Author: Gloria Cote

Categories
World News

Girls are very important to attaining world ‘monetary inclusion’

Women are vital to achieving global 'financial inclusion'

Bill Gates, Microsoft founder, during the discussion “Innovation Potential in Africa, in Berlin, Germany.

Image Alliance | Getty Images

Women are vital to making sure finance – and financial education – gets to other parts of society, said billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates.

Governments and corporations serious about giving all members of society access to financial services should focus their resources on women, the Microsoft co-founder said at the Singapore FinTech Festival on Tuesday.

“It’s absolutely critical,” notes Gates, noting that women are usually responsible for family support finances.

“The benefits of getting the money under their control mean that it is more likely to be used for nutrition and education and for things that lift this family out of poverty,” he said at this year’s virtual conference.

Global improvement in inclusivity

Financial inclusivity, which refers to giving more people access to financial services, remains a key challenge for communities around the world.

Only 35% of people in low-income countries have access to a bank account. According to the World Economic Forum, this is 58% to 73% in higher to lower middle income countries and 94% in high income countries. These values ​​are lower in women.

It is important to remember how far we are from universal financial inclusion.

Bill Gates

Founder, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The pandemic has only made this shortage apparent as governments struggled to provide financial aid to those most in need while in lockdown across the country.

“You know, it’s important to remember how far we are from universal financial inclusion,” said Gates.

Invest in digital solutions

Through his nonprofit, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates has worked with governments and central banks for several years to improve financial inclusion in developing countries.

In particular, this included the introduction of digital solutions, which Gates says can help such countries catch up with or possibly overtake advanced countries with existing legacy systems.

“We spend a lot of our time with central bankers making sure they see what the pioneers did,” said Gates.

There is almost an easy way they can connect their citizens.

Bill Gates

Founder, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

To that end, the foundation is funding digital identity solutions such as MOSIP in India, an openly accessible software that allows governments to create digital identities for their citizens to help distribute resources. According to Gates, the acceptance of such technologies has so far been high in countries from Nigeria and Ethiopia to Indonesia.

“We believe that most central banks will say in the next five years that they can do this because most of the building blocks are accessible and it is almost easy to connect their citizens,” he said.

Gates said his foundation aims to fund two-thirds of the world’s population within a decade.

Categories
Entertainment

Finest Performances of 2020 – The New York Instances

Best Performances of 2020 - The New York Times

“Ozark” is the end of a Shakespearean tragedy with the previous acts: Do not be tied to anyone; You probably won’t last. The show is about a nice married duo who climb the ranks of a drug cartel. Dukes is the pregnant feeding investigating her finances. Burke is her couples therapist. Both are divine. Dukes opts for an ingenious skepticism, as if she’d been deposed by Fargo PD. Everyone lies to her and the thrill of her performance comes from the demeanor she maintains amid the obvious insults to her intelligence. She must have a dozen options: “How stupid do you think I am?” Meanwhile, Burke is a bag of Sour Patch Kids – glamorously dirty, full of wisdom and corruption. You make these candies with acid and sugar. They are addicting and when they run out it’s horrible. (Streaming on Netflix.)

Seyfried’s version of the 1930s movie star and lover Marion Davies in David Fincher’s film about writing Citizen Kane shows what Seyfried does best to reinterpret the best of Davies. The result is a kind of world-weary effervescence. An actress who always had a keen instinct for her graduates, finally from soda to champagne. (Streaming on Netflix from December 4th)

For a few weeks, the athleticism at this professional wrestling start-up is more exciting than anything that happens in Vince McMahon’s empire. And nobody in WWE has that kid’s combination of diction (Juilliard over Long Island), intensity, or cheesiness. Even when Friedman lost his cool (his nom de ring is MJF), he still has amazing control. The character is part heel, part tool (hair gel, slipper, Burberry bling – sticky, sticky, sticky) and part Goodfella wannabe; His mouth runs more than he does. For reasons only the producers of this show can explain, a long period culminated in October between MJF and veteran Chris Jericho in a version of “Me and My Shadow” with women dancing and live singing. It was less than spectacular, but nothing Friedman did. He wasn’t embarrassed at all. It was slick in a way that should worry Ric Flair. This kid makes you say, “Woo!”

The show is a bloody zoo with half-finished ideas. But right there, in the middle of the chaos, there was about 30 minutes of continuous construction around Ellis, as a housewife named Hippolyta. Up until that point, she was a little gamer in the midst of all the monsters, magic, and racist history. Suddenly, shit! She screamed through a wormhole into another dimension and then into another – she dances with Josephine Baker, commands a troop of Amazons and does interplanetary fieldwork in costumes that would drive Sun Ra crazy. Ellis has been around for a long time and for those of us who have waited for a part that will turn fear into joy and joy into anger and rage into amazement, the wait was more than worth the wait. More please. (Streaming on HBO Max.)

Officially, it’s about a chess master (see below), but a few episodes are also about her dreary adoptive mother, who Heller finally plays in a state of subdued surprise. The benefits of the chess chaperone lifestyle are beyond the character’s wildest dreams. But instead of milking that juicy matron part for campiness, Heller relies on the unexpected warmth of motherhood in the 11th hour. (Streaming on Netflix.)

I don’t know which Kentucky orphanage was so integrated in the 1950s, but I almost didn’t care because Ingram is so good. In fact, it’s so good that I’ve even resigned myself to its triple stereotypical part (pickaninny; black best friend; Morgan Freeman at the end of “The Shawshank Redemption”). Her galactic charisma and physical lightbulb turned a stock roll into a three-course meal.

It’s proof for Taylor-Joy that Ingram only appears in about two and a half of the seven episodes of this series and I didn’t miss her as much as I imagined. That’s how overwhelming Taylor-Joy is, despite the fact that from some angles she looks like Emma Stone, reinvented by Tim Burton – long face and big eyes, like an insect trapped in the body of a drunk pill popper. I can imagine that this was no easy feat: cunning, stupor and stratagem – how do you deal with all of this? I take it like you just landed here from space with no intention of going home.

Buttigieg had suspended his presidential campaign less than two weeks ago, and in the first few minutes his decision to stand up for Kimmel came to me as the nadir of ambition before it most. But Buttigieg’s joke delivery came almost from an awkward comedy school (who me? Funny?). Its timing was its own clockwork. He was excellently humble in a sketch in which he was handing out pretzel samples on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And his interview with Patrick Stewart was calm and only slightly scratchy. Here is someone who ran for almost a year for president and yet was the most human (and amusing) about not doing retail politics, just plain retailing.

Pure magic. Magic that didn’t have to be so magical for a Google Hangout. It took place in the middle of an all-star party (almost all) that was being held for one of the country’s great magicians. The song comes from Sondheim’s underrated “Pacific Overtures” and is in its Top 10. It’s too artful to explain, but Sondheim puts it in the present and the past. The video opens with Harada and Sesma in their respective boxes. Then it goes to Sesma alone and then to Ku – as Sesma’s younger self – looking down like from a tree, and Sesma turns his head to Ku. Then Loh suddenly arrives in a fourth box. He’s on his back first but has shot so his head still matches the face-to-space ratio of the other three. I give you geometry. These four impressed me. Part of the magic is how they’re connected. On stage, it’s time to collapse. Here it is also distance. Technically, I don’t know how she and the technicians did it. But the boy did it to me – as appropriately ambitious and funny recognition of Sondheim’s boldness and as a metaphor for the teamwork that is necessary to achieve something meaningful and permanently decent this year.

If the great Michaela Coel is the wounded psyche of this HBO series, then Opia is its reality check. She plays Coel’s best friend Terry and is here both verbally and physically. (Her body language alone could fill a dictionary.) But it is the patience in her actions that annoyed me, the compassionate watching of Coel and the looking out for Coel. Opia is Ethel for Lucy, Pam for Gina: another dictionary definition – for “support”. (Streaming on HBO Max.)

Everyone in this cruelly canceled Hulu remake of the film was fantastic, including Zoë Kravitz. But Lacy is worth singling out, as few actors perform more complex work with sporty secondary bananas. He’s built like a baseball player, but comes with reserves of friendliness that compliment Jenny Slate’s stupidity, Lena Dunham’s self-absorption, or Kravitz’s reluctance. There is no award for this, just my incessant admiration. (Streaming on Hulu.)

There is no person in this Showtime series who does not exist in the shadow of Ethan Hawke’s tornadic rendition of John Brown. But these two, who play enslaved men involved in Brown’s passionate warfare, create something special: Neither of them will. Johnson is the young eyes and voice of the show and what a smart comedian he is. His face can express a hundred kinds of surprise and fear, doubt and relief all the same. Where did Point-Du Jour come from? His line readings are clear and funny. These two made me laugh the most. Her raised eyebrows always seemed to match mine. (Streaming on Showtime.)

Apparently, Warwick came to Twitter eight years ago, but this was the year her account became one thing – dry, wise, as elegantly spectral as grumpy, generous. Warwick tweets the way she sings, gentle and martini-dry. A tweet that drew thousands of glances warns Spotifiers that artists can see our playlists. She used the “I see you” eye emoji, where a period would lead. Another specifically asked that no one tell her what “hot girls’ summer” was even though it was “was” at the time. The attraction is that the tweets sound like they are – that smoky timbre, the showbiz diction. They are a snack. I read some of their posts and actually tried to wipe the salt off my hands.

Categories
Business

Uber sells its flying taxi enterprise to Joby Aviation

Uber sells its flying taxi business to Joby Aviation

Joby Lufttaxi eVTOL demonstrator. After more than six years of secret development, Joby Aviation is lifting the lid on its innovative eVTOL air taxi program.

Source: Joby Aviation

The air taxi business is at least a few years away from launch, but there is already consolidation among startups. Joby Aviation, California, which develops all-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, is acquiring Uber Elevate, Uber’s aviation division.

The move will allow Joby to use Uber’s app to offer air taxi rides when the company’s plane finally enters service, which could be as early as 2023. Although the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Uber has agreed to invest $ 75 million in Joby Aviation. Earlier this year, Uber invested $ 50 million in Joby as part of the Series C funding round.

“We were proud to partner with Uber Elevate last year and we are even more proud to have you on the Joby team today,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, in a press release announcing the deal has been.

For Uber, the deal comes a day after the autonomous driving division known as the Advanced Technologies Group was sold to Aurora, a self-driving autostart company.

“Aurora will know exactly what to build, what routes there are, what skills the driver needs to learn to cater to the largest segment of the market and essentially the easiest way to build this technology,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box”.

By separating from Advanced Technologies Group and Uber Elevate, the hail giant can save hundreds of millions of dollars that would have been required to develop autonomous hail and urban air taxi services over the next several years.

For Joby Aviation, the integration of Uber Elevate could help the company achieve its goal of offering short trips in urban areas with vertical takeoff and landing planes. Joby’s aircraft, operated in conjunction with Uber’s Ride-Hail app, could provide customers with a seamless way to use ride-hail services and air taxis in a single trip.

“These tools and new team members will be invaluable to us as we accelerate our commercial launch plans,” Bevirt said in a company release.

Of course, Joby Aviation is still a long way from the start. The company has built and is testing an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers and a pilot up to 150 miles at a top speed of 200 mph. Joby conducts test flights on a regular basis, but the aircraft has yet to be certified by the FAA. Regardless, Joby hasn’t set prices for an air taxi ride, which will be an indication of whether air taxis are really taking off with the crowds.

– CNBC’s Meghan Reeder contributed to this article.

Categories
Health

The doubtless crushing toll of rationing well being care

The potentially crushing toll of rationing health care

Presbyterian Healthcare Services’ chief medical officer, Dr. Jason Mitchell told CNBC that doctors “do everything we can” to prevent rationing care when the governor of his state signed an executive order that brought New Mexico one step closer to rationed care – the place where the patient is sake Coronavirus to be treated.

“It’s really important to realize that the goal of introducing a nursing crisis standard is to expand services so we don’t have to ration,” said Mitchell. “Also, we’re going to use places that we don’t normally use, whether it’s tents or clinics, to put up hospital beds. We’re really going to do everything. That’s what we’re going to focus on and try to make everything so that you don’t . ” Come to this point. “

The Albuquerque doctor added that hospitals will bring in doctors and nurses who normally practice in clinics, as well as rotating doctors who normally do not work in intensive care units. The intensive care units in New Mexico reached 103% capacity, the highest in the country. 935 people are being hospitalized with Covid in New Mexico, with hospital admissions more than doubling in the last month, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

Mitchell said a group of doctors, nurses, ethicists, and academics are working on an equitable route to potential ration supplies to ensure that health care providers can provide as many resources as possible to as many people as possible.

“The other important thing is that we all do this together. So every health organization uses the same criteria, the same mechanisms to ensure that equity, to ensure that patients are distributed across the state and that we are providing as much care and savings as that many lives as possible, “Mitchell said in an interview on Tuesday night about” The News with Shepard Smith “.

The United States has exceeded more than 15 million confirmed coronavirus cases. In context, that means roughly one in 22 Americans has tested positive since the pandemic began. This is evident from a CNBC analysis of the Johns Hopkins data. Mitchell told Shepard Smith that while health care professionals are already exhausted, the toll that “not having what you need for every patient” may be oppressive.

Dr. Bruce Becker, associate professor of behavioral medicine and social sciences in the School of Public Health at Brown University, echoed Mitchell’s concerns about the policy of rationing care.

“The individual frontline health worker must execute the policy on a personal level and look a patient or family member in the eye and tell them that they do not meet certain policy criteria,” Becker said. “This shatters a person’s soul, it shatters their heart, piece by piece, and day by day, as they take on the brunt of the pain and suffering of the patient or family that has been condemned by politics not to do so . ” Receive everything that exists. ”

Categories
Politics

Biden’s Alternative for Pentagon Faces Questions on Ties to Contractors

Biden’s Choice for Pentagon Faces Questions on Ties to Contractors

WASHINGTON – Three weeks ago a naval ship launched a military contractor’s experimental missile off Hawaii to intercept and destroy a decoy pretending to be an incoming nuclear weapon for the first time in space.

The same company, Raytheon Technologies, that accomplished the feat was selected for another contract this year in a program that could cost up to $ 20 billion to build a new generation of nuclear-armed cruise missiles for the United States .

And Raytheon, whose 195,000 employees make warplanes, weapons, high-tech sensors, and dozens of other military products, has sold billions of dollars in weapons and radar systems to allies in the Middle East in recent years, some of which have been used to help To wage war in Yemen.

Now, Raytheon could soon have another differentiator: one board member, retired Army General Lloyd J. Austin III, has been named the next Secretary of Defense by President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Raytheon isn’t General Austin’s only connection with military contractors. He was also a partner in an investment firm that bought small defense firms. And his move from the arms business to a leadership role in the Pentagon continues a pattern that President Trump has begun in recent years.

Mr Trump elected James N. Mattis, also a retired four-star general, who then served on the board of General Dynamics, another major military entrepreneur, as its first secretary of defense. Mark T. Esper, a former Raytheon chief lobbyist, succeeded Mr. Mattis.

This is a departure from the norm. Defense ministers who had served prior to Mr Trump’s tenure – at least three decades until President George Bush’s tenure – did not come directly from boards or executive suites of contractors, although some, like Ashton Carter, President Barack Obama’s last Secretary of Defense, did served as an industry advisor.

Mr. Biden’s decision to appoint General Austin has raised a new wave of questions about the corporate relationships of people Mr. Biden selects to serve in his administration.

These links are especially relevant when it comes to the Pentagon, which spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year on weapons and other supplies. During Mr. Trump’s tenure, the military budget increased by about 15 percent, reaching $ 705 billion in the last fiscal year. This is one of the highest values ​​in constant US dollars since World War II.

“It is important for the defense minister to bring independence of thought into this role, and it is deeply worrying when a candidate comes straight from one of the major military contractors,” said Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the arms control association, who pointed out urges reducing nuclear weapons and military spending.

He added, “I would note that Raytheon has a tremendous financial stake in upcoming decisions by the Biden administration, Congress and the Secretary of Defense.”

At Raytheon, officials are said to be excited about the prospect of a board member becoming secretary of defense, according to a person who works with the company. However, that person and another person working with Raytheon warned that the appointment could result in an undesirable audit of the company.

Even members of Mr. Biden’s own party had urged Mr. Biden to refrain from nominating anyone for the job of Secretary of Defense who came directly from the military business world.

“US national security should not be defined by the bottom line of Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon,” Democrat Representative Mark Pocan of Wisconsin said in a statement last month.

As Secretary of Defense, General Austin would have to sell any stock he holds in Raytheon or other defense companies, or companies that do business in the industry, and would most likely be prohibited from directing contract decisions or other “special matter” directly affecting companies with whom he has had financial relationships for the past two years if Mr. Biden follows the ethical guidelines first adopted by Mr. Obama.

General Austin joined Raytheon Technologies in April as part of a merger between Raytheon Company, known as a manufacturer of Patriot and Tomahawk missiles, and United Technologies, a manufacturer of commercial and military jet engines and avionics. General Austin joined the board in June In 2016 after leaving the military.

According to Raytheon records, General Austin owned more than $ 500,000 in Raytheon stock as of October. As a member of the United Technologies board of directors, General Austin received a total of $ 1.4 million in stock and other compensation over a four year period.

Raytheon is now one of the largest military contractors in the world. Raytheon boasts in an earnings report to Wall Street that it has a record federal government order book totaling $ 73 billion.

His aggressive drive over the past five years to sell billions of dollars in precision-guided bombs and bomb parts to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which weaponized civilians in a catastrophic war in Yemen, sparked an outcry from human rights groups and some members of Congress who repeatedly tried to block sales.

But Raytheon, who pays an army of well-connected lobbyists, overcame the opposition and sold the weapons – thanks in part to his close relationship with the Trump administration.

General Austin was also a partner in an investment firm called Pine Island Capital, which he joined on the board of directors in July. The company was recently on a buying spree from small military contractors including Precinmac Precision Machining, which sells specialty parts for missile launch systems and machine guns.

By the time General Austin joined Pine Island, Pine Island said he was “already fully committed, working with us on new investments and bringing his experience and judgment to our portfolio companies,” including InVeris Training Solutions, the virtual gun firing training service offers.

General Austin, Anthony J. Blinken, the election of Mr. Biden as Secretary of State, and Michèle A. Flournoy, who had been Mr. Biden’s other nominee for Secretary of Defense, were made clear because of their connections with the Pine Island team competed in the past few months prior to the sale of $ 218 million worth of stock in preparation for buying other defense industry targets.

Pine Island has a partnership with WestExec Advisors, a consulting firm founded in part by Mr. Blinken and Ms. Flournoy. Another Raytheon board member, former Pentagon official Robert O. Work, was also involved with WestExec and advised Mr Biden’s transition to national security planning.

While WestExec advised at least one defense contractor, a WestExec spokeswoman did not respond to questions about whether Raytheon was a customer, stating that the company has nondisclosure agreements with many customers and “does not comment on potential customers.”

When asked about General Austin’s relationships with defense companies, Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Mr. Biden’s transition, said, “Every cabinet member will comply with all disclosure requirements and strict ethical rules, including withdrawals as appropriate.”

He added that General Austin and Mr. Blinken, if confirmed, would sell all of Pine Island’s shares.

It’s not clear how much equity they have in Pine Island.

Mandy Smithberger, a director of the Project on Government Oversight, which tracks federal contract decisions, said the problem with hiring former industry executives as senior Pentagon officials is broader because they often bring with them an industry-friendly mindset.

As a result, Mr Biden’s administration may find it more difficult to make the tough decisions that will be necessary as the United States faces large budget deficits and growing demands for public health programs to increase to better prepare for the next global world to be pandemic.

“The defense industry is already way too close to the Pentagon, and if the Biden administration is to reform the department the way we know, that must change,” Ms. Smithberger said. “What is in the best interests of our national security may not be the same as what is in the best interests of the defense industry.”

Categories
Business

Pfizer’s Vaccine Gives Sturdy Safety After First Dose

Pfizer’s Vaccine Offers Strong Protection After First Dose

WASHINGTON – The coronavirus vaccine, manufactured by Pfizer and BioNTech, offers strong protection against Covid-19 within about 10 days of the first dose. This emerges from documents released Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration ahead of a meeting of their vaccine advisory group.

The result is one of several significant new results in the newsletters, which includes more than 100 pages of data analysis from the Agency and Pfizer. Last month Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their two-dose vaccine had a 95 percent effectiveness rate after two doses three weeks apart. The new analyzes show that protection starts much earlier.

In addition, the vaccine worked well regardless of the race, weight, or age of a volunteer. While no serious adverse events from the vaccine were identified in the study, many participants experienced pain, fever, and other side effects.

“This is what an A + certificate looks like for a vaccine,” said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University.

On Thursday, the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Panel will discuss these materials prior to a vote on whether to recommend approval of the vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTech.

Pfizer and BioNTech started a large-scale clinical trial in July that recruited 44,000 people in the US, Brazil and Argentina. Half of the volunteers received the vaccine and half the placebo.

New coronavirus cases in the vaccinated group of volunteers quickly subsided about 10 days after the first dose, according to a graphic in the educational materials. The number of cases increased steadily in the placebo group.

The vaccine’s swift action could benefit not only the people who receive it, but also the strained hospitals in the country, limiting the flow of new patients to intensive care units.

Despite the early protection provided by the first dose, it is unclear how long this protection would last on its own, which underscores the importance of the second dose. Previous studies have shown that the second dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine gives the immune system a significant long-term boost that is seen with many other vaccines.

The effectiveness of the vaccine after the first dose, according to Dr. William C. Gruber, senior vice president of Pfizer Vaccine Clinical Research and Development, at about 52 percent. After the second dose, this value increases to about 95 percent. “Two doses of the vaccine offer maximum protection,” he said.

Many experts have raised concerns that the coronavirus vaccines might protect some people better than others. However, the results in the educational materials indicate no such problem. The vaccine has a high rate of effectiveness in both men and women, and similar rates in whites, blacks, and Latinos. It also worked well on obese people who are at higher risk of developing Covid-19.

Some vaccines for other diseases produce a weak immune response in older adults. However, Pfizer and BioNTech found that people over 65 received about as much protection from the coronavirus vaccine as younger people.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccine researcher at the Mayo Clinic, on the vaccine’s robust response in the overweight and elderly.

Even if the vaccine is approved by the FDA, the study will continue. In the briefing documents, the companies said they would encourage people to stay in the study for as long as possible without knowing whether they received the vaccine or the placebo, so the researchers can continue to gather information on whether the vaccine is safe and effective.

The road to a coronavirus vaccine

Interesting facts about vaccines

Confused by all of the technical terms used to describe how vaccines work and study? Let us help:

    • Adverse event: A health problem that occurs in volunteers in a clinical trial with a vaccine or drug. An adverse event is not always caused by the treatment tested in the study.
    • Antibody: A protein produced by the immune system that can attach to a pathogen such as the coronavirus and prevent it from infecting cells.
    • Approval, Licensing, and Approval for Emergency Use: Medicines, vaccines and medical devices cannot be sold in the US for no profit approval by the Food and Drug Administration, also known as Licensing. After a company submits the results of clinical studies to the FDA for review, the agency decides whether the product is safe and effective. This process usually takes many months. If the country faces an emergency – like a pandemic – a company can file an application instead Emergency approvalthat can be granted much faster.
    • Background rate: How often does the general population experience a health problem called an Adverse Event? To determine whether a vaccine or drug is safe, researchers compare the rate of adverse events in one study to the background rate.
    • Effectiveness: The benefit of a vaccine compared to a placebo, measured in a clinical trial. For example, to test a coronavirus vaccine, the researchers compare how many people in the vaccinated group and the placebo group are receiving Covid-19. In contrast, effectiveness is the benefit that a vaccine or drug offers in the real world. A vaccine’s effectiveness can be found to be less or more effective than its effectiveness.
    • Phases 1, 2 and 3 studies: Clinical trials typically take place in three phases. Phase 1 studies typically involve a few dozen people to determine whether a vaccine or drug is safe. In Phase 2 trials that involve hundreds of people, researchers can try different doses and take more measurements of the vaccine’s effects on the immune system. Phase 3 trials, involving thousands or tens of thousands of volunteers, determine the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine or medicine by waiting to see how many people are protected from the disease it is intended to be used against.
    • Placebo: A substance with no therapeutic effect that is widely used in clinical trials. For example, to see if a vaccine can prevent Covid-19, researchers can inject the vaccine into half of their volunteers while the other half are given a placebo with salt water. You can then compare how many people are infected in each group.
    • Post-market surveillance: The surveillance that occurs after a vaccine or drug has been approved and regularly prescribed by doctors. This monitoring usually confirms that the treatment is safe. Rarely, side effects are noted in certain groups of people that were overlooked during clinical trials.
    • Preclinical Research: Studies that take place prior to the start of a clinical trial typically include experiments that test a treatment on cells or animals.
    • Viral vector vaccines: A type of vaccine that uses a harmless virus to deliver immune-stimulating ingredients into the human body. Viral vectors are used in several experimental Covid-19 vaccines, including those developed by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Both companies use a cold virus called adenovirus as a vector. The adenovirus carries coronavirus genes.
    • Test protocol: A series of procedures that must be performed during a clinical trial.

The educational materials also provide a deeper look into the safety of the vaccine. In any large clinical trial, some people who receive vaccines have health conditions unrelated to the vaccine itself. Comparing their symptom rates with those of the placebo group, as well as background rates in a population, may indicate symptoms that a vaccine may actually cause.

The FDA concluded that there were no “significant imbalances” between the two groups in serious health complications known as adverse events. The agency found that four people in the vaccinated group had a form of facial paralysis called Bell’s palsy, with no cases in the placebo group. The difference between the two groups was not significant and the rate in the vaccinated group was not significantly higher than in the general population.

The new Pfizer analysis found that many volunteers who received the vaccine felt sick in the hours after the second dose, suggesting that many people may need to request a day off or be willing to rest until symptoms appear ease up. Among the 16 to 55 year olds, more than half developed fatigue and more than half also reported headaches. Slightly more than a third experienced chills and 37 percent had muscle pain. About half of those over 55 felt tired, a third had a headache, and about a quarter felt chills, while 29 percent had muscle pain.

“Taking a day off after the second dose is a good thing to anticipate,” said Dr. Iwasaki.

On Monday, Kristen Choi, a psychiatric nurse and health care researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles, released a firsthand report on the symptoms she experienced as a participant in the Pfizer BioNTech study, including chills, nausea and headaches and fever.

“Doctors need to be prepared to discuss with patients why they should trust the vaccine and that its adverse effects could be very similar to Covid-19,” wrote Dr. Choi in JAMA Internal Medicine. She advised doctors to tell patients that these uncomfortable symptoms “are a sign that the vaccine is working despite the unfortunate similarities with the symptoms of the disease”.

Categories
Business

Warner Bros. CEO defends 2021 movie launch mannequin, in talks with expertise

Warner Bros. CEO defends 2021 film release model, in talks with talent

Last week, AT & T’s Warner Bros. announced that all films set to release in 2021 will be released on HBO Max as soon as they hit theaters. Ann Sarnoff, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, defended the decision on Tuesday.

“We have been trying to find the best way forward for the last eight months since we were first suspended,” Sarnoff told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin on Squawk Alley. “We have a lot of movies that are ready and they’re on the shelves, so we thought this was the most creative and win-win situation to get them not only in theaters but also on HBO Max for 31 days at the same time . “

Like many film studios, Warner Bros. has been forced to postpone blockbuster features due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now they are looking for a way to get theatrical releases but also improve the HBO Max streaming service.

However, the company’s decision was not well received by many filmmakers or cinema chains. Warner Bros. has not consulted with the actors, agents, or directors of the 17 films that make up the 2021 film, and has not entered into distribution agreements with cinemas that have traditionally opposed simultaneous theatrical and streaming releases.

Indeed, some media reports suggest that filmmakers and cinema owners were only informed of the announcement less than two hours before it was released.

In addition, the New York Times reported that “Wonder Woman 1984” star Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins were each rewarded with a check for $ 10 million when Warner Bros. decided to send that film to HBO Max if it came to Christmas is coming to theaters. This was seen as minor to other talents who had worked with the company.

“It’s a unilateral decision that the studio made,” Christopher Nolan, a notable filmmaker and contributor to Warner Bros., told the Associated Press on Monday. “You didn’t even tell anyone involved. You have these great filmmakers who have worked passionately and diligently for years on projects that are supposed to be feature films with fantastic movie stars. And everyone has now been told it is a loss leader for a boy Streaming service. “

Nolan is known to pressure Warner Bros. to release his movie “Tenet” on the big screen instead of offering it for purchase as a premium video upon request. As of August, Tenet has had domestic sales of $ 57.6 million and $ 302.1 million from international markets.

“We work through the system with our talent and their agents,” said Sarnoff. “I think the more they see how well they’re getting paid, the more we find that people understand the economy. And that’s unprecedented. So it’s always a bit difficult to work something new through for the first time.”

Sarnoff did not disclose details of financial dealings with parties, but said filmmakers and talent “have access to some additional economic aspects of HBO Max.”

“We are in the process of having a lot of conversations with the talent, agents and exhibitors to see how this can work and be good for everyone,” she said.

Currently, that same-day movie release strategy in theaters and on HBO Max only appears to apply for 2021. Sarnoff called it a “workaround” but said the company needs to see how 2022 plays out before making any decisions about future sales models.

Jason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia, made similar comments in an interview with CNBC last week.

“Everyone should take a breather,” said Kilar. “Let’s play for the next six, eight, ten months. And then let’s check in again.”

AT&T CEO John Stankey said earlier Tuesday that the streaming service had added subscribers even before the new content hit the service. HBO Max has approximately 12.6 million subscribers, up from 8.6 million activated accounts at the end of the third quarter.

Categories
Health

Some States Balk After C.D.C. Asks for Private Knowledge of These Vaccinated

Some States Balk After C.D.C. Asks for Personal Data of Those Vaccinated

“This is a new activity for us because we don’t typically report this level of detail to the federal government at this frequency,” Doug Schultz, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health, said in an email. He added, “We will not provide a name, zip code, race, ethnicity or address.”

Tracking vaccinations, including collecting personal information, is not a new practice, and experts say this is especially important with a vaccine that requires two doses. But in the United States, it was a purely state effort. A push two decades ago to develop a federal registry that imploded after an uproar over patient privacy and the use of the data.

“The general philosophy in this country is that states manage public health. Therefore, the concept that we keep track of identified information at the federal level is important,” said Dr. Shaun J. Grannis, professor of medical informatics at Indiana University, who advised the CDC on data collection.

“We are 50 different states with a patchwork of regulations and different perspectives on privacy and security,” added Dr. Grannis added. “And I think people will ask the question: what does the CDC do that we cannot do regionally?”

However, the state registers differ in terms of sophistication and quality. Speaking at Monday’s briefing, Colonel RJ Mikesh of the Army, the information technology director for Operation Warp Speed, said the data collection was part of an “all America approach” to vaccine distribution.

And some experts say that amid a pandemic that has already cost nearly 284,000 lives in the US, privacy must give way to the public good and that vaccinating all Americans is a monumental task that requires federal intervention.

“We’re in a pandemic,” said Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University in Atlanta. “Privacy has its role, but it can’t be what drives decision-making when you’re trying to do a monumental task like vaccinating millions of Americans with one vaccine that requires two doses.”

Categories
Politics

Checks, legal responsibility amongst aid disagreements

Checks, liability among relief disagreements

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arrives for the press conference after the weekly Senate Republican Caucus Politics lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

Congress attempted an elusive coronavirus relief deal Tuesday as known barriers stood in the way of aid to Americans struggling to cover food and housing costs.

Washington leaders hope to pass a bailout before the end of the year after months of inactivity. If no further aid is sent by then, unemployment benefits for around 12 million people can be cut and millions of people threatened with eviction.

To reach an agreement in time, Republicans and Democrats must resolve even bigger disputes over corporate liability protection, state and local government relief, and direct payments to Americans. Legislators plan to buy more time to reach both pandemic relief and spending agreements by passing a week-long rolling resolution to keep government funding going through December 18.

A non-partisan group worked for days to produce a $ 908 billion compromise bill. Legislators intend to release more details on the proposal on Tuesday afternoon.

While the Democrats have adopted the plan as a basis for talks with Republican leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Has continued to call for a “targeted” bill of around $ 500 billion. According to Bloomberg, he plans to meet with Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to discuss the development of stimulus plans.

A daily average Covid-19 infection rate of more than 200,000 has overwhelmed hospitals across the country. States and cities have put new economic restrictions in place to slow cases in an already sluggish economy where around 20 million people are receiving unemployment benefits.

Where the plans are

Congress leaders have signaled that they want to incorporate coronavirus control measures into spending legislation. The move would allow Congress to approve both must-pass invoices in one fell swoop.

Getting an agreement on both fronts is the hard part.

The bipartisan plan, as first outlined last week, would invest nearly $ 300 billion in paycheck protection program small business loans and $ 160 billion in support from state and local governments who may have to lay off workers. It would reintroduce the federal unemployment insurance surcharge at $ 300 per week and provide funding for the distribution, education, and transportation of Covid-19 vaccines, among other things.

The proposal originally presented would also give companies temporary federal liability for coronavirus-related lawsuits until states enact their own laws. However, negotiators have not yet decided how to produce the final text on legal protection and state and local aid, West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said Tuesday.

McConnell has insisted on including liability coverage in an aid package. His narrower approach includes this provision along with PPP loans and vaccine distribution and education funds. He has spoken out against new state and local easements.

Chuck Schumer, Chairman of the Senate Minority, DN.Y., spoke in the Senate on Tuesday calling on the GOP to abandon the demand for legal immunity.

“The situation is really quite simple,” he said. “There are blatant needs across the country and we have to work across party lines to pass laws that meet those needs.”

Stimulus checks have turned out to be a problem in an aid agreement. Two senators – Vermont independent Bernie Sanders and Missouri Republican Josh Hawley – have signaled they oppose a package that doesn’t include direct payments to families.

House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Told Bloomberg Tuesday that she would like to continue to want stimulus checks in an agreement. She said the question of including her was “really a matter for the president,” the news agency said.

On Tuesday, Politico reported that the Trump administration would push for direct payments in aid legislation. At the same time, McConnell’s opposition to the provision is “softening,” according to the report.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Categories
Entertainment

Two Ailey Stars Will Now Flip Their Focus to Child Steps

Two Ailey Stars Will Now Turn Their Focus to Baby Steps

Glenn Allen Sims and Linda Celeste Sims did what many couples do: they had a baby. But they are no ordinary couple.

Two esteemed veterans of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Glenn for 23 years and Linda for 24 years – they have long held onto jobs that have pushed them to their physical limits. With the birth of their son Ellington James Sims in April 2019, they faced a new challenge.

Your last season in the city center in December 2019 was exhausting – not that you knew it from her dance: refined, passionate and, as always, full of life. Your coping mechanism? “We went to the theater and fell asleep,” said 45-year-old Sims in a joint interview with Ms. Sims. “We’d take a nap in our locker room.”

At the time, Ellington – now nearly 20 months old and chirping happily in the background – did not sleep through the night. “Originally, our plan was to keep dancing and staying with the company, ”said Ms. Sims, 44 years old. “But at Ailey, traveling is really the problem.”

It is not just the dancing that ailey dancers require; It’s the tour that can take five months or more in a normal year. When they decided to retire before the outbreak of the pandemic, one question became increasingly easy to answer: “Are we taking him on the streets?”

“Why should I raise my child in a hotel?” Ms. Sims said. “And don’t get me wrong – two weeks, three weeks on tour? It can be done. But not months at a time. It was like we needed the best for the baby. “

In this virtual Ailey season, the couple’s farewell performance will be shown on Wednesday, which includes a number of video clips from their repertoire. as well as a new film about the romantic central duet in “Winter in Lisbon”, a solemn work by Billy Wilson on Dizzy Gillespie; and a discussion with the couple, led by choreographer Ronald K. Brown. But it’s not that they’ll never dance again.

“Guest artist?” Ms. Sims said. “I’ll be there when you need me. Or occur for certain special events. “

Mr. Sims, who said his career was spent in minimal clothing, won’t miss the form-fitting full body.

Shortly before the January pandemic, the couple moved from New Rochelle to a home in Mahopac, NY, where Ms. Sims teaches at Marymount College, Ballet Hispánico, and Ailey Extension.

Mr. Sims is pursuing a degree from SUNY Empire State College, where his focus is on performing arts management. Oddly enough, the timing of her decision to retire from Ailey during the pandemic has proven itself. “We were able to walk and didn’t feel the pressure of having to be at work during that time,” said Ms. Sims.

When life returns to normal, Ms. Sims will become the rehearsal director for Ballet Hispánico, where she trained and danced. Mr. Sims is in talks to become the company’s head.

“I don’t feel like I’m leaving anything or my career has not fulfilled,” Ms. Sims said. “I feel very well nourished and fed. And I still have a feeling that there could be another story. “

Their story first began in Ailey, where they met and secretly dated. “We were really, really young – 19 and 20,” Ms. Sims said. “We wanted to keep the space where we are professional at work. No love dove stuff. “

They married in 2001 and eventually started being cast together. Sometimes couples don’t have the same chemistry on stage, but their partnership has been a striking example of support and sophistication. In the most regal and inconspicuous way both remained in the service of the choreography and showed themselves in their full strength.

While Ailey has given them a lot – in addition to traveling the world, they’ve each danced in nearly 100 works over the years – Mr. Sims can pinpoint exactly what he’s missed: family. “Our family has always been a part of us and around us, but now there are more ways to just talk to them when I feel like I want to talk to them,” he said. “And now we have our own.”

What follows are edited excerpts from a current interview.

You just shot “Winter in Lisbon” for the virtual gala last month. What does this achievement say about you?

GLENN We are today.

LINDA The second time I saw it, I thought, my goodness, how many people can actually say they dance like that at 44? As dancers we are so hard on ourselves that we forget that we have to be thankful too. And so I am very grateful that, even after having a child, I can still do the things that I can physically do.

What did you notice when you were actually on stage in your last season in New York together?

LINDA Being away from the stage for a whole year felt different. I thought I hope I fit into all of my costumes. And I did! But to be on stage with Glenn was just wonderful. Dancing fixed me. We made many “revelations” and the way I would hear the music would be different. I just felt very mature.

GLENN I was more attuned to my body, but I heard more nuances in music because my life was full of nuances.

LINDA I cried”. [The Ailey solo is dedicated “to all Black women everywhere — especially our mothers.”] I had two chances to play it in the season and the first time I had so much to say – like when you want to eat something and eat it that fast, but you didn’t have time to enjoy it. I didn’t let it simmer. So I thought what are you holding back What are you afraid of? Why don’t you just do it

How did that feel

LINDA It was all. I think I cried the whole thing. I don’t know what it looked like! [Laughs] Sometimes ugliness can be beautiful; I allowed myself to be so vulnerable. There’s the whole experience of childbirth and – women don’t talk about it – how exhausting [motherhood] is. There are really ugly moments when it’s not just joy. It’s like your baby has been born, you will feel this joy and love. And it is like that, no, it doesn’t always happen all the time. I thought I will talk about it. [Laughs]

They weren’t planning to have children. What changed your mind

LINDA In Europe we always went sightseeing with the company and I saw these families. I got the urge to get. It was pretty much like that when I turned 40. I feel complete with Glenn so I don’t want this to sound wrong, but I still felt like something was missing.

GLENN And I gave her those crazy eyes because then you have to look around. … I looked around our apartment and thought, OK, everything will change. The art on the wall, the glass table. How will it work financially? I started to freak out. It’s something I’ve wanted for a long time, but I never wanted to put pressure on Linda about children. Ever.

LINDA And that’s a nice thing. After 18 years of marriage, we had Ellington.

Are you obsessed with Duke Ellington?

LINDA No! We weren’t obsessed at all. But one of the pieces that I think we sculpted on stage every time we performed was “The River”. [set to Ellington]. The musicality, the choreography of Mr. Ailey – it’s just one of our favorite pieces. We fell in love with [Ellington’s] Music; It’s not that we hear it every day, but we can actually perform with its music. So we just thought, how do we find a name that connects the two of us but is also unique enough to be itself?

GLENN It’s also about the partnership Ailey had with Duke Ellington and the way we met – through Ailey. It was something we could always carry with us. So how do we honor our own careers and our son? With a great name.