endorsement by former gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon.

Hollingsworth responded to the campaign being waged against him in a tweet after this story was published.

“We are not beholden to the wealthy, real estate donors, or special interests. We’re with the people,” he said on Twitter.

Common Sense NYC has spent over $95,000 to oppose Jaslin Kaur, who running for District 23’s City Council spot. The district is located in Queens, and Kaur was recently endorsed by progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. The City reported that Kaur was also endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

Common Sense NYC spent just over $26,000 on two mailers against Kaur that were distributed on Monday.

Others seeing opposition from the Ross-backed effort include John Choe, who is running in a primary for District 20’s seat, and Alexa Aviles, a contender for New York City’s District 38 seat who also saw an endorsement from Ocasio-Cortez.

Choe commented on the moves being made by the Ross-backed PAC in a tweet Tuesday in response to this story.

“As the founder of our neighborhood Chamber that helps small businesses, I challenge the notion these super PAC vultures represent anything more than the rapacious greed and hubris of the billionaire oligarchs who are slowly destroying our country,” Choe said on Twitter.

Aviles said the PAC’s decision to take aim at her represents a larger campaign being waged by the real estate industry.

“It’s no wonder that Common Sense NYC, Inc. is spending a ludicrous amount of money attacking our people-powered campaign in District 38,” Aviles told CNBC after this story was published. “After all, one of their top donors is Trump-supporting Stephen Ross, a billionaire real-estate developer focused on devouring up our neighborhoods. I’m proud that the real-estate industry recognizes that we will fight them back. Our campaign is unequivocally against the interests of billionaires, because we’re fighting for working people.”

Categories
World News

Vatican Expresses Deep Reservations Over Homosexual Rights Invoice in Italy

Vatican Expresses Deep Reservations Over Gay Rights Bill in Italy

“If it’s a concern for the Holy See, it is certainly a concern for each of us,” said Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Prefect of the Vatican Office for Laity, Family and Life, when asked about the letter at a press conference on Tuesday. “And a concern that we naturally agree with.”

An official at the Vatican State Secretariat said the letter was not detailed but referred to an article in the Lateran Treaty that clearly assured the church of religious freedom in the practice and teaching of its beliefs. He said the proposed law, if passed that way, would trample on those rights.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not empowered to discuss the contents of the letter, said that while the Vatican had frequently sent such letters after laws were passed, in this case it had decided early on during to intervene in the legislative process, to try to stop it. According to the official, the Vatican saw itself in its rights to do this in view of the terms of the contract.

According to the Vatican’s interpretation of the law, only admitting men to the priesthood, restricting marriage to one man and woman, and refusing to teach gender theory in Catholic schools would be viewed as discriminatory and a crime. When asked why the Vatican has not intervened so heavily in other countries that have passed similar laws, the official said the proposed law, as far as the Vatican understood, went further than elsewhere.

The letter addressed to the Italian government affirmed that in the long tradition and teaching of the Church, differences between the sexes are critical and that recognition of these differences is not discrimination but part of their belief system. He added that the treaty guarantees that the church has the right to practice and teach this difference in Italy.

On November 4, the Italian Lower House of Parliament approved a bill to add anti-LGBT motives to an existing law, making discrimination, violence or incitement based on a person’s race or religion a criminal offense punishable by up to four years in prison can be. In order to increase awareness and sensitivity of the issue, the law also provides for a national day to raise awareness of the dangers of anti-LGBT violence, including in schools.

Most Western European democracies have implemented similar laws, but in Italy their passage in the Senate met with opposition from Catholic associations, right-wing politicians and even some feminist groups.

Categories
Health

Fauci declares delta variant ‘best risk’ to the nation’s efforts to get rid of Covid

Fauci declares delta variant 'greatest threat' to the nation's efforts to eliminate Covid

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, April 13, 2021.

Leigh Vogel | Bloomberg | Getty Images

White House senior medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday the highly contagious Delta variant is the “greatest threat” to the nation’s attempt to eradicate Covid-19.

Delta, which was first identified in India, now accounts for about 20% of all new cases in the United States, up from 10% about two weeks ago, Fauci said during a White House press conference on the pandemic.

He said Delta appears to be “following the same pattern” as Alpha, the variant first found in the UK, with infections doubling in the US about every two weeks.

“Similar to the UK, the Delta variant is currently the biggest threat in the US to our attempt to eliminate Covid-19,” he said.

Fauci’s comments come after CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Friday urged Americans to get vaccinated against Covid and said she expected Delta to become the dominant coronavirus variant in the United States

Studies suggest that it is about 60% more transmissible than alpha, which was more contagious than the original strain that emerged from Wuhan, China, in late 2019

“As worrying as this Delta strain is about its hypertransmittance, our vaccines are working,” Walensky told ABC’s Good Morning America. If you get vaccinated, “you will be protected against this Delta variant,” she added.

In the UK, the Delta variety recently became the dominant variety there, surpassing Alpha, which was first discovered in the country last fall. The Delta variant now accounts for more than 60% of new cases in the UK

Health officials say there are reports that the Delta variant also causes more severe symptoms, but that more research is needed to confirm these conclusions. However, there is evidence that the Delta strain may cause different symptoms than other variants.

Fauci said Tuesday the US had “the tools” to defeat the variant and urged more Americans to get fully vaccinated against Covid and “destroy the outbreak.”

The Biden administration said Tuesday that it is unlikely to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of getting 70% of American adults to receive one or more vaccinations by July 4th.

“In this case, two weeks after the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech, the effectiveness of the vaccines was 88% effective against Delta and 93% effective against Alpha when it comes to symptomatic diseases,” said Fauci, citing a study.

The World Health Organization said Friday that Delta is becoming the predominant variant of the disease worldwide.

On Monday, WHO officials warned that the variant was the fastest and strongest coronavirus strain to date and that it would “pick up” the most vulnerable people, especially in places with low Covid-19 vaccination rates.

It has the potential to be “more deadly because it is more efficient in the way it is transmitted between people, and it will eventually find those at risk who will become seriously ill, hospitalized and possibly die”, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s Emergency Health Program, said during a news conference.

Delta has now spread to 92 countries, said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical director for Covid, on Monday. She said, “Unfortunately, we still don’t have the vaccines in the right places to protect people’s lives.”

WHO has urged wealthy nations, including the US, to donate cans. The Biden government detailed early Monday where it will be sending 55 million doses of vaccine, most of which will be distributed through COVAX, the WHO-supported immunization program.

“These vaccines are highly effective against serious illness and death. That is what they are intended for and that is what they must be used for,” said Van Kerkhove. “This is what COVAX and WHO and all of our partners have worked to ensure that these vaccines reach the most vulnerable people.”

Categories
Politics

The White Home publicly acknowledges the U.S. is prone to miss Biden’s July Four vaccination objective.

The White House publicly acknowledges the U.S. is likely to miss Biden’s July 4 vaccination goal.

The White House on Tuesday publicly acknowledged that President Biden does not expect to meet his goal of having 70 percent of adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4 and will reach that milestone only for those aged 27 and older.

It would be the first time that Mr. Biden has failed to meet a vaccination goal he has set. If the rate of adult vaccinations continues on the current seven-day average, the country will come in just shy of Mr. Biden’s target, with about 67 percent of adults partly vaccinated by July 4, according to a New York Times analysis.

White House officials have argued that falling short by a few percentage points is not significant, given all the progress the nation has made against Covid-19. “We have built an unparalleled, first of its kind nationwide vaccination program,” Jeff Zients, the White House pandemic response coordinator, said at a new briefing. “This is a remarkable achievement.”

In announcing the goal on May 4, Mr. Biden made a personal plea to the unvaccinated, saying getting a shot was a “life and death” choice. According to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 150 million Americans have been fully vaccinated and 177 million have received at least one dose.

But health experts warn that the falloff in the vaccination rate could mean renewed coronavirus outbreaks this winter when cold weather drives people indoors, with high daily death rates in areas where comparatively few people have protected themselves with shots.

“I give credit to the Biden administration for putting in place a mass vaccination program for adults that did not exist,” said Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “But now we’ve hit a wall.”

Unless tens of millions more Americans get vaccinated in the next few months, he said, “I think, come winter, we are going to again see a surge. And that surge is going to occur exactly where you would expect it to occur — in areas that are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated.”

Young adults aged 18 to 26 have so far proven particularly hard to persuade. “The reality is many younger Americans that felt like Covid-19 is not something that impacts them, and they’ve been less eager to get the shot,” Mr. Zients said.

He said it would take “a few extra weeks” to reach more of that group to achieve the goal of 70 percent of adults at least partially vaccinated.

Lazaro Gamio contributed reporting.

Categories
Health

C.D.C Research Say Younger Adults Are Much less Prone to Get Vaccinated

C.D.C Studies Say Young Adults Are Less Likely to Get Vaccinated

Younger Americans are less likely to be vaccinated than older ones, and factors such as income and education can affect vaccination reluctance, according to two new studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By May 22, 57 percent of adults had received at least one dose of vaccine, the authors found in one of the new publications, but the rate fluctuated widely depending on age: of those 65 or older, 80 percent were at least partially vaccinated, compared with 38 Percent of 18 to 29 year olds.

Part of the rate gap was due to the fact that many young adults were not eligible for vaccination until March or April. But uptake has also been slower among younger Americans, and a significant proportion of them remain hesitant.

If vaccination initiation rates remain stable, only 58 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds will be vaccinated by the end of August, compared with 95 percent of 65-year-olds, the researchers found.

Immunization rates have lagged among young men, people who live in rural counties, and people who live in counties where a high proportion of the population is low-income, uninsured, or without access to a computer or the Internet.

In a second study, 24.9 percent of the 18 to 39-year-olds questioned said that they would probably or definitely not get vaccinated. Those who were young, black, low-income, had no health insurance, lived outside of metropolitan areas, or had a lower level of education were less likely to say they had vaccinated or said they were definitely planning to vaccinate.

The studies highlight the hurdles remaining in improving vaccination coverage, two weeks to President Biden’s self-imposed July 4 deadline to get 70 percent of adults at least partially vaccinated. In recent weeks, his government has changed its approach by moving away from mass vaccination centers and adopting more targeted strategies, including setting up mobile or pop-up vaccination clinics and on-site vaccination events in black barbershops.

The US vaccination campaign began on December 14th. Healthcare workers, adults aged 75 and over, and members of other high-risk groups were generally the first to be considered, although vaccination guidelines varied from state to state. By April 19, all adults were eligible for the recordings. Using the vaccination data submitted by the states, a team of CDC researchers analyzed vaccination patterns across demographic groups.

They also calculated the percentage of people in each age group who received their first dose during a given week. This “initiation rate” of the vaccine was highest in adults aged 65 and over, peaking the week of February 7, when 8 percent of adults in this group received their first dose.

Between April 19 and May 22, the proportion of 18 to 29 year olds who received their first dose fell from 3.6 percent to 1.9 percent.

“If the current vaccination rate continues through August, vaccination rates will remain significantly lower in young adults than in older adults,” the researchers wrote.

In the second study, between March 5 and May 2, the researchers interviewed a nationally representative sample of adults, including 2,726 18- to 39-year-olds. Of those who said they probably or definitely would not get the vaccine, 57 percent said they didn’t trust the vaccine, while 56 percent expressed concern about possible side effects and 36 percent said they didn’t need the vaccine.

The study also suggested possible strategies for increasing vaccination coverage. Of those who said they were unsure or likely to get the vaccine, 20 to 40 percent said they would be more likely to get it if they had more information about its safety and effectiveness if it would prevent them from doing so. spreading the virus to family and friends, or when it would allow them to return to normal social activities.

Categories
World News

Bitcoin sell-off intensifies because the crypto falls under $30,000 degree, turns unfavorable for the 12 months

Bitcoin sell-off intensifies as the crypto falls below $30,000 level, turns negative for the year

The slump for bitcoin intensified on Tuesday as the leading cryptocurrency fell below the key $30,000 level and turned negative for 2021.

At its low of the day, Bitcoin fell more than 11% to about $28,911, below the $29,026 level where it ended 2020, according to Coin Metrics.The cryptocurrency was last down more than 9% to $29,410.30, according to Coin Metrics.

Technical analysts had been watching the $30,000 level as a key support level on the charts after the cryptocurrency had fallen to near that low during its May crash. The analysts, who study charts to make buying and selling decisions, believe the next level to watch for support could now be as low as $20,000.

Now that it is approaching $29,000, the price of bitcoin is threatening to turn negative for the year.

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that bitcoin could still rebound after Tuesday’s move but there was significant downside to the next support level.

“$30,000, we’ll see if it holds on the day. We might plunge below it for a while and close above it. If it’s really breached, $25,000 is the next big level of support,” Novogratz said. “Listen, I’m less happy than I was at $60,000 but I’m not nervous.”

Bitcoin has been struggling to reclaim its highs from earlier in the quarter. It fell dramatically in May following some market-moving tweets by Elon Musk about bitcoin-related environmental concerns, and then even further in early June around fears of the cryptocurrency’s use in the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.

It’s been on a rollercoaster ride since then, battered by a stream of headlines out of China, where regulators have imposed new restrictions on energy-intensive mining and ordered financial institutions like Alipay to stop doing business with crypto companies. The price briefly touched $40,000 last week and fell again Monday.

With Tuesday’s losses, bitcoin has slid about 54% from its all-time high of more than $64,000 in mid-April, taking other cryptocurrencies along with it. Ether fell 8% and dogecoin is dropping more than 16%.

Significant pullbacks have happened before in the cryptocurrency market, with bitcoin falling about 80% from its late 2017 highs at one point. Professional crypto investors have warned that the space should continue to be volatile in the years ahead.

“The only guarantee with the cryptocurrency space is volatility and obviously, that’s what we have right now,” Fairlead Strategies founder Katie Stockton told CNBC. “It’s not new, we’ve had days like this before, it’s just a matter of navigating through this noise.”

Crypto investment product providers, such as CoinShares, Grayscale and Bitwise, are experiencing their sixth consecutive weeks of outflows, though some providers are seeing inflows, according to CoinShares. Bearish sentiment is more focused on bitcoin, with outflows for the week totaling $89 million.

Novogratz also noted that despite previous pullbacks, crypto market infrastructure is only becoming more mature, which has helped usher in more institutional support over the past year, with major hedge fund managers, pension funds and banks jumping into crypto, while registered investment advisors seek ways to get clients exposure to cryptocurrencies in ways that are compatible with their current workflow and wait for custody banks to introduce crypto services.

The price of bitcoin rose nearly 500% between mid-September of last year and its April peak. Even with the recent decline, the cryptocurrency is still up about 150% over the past 12 months.

Categories
Entertainment

5 Issues to Do This Weekend

5 Things to Do This Weekend

Adolphus Hailstork has bridged vintage classical traditions and multiple genres of American music for half a century. In 2019, the conductor Thomas Wilkins said of the composer’s work: “It’s quite tonal, but it’s not without chromaticism. And some of the time, because he’s sort of hinting at a blues lick or a jazz gesture, we find notes that are bent or twisted.”

The Harlem Chamber Players ensemble has been among Hailstork’s most committed advocates in recent years. And its latest concert — taped and set to stream at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday at thegreenespace.org — brings the premiere of a new piece from the composer: “Tulsa 1921 (Pity These Ashes, Pity This Dust).”

The mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges stars in the work, which commemorates the Tulsa Race Massacre. And the concert may also whet appetites in advance of a New York Philharmonic program planned for the upcoming season. When the orchestra comes to Carnegie Hall in January, it will play the composer’s “An American Port of Call.”
SETH COLTER WALLS

For over a decade, the artistic collaborators Mark Dendy and Stephen Donovan have tackled social and political issues through singular, surreal dance theater: “Dystopian Distractions!” examined the military industrial complex; “Whistleblower” imagined the experience of Chelsea Manning; and “Elvis Everywhere” explored American cultural decline.

Now, for the American Dance Festival, Dendy and Donovan are presenting their debut film, “tHe aGe oF aNXieTy,” which responds to the anguish and insanity of the past year. The 40-minute work features a cast of 16 dancing exuberantly among New York City landmarks and follows the character Monsieur le Clown as he dreams of post-pandemic and post-Trump freedom. The film vividly depicts personal and collective despair but finds pockets of optimism as it celebrates the spirit and tenacity of the city and its inhabitants.

The film streams from 9 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday until 11 p.m. on June 26. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at americandancefestival.org.
BRIAN SCHAEFER

KIDS

The makers of “All One Tribe” are promoting harmony — in every sense of the word.

Featuring 24 artists and bands, this album from Aya World Productions affirms all families’ common humanity while also emphasizing the particular achievements and goals of people of color. One of those objectives — to recognize Black voices in children’s music — gave rise to 1 Tribe Collective, the consortium that produced the project and will celebrate its release on Saturday.

At 2 p.m. Eastern time, the musicians Aaron Nigel Smith and Shawana Kemp (a.k.a. Shine) will host a free virtual concert that also honors Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating slavery’s end in America. The event, which will stream on 1 Tribe Collective’s YouTube channel (where it will remain afterward) and the YouTube and Facebook pages of the album’s distributor, Tuff Gong International, will comprise music videos, artist interviews and live performances.

Those appearing include Jessica DeShong, singing “Black People Who Change the World,” and Ms. Janis, whose poignant “Say Their Names” is an album highlight.
LAUREL GRAEBER

Theater

When it came to keeping yourself safe from coronavirus, singing — or enjoying live music and its aerosols — had been strictly contraindicated. But with vaccinations on the rise and case loads declining, karaoke rooms and piano bars have begun a slow reopening.

Put down the knitting, the book and the broom as cabaret has come back, too. Feinstein’s/54 Below, the supper club and Broadway hangout in the depths of Studio 54, has unlocked its red door to a vaccinated, limited-capacity audience. Guests will notice some fresh décor, like plexiglass partitions between tables. As concerns the supper part, there’s a new menu from the club’s consulting chef, Harold Dieterle.

Opening weekend highlights include George Salazar, the star of “Be More Chill,” and the composer Joe Iconis doing their “Two Player Game!” act on Thursday, Friday and Sunday at 7 p.m. (with more performances in the coming week starting on Tuesday), and Larry Owens (“A Strange Loop”) offering a Sondheim tribute on Saturday at 9:45 p.m.
ALEXIS SOLOSKI

With her bruising, bawdy and boastful rhymes, Young M.A, a Brooklyn native, is a New York M.C. in the grand tradition. And as one of just a handful of openly queer women to prosper in rap’s mainstream, she’s also something of a trailblazer. Following the success in 2016 of her breakout hit “OOOUUU” — a woozy, liquor-soaked ode to stealing guys’ girlfriends — M.A has released a steady beat of rock-hard and technically tight songs, including “Hello Baby,” a recent collaboration with her fellow Brooklynite Fivio Foreign. Arguably even more compelling than her records are her freestyles — a good reason to seek out her live shows.

On Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern time, Young M.A will represent the Big Apple in Los Angeles, where she’s set to perform a livestreamed concert from the stage of the Wiltern, as part of the club’s ongoing series that also includes the rapper Freddie Gibbs and the Australian R&B group Chase Atlantic. Tickets start at $15 and are available at youngma.veeps.com.
OLIVIA HORN

Categories
Health

This is what you need to know

Here's what you should know

A woman reacts as she receives the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as part of a government plan to vaccinate Mexican border residents on the common border with the United States in Tijuana, Mexico, June 17, 2021 .

Jorge Duenes | Reuters

Some countries, like the US and UK, have already signaled that they could introduce Covid-19 booster vaccinations within a year. Now pressure is mounting on governments to mobilize refresher programs – not an easy task given the ongoing uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, vaccines and variants.

However, there are no concrete plans for Covid-19 booster vaccinations. Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said last month it was “just something we need to find out over time.”

As the talk of booster shots increases, so far we know this:

What?

First off, there are question marks as to whether we actually need a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine as we don’t know how long the immunity is currently lasting.

The US and UK use vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, with the UK also relying heavily on AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine.

There are also unknowns as to whether people should receive a booster vaccine that is identical to the vaccines they originally had. And also whether the vaccinations have to be adapted to variants, similar to the flu vaccine, or whether they can stay as they are.

When?

How?

Experts argue that any booster program requires extensive planning to help health services deal with it. This is especially important as not only are they under pressure from running current vaccination programs, but they also care for the health needs of patients whose procedures and treatments have been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the UK, the chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Martin Marshall, told the BBC radio program “Today” that the UK’s National Health Service needs to know what it will do in the fall.

“First of all, we need to know if a booster program is needed … who needs it, such as the more vulnerable and the elderly. We need to know where to get it. ” [the booster shots] and by whom, “he said on Monday.

“Our general practitioners and nurses are very busy, so is it possible for a booster to be carried out by non-clinically trained vaccination staff?” He asked, pleading for a booster vaccination alongside the winter flu vaccination.

On the same radio broadcast, Anthony Harnden, vice-chairman of the Joint Vaccination and Immunization Committee (which advises the UK government on vaccination policy) warned that careful consideration should be given to who a refresher campaign is targeting.

He said priority needs are “data driven” despite recognizing the need for the NHS to plan ahead.

moral

There is a moral argument about whether booster vaccination programs are the right thing to do when many less developed countries are lagging behind on their vaccination programs.

The World Health Organization has urged richer countries to donate vaccines to poorer ones before they consider booster vaccinations. In fact, the jury at the WHO is on whether a booster vaccination is needed at all.

“We don’t have the information needed to make a recommendation on whether or not a booster is needed,” World Health Organization chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said in a Zoom call on Friday, Bloomberg reported, adding that it was the “science still evolving”. . “

Delta variant

WHO officials also said last week that there were reports that the Delta variant caused more severe symptoms, but that additional research was needed to confirm those conclusions. However, there is evidence that the Delta strain may cause different symptoms than other variants.

So far, the vaccines have proven to be resistant to new variants and remain largely effective in preventing serious Covid-19 for fully vaccinated people. An analysis published by Public Health England last Monday found that two doses of the Pfizer BioNTech or AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines were highly effective against hospitalizations from the Delta variant.

On Friday, WHO’s Swaminathan said scientists needed more data on the variant, including how it affects the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines.

“How many become infected and how many of them are hospitalized and seriously ill?” said Swaminathan on Friday. “That is something that we are watching very closely.”

– CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to coverage of this story.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that just over 55% of adults in the US are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.