Category: Health

Categories
Health

IPCC UN local weather report is our ‘remaining wake-up name,’ say consultants

IPCC UN climate report is our 'final wake-up call,' say experts

A devastating new UN report warning of certain devastation caused by climate change has been dubbed humanity’s “last wake-up call” by environmental experts.

Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday, environmentalists outlined the role businesses, countries and individuals can play in containing the crisis. They also shared their hopes for the party’s 26th UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, in November.

The United Nations IPCC climate panel released a highly anticipated report on Monday warning that efforts to limit global warming to nearly 1.5 degrees Celsius, or even 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, are in will be “inaccessible” for the next two decades without an immediate, rapid and comprehensive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Implement “ambitious action now”

Meeting policymakers’ temperature targets for 2050 will be difficult but achievable, said Emily Kreps, global director of capital markets at CDP, a nonprofit that helps companies manage their climate impact.

However, this requires “ambitious action” from companies, governments and capital markets, she told Squawk Box Asia on Tuesday.

This should be considered our final wake-up call.

Emily Kreps

Global Director of Capital Markets, CDP

The threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius outlined in the report is a crucial global goal, as it also makes so-called tipping points more likely. Tipping points refer to an irreversible change in the climate system that includes further global warming.

“This should be seen as our last wake-up call,” said Kreps, who encouraged companies to set “concrete and concrete goals”.

Ulka Kelkar, director of climate at the World Resources Institute India, agreed that the pace of change must “accelerate quickly”.

For example, the exit from fossil fuels and the introduction of renewable energies must happen at five times the speed. In the meantime, the development of new, more sustainable technologies needs to move forward, she said.

This is particularly urgent in developing countries like India, which have the ability to circumvent practices that are harmful to the environment.

“Over here we have to start thinking a step forward, we have to skip,” she told Street Signs Asia.

“(That means) more renewable energy to produce (a) large-scale hydrogen that can be used in all of our industries” – from fertilizers and chemicals to steel making, she added.

Expectations for COP26

The report comes as a series of extreme weather events that are wreaking havoc around the world.

In the past few weeks alone, Europe, China and India have been hit by floods. Forest fires have also devastated the United States, Canada, Greece, and Turkey.

The UN report makes it “clear that these events are related to climate change and human impact on the climate,” Mans Nilsson, executive director of the Stockholm Environment Institute, told Squawk Box Europe.

Industrialized countries (must) seal the agreement on a long overdue climate finance package.

Ulka Kelkar

Director, World Resources Institute India

World leaders will discuss the issue further when they meet at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.

Kreps said she hoped the conference would produce nationally determined contributions and “science-based goals”.

Meanwhile, Kelkar’s expectations were threefold.

“Developed countries (must) make the deal on a long overdue climate finance package,” said Kelkar, especially to adapt to the extreme events of recent times.

“The second major area is clean technology partnerships: something like green hydrogen, something like the circular economy that uses materials more efficiently. The third is the rules of carbon trading, a market-based tool that enables all of this mitigation. ”,“ She added.

– CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.

Categories
Health

Breakthrough Infections and the Delta Variant: What to Know

What to Know About Breakthrough Infections and the Delta Variant

“Long Covid” is a poorly understood set of symptoms that can plague people for several months after an active infection has ended. While these symptoms eventually go away in many patients, “there is this subset of people who have long had Covid who just cannot recover,” said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University.

Only a few small studies have looked at how common or how severely Covid can occur after breakthrough infections. It’s likely rare, say some experts, because breakthrough infections are unusual to begin with and of shorter duration.

In a study in Israel, about seven out of 36 people with breakthrough infections had symptoms that lasted more than six weeks. And in a survey of Covid-19 survivors, 24 out of 44 people with a symptomatic breakthrough infection reported persistent problems.

“We really need a broader national or even international survey,” said Dr. Iwasaki.

If you can survive a breakthrough infection relatively unscathed, you will likely get away with more robust protection against variants. Essentially, the infection acts as a booster shot, researchers say, boosting your immune system’s ability to recognize and fight the virus.

Studies have shown that when people recovering from Covid-19 receive even one dose of a vaccine, their antibody levels skyrocket. “I assume similar things would happen if you had a breakthrough infection,” said Dr. Iwasaki.

The vaccines train the immune system to recognize a piece of the original virus, a strategy that could leave us vulnerable to future variants. But any exposure expands the immunity repertoire, said Dr. Mina.

Eventually, through booster vaccinations or through repeated infections, our bodies will gain sufficient training in the virus to face versions with new mutations, he said, adding, “But we’re not there yet.”

Categories
Health

WHO says it urgently wants $7.7 billion to assist poorer nations survive delta Covid variant

WHO says it urgently needs $7.7 billion to help poorer nations survive delta Covid variant

Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on July 28, 2021.

Jaber Abdulkhaleg | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The World Health Organization is calling for $ 7.7 billion, which officials say is badly needed to help low-income countries survive the Delta-Covid variant through the provision of vaccines, oxygen and medical care.

The funds will be used for the WHO’s Access to Covid-19 Tools program, or ACT, accelerator program that provides critical medical supplies to fight the coronavirus worldwide, said Dr. Bruce Aylward, senior advisor to the WHO director-general, during a question and answer session with WHO officials, streamed a live stream on their social media accounts on Tuesday.

Aylward said the funds are needed to partially cover a $ 16.8 billion shortfall that hampers WHO’s ability to fight the pandemic in developing countries with little or no access to vaccines.

“Aside from the moral question – people shouldn’t die if the technology is available elsewhere, you know, technology should help humanity as a whole – there is also the problem that we can’t solve this pandemic in one country at a time. “Said Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO Deputy Director General for Access to Medicines, Vaccines and Medicines.

“That’s the reality,” she continued. “We have to help the countries move closer together. Otherwise we will live with this virus much longer than necessary.”

WHO officials have set a goal to vaccinate at least 10% of the world’s population by the end of September, at least 40% by the end of this year, and 70% by the middle of next year. Some nations around the world have not yet started their vaccination campaigns, while wealthier countries like the US and Israel have already fully vaccinated more than half of their populations.

Aylward said people in poorer countries who have a fever or other symptoms don’t have the test materials to know if it’s Covid or other diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia or HIV. In addition to providing doses of vaccine, Aylward said the funding will also include Covid testing, oxygen treatments and masks.

Wealthy nations have spent trillions of dollars to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, he said. “Your economy tells you to vaccinate the world and of course we didn’t listen,” he said.

The WHO previously said it was in dire need of $ 7.7 billion to run the ACT Accelerator, and at that point was calling for an additional $ 3.8 billion to buy 760 million doses of Covid vaccine for delivery the next Year, reported Reuters.

“This is the defining moment of our time,” said Aylward. “At some point we look back and that will be the question: How did you behave in those crucial moments?”

Categories
Health

What to Know About Breakthrough Infections and the Delta Variant

What to Know About Breakthrough Infections and the Delta Variant

“Long Covid” is a poorly understood set of symptoms that can plague people for several months after an active infection has ended. While those symptoms eventually resolve in many patients, “there are this subset of people who have long Covid who just aren’t able to recover at all,” said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University.

Only a couple of small studies have investigated how common or severe long Covid may be after breakthrough infections. It is likely to be rare, Dr. Iwasaki said, because breakthrough infections are uncommon to begin with and shorter in duration.

In one study in Israel, about seven of 36 people with breakthrough infections had persistent symptoms for more than six weeks. And in a survey of Covid-19 survivors, 24 of 44 people with a symptomatic breakthrough infection reported lingering problems.

“We really need a wider national or even international survey,” Dr. Iwasaki said.

If you get through a breakthrough infection relatively unscathed, you are likely to walk away with more robust protection against variants. The infection essentially acts as a booster shot, researchers say, strengthening your immune system’s ability to recognize and fight the virus.

Studies have shown that when people who recover from Covid-19 receive even one dose of a vaccine, their antibody levels skyrocket. “I expect similar things would happen when you have a breakthrough infection,” Dr. Iwasaki said.

The vaccines train the immune system to recognize a piece of the original virus, a strategy that may leave us vulnerable to future variants. But every exposure broadens the repertoire of immunity, Dr. Mina said.

Eventually, through booster shots or through repeated infections, our bodies will gain an education in the virus sufficient to counter versions with new mutations, he said, adding, “But we’re not there yet.”

Categories
Health

Choose might unseal some psychological well being data in Elizabeth Holmes case

Judge may unseal some mental health records in Elizabeth Holmes case

Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes (center) and her lawyer are leaving the court on June 15, 2021. Holmes is due to stand trial later this year on wire fraud and other charges.

CNBC

The federal judge in the fraud case of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes is considering unsealing details of her psychological assessment as part of a media request to make parts of her case public.

Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal, petitioned the court to unseal documents in the Holmes case. Dow Jones attorneys said that around 40% of the documents in Holmes’ case are kept under lock and key.

“This is a very significant amount of material, as the court is painfully aware,” said John Cline, a Holmes attorney, during the hearing on Tuesday. “And Ms. Holmes’ view is that a significant portion of it can likely be unsealed at this point, but not all of it.”

The federal prosecutors support the motion to unseal parts of the case, stating that Holmes must be prepared if they are planning a mental health defense.

“The main thing we are dealing with is the continued sealing at the current level, including high-level issues including the defense of Ms. Holmes under Rule 12.2, and that hinders the preparation of the process by the government,” said Kelly Volkar, an assistant US attorney. Indication of a psychological defense. “The question is how far the seal will go.”

Prosecutors had Holmes examined by a psychological expert after defense lawyers announced that they were planning to hire a clinical psychologist to testify about a “mental illness or defect” related to the guilt issue.

Another set of documents that can potentially be unsealed is why Judge Edward Davila separated the trials of Holmes and her co-defendant Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Balwani was her business partner and served as COO at Theranos. The couple had a romantic relationship but never revealed it to their investors.

Holmes and Balwani’s relationship reportedly ended around the same time he left Theranos.

“I will reiterate that Mr. Balwani has never requested that any part of these trial files be filed under lock and key,” said Jeffrey Coopersmith, a Balwani attorney. “Dow Jones has had a sealed filing notification for a year and a half. You are filing this now. I think we understand why, they like to sell newspapers. It is on the eve of the trial of Ms. Holmes.”

Holmes and Balwani both face a dozen criminal wire fraud and conspiracies to bring wire fraud charges. Prosecutors say the two misled patients, doctors and investors about Theranos’ blood testing technology. Neither of them pleaded guilty.

In a July interview with CNBC, former Wall Street Journal reporter who exposed the Theranos scandal, John Carreyrou, said Holmes’ defense strategy may be blamed on her ex-boyfriend.

“A large part of her defense now seems to be blaming Sunny, basically telling the jury that Sunny kept her in his psychological grip,” said Carreyrou. “Your defense plans to take on the case that he was the older friend, 19 years older, who was really the puppeteer here, and she was the puppet. And obviously they’re going to see a psychologist to sort this out.”

Davila ordered Holmes and Balwani’s lawyers to look into which documents could be unsealed and redacted by the end of the week.

Categories
Health

Covid vaccines required for journey, unvaccinated folks do not prefer it

Covid vaccines required for travel, unvaccinated people don't like it

Unvaccinated people are eager to travel again. But more and more, the rules make that harder.

Travelers are increasingly required to show proof of vaccination before they can cruise, book group tours, avoid quarantines, or vacation to tropical islands. Beyond that, vaccines are needed for everyday activities including attending some universities, returning to the workplace or eating in restaurants.

More cities and companies — from Paris to New York, from Disney to Fox Corp. — are issuing vaccine requirements of one sort or another, paving the way for others to follow.

The new rules fall short of true mandates, since people can often avoid them by submitting to rigorous testing and safety protocols. But the “near-mandates,” as they are being called, have the practical effect of making life logistically difficult for some unvaccinated people.

Vaccine-based rules have more support in Europe, but Americans are divided over them. The latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey found 49% favoring mandates and 46% opposing them. Views were sharply divided by age and political affiliation, with nearly 80% of unvaccinated people against them.

CNBC interviewed nearly a dozen unvaccinated travelers. A complex picture of their views emerged, highlighting fears, frustrations and an indifference toward vaccines and the restrictions that require them.

Waiting it out

Several people who oppose mandatory vaccines said they resent being grouped with so-called “anti-vaxxers.” Among them was a mental health counselor from the U.S. South, who asked not to be named due to her occupation.  

She said she is vaccinated against other diseases, and her children are as well. “I’m not anti-vaccine at all,” she said.

But she’s “against these rushed vaccines,” referring to the ones designed to combat Covid.

A mental health counselor from the Deep South was one of several people CNBC interviewed who expressed concern that the vaccines were not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Wolfgang Kumm | picture alliance | Getty Images

She travels monthly and fears catching the virus. Vaccine-based restrictions haven’t impeded her ability to travel, but she’s concerned they could, especially since her spouse is European. She said Covid tests “make more sense” — an argument which gained traction in The Atlantic last week — and are more equitable for those who can’t or won’t vaccinate.

“I will continue to wait it out and hope that over time a less desperate and more logical approach will arise,” she said. “When and if these vaccines are proven safe, I will get one.”

Singaporean Ng Syn Jae agrees. Singapore is on target to have 80% of its population vaccinated by next month, but the 27-year-old said he won’t be among them.

From Aug. 10, vaccinated people in Singapore can dine in restaurants again, while most unvaccinated adults and teenagers cannot.

Suhaimi Abdullah | NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Ng said he feels the vaccines being administered in Singapore — from Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna — are still in “an experimental stage.” He said he’s worried about possible long-term negative side effects, a fear expressed by others who spoke to CNBC.

The World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other health agencies around the world do not share those worries. They’ve said repeatedly that approved vaccines, including those from Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna, are safe and effective against Covid-19 and existing variants.

Covid vaccines have been administered in 199 countries around the world with 30% of the global population having received at least one shot, according to the Our World in Data project at The University of Oxford.

Travel mandates likely would encourage Ng to get vaccinated, he said, though he feels they are unethical. He said he would likely opt for the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine because “the technology the vaccine uses is older” than the newer mRNA vaccines.

He said he will vaccinate “when the vaccine companies show they have done all the proper safety tests —and then, I might wait even longer.”

Frustrated, but not angry

Bert Valdez, a professional surfer living in Hawaii, isn’t vaccinated and doesn’t plan to be.

“It’s a drug, and we were always told not to do drugs,” he said.

His travel experience is wide — coastal locations including Tahiti, Fiji, Taiwan, Mexico and Costa Rica. He acknowledged that his decision not to get vaccinated will probably limit his ability to compete and earn money in the future.

This is not going to kill me.

Valdez said he’s frustrated, but not angry, about vaccine-based travel restrictions, which he said will be short-lived because the “people in power won’t be much longer,” both in the United States and abroad. He did not elaborate on how or why this global transition of power would occur.

Despite scientific evidence to the contrary, he said he believes vaccinated people are spreading the Covid variants while unvaccinated people take the blame.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unvaccinated people are much more likely to contract and transmit the virus that causes Covid-19, including the highly contagious delta variant.

As for the pandemic itself, Valdez said he laments how anger is dividing families and friends. He’s less worried about himself, but more for his three daughters.

“I’ve been through a lot in my life,” he said. “This is not going to kill me.”

Fearing the vaccine more than the virus

Beegy Morter lives in Dallas and described herself as a practitioner of “energy medicine.” She isn’t happy about vaccine-based travel restrictions. She said she can’t take vaccines because she’s allergic to a preservative they contain.

“I do feel discriminated” against, the 77-year-old told CNBC. “I’m not anti-vaxx — I’ve just done the research.”

Morter also said she has trouble wearing masks. They make her dizzy, so she avoids stores that require them.

“I would rather take my chances…”

She’s been given the “cold shoulder” by people who discover she’s unvaccinated, she said. She described encounters which mirror reports of rising resentment and hostility toward the unvaccinated.

Even without her allergy, Morter said she still wouldn’t get vaccinated. For one thing, she doesn’t fear getting Covid, she said.

“The survival rate of catching Covid is so good,” she said. “I would rather take my chances … than take the vaccine.”

U.S. officials have repeatedly contradicted views like hers about the risk Covid poses toward the unvaccinated. The vast majority of Covid-related hospitalizations and deaths in the United States are now occurring among unvaccinated people.

How Americans are responding to Covid variants

Likely to wear masks     Likely to avoid large gatherings
Vaccinated 62% 61%
Unvaccinated 37% 40%
Source: KFF Covid-19 Vaccine Monitor

Yet Morter isn’t alone. A new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows 53% of unvaccinated adults in the United States fear the vaccines more than the disease itself.

Unvaccinated people are also less worried about getting “seriously sick” from Covid (73%) than vaccinated people (61%), according to the report.

‘Stubborn’

Dan Morris of Dunedin, Florida, said his plans to visit Australia this year are looking “extremely unlikely.”

He understands not getting vaccinated won’t help, since “there’s talk of [Australian authorities] not being willing to take unvaccinated people in the future” too.

Morris said he has “a range of reasons” for his decision, including having “a messed-up immune system” due to Crohn’s Disease, and concerns that mutations are making the vaccines less effective.

When asked if that was a circular argument — i.e., refusing vaccines because they may not be as effective against variants which, in turn, are more likely to develop if people refuse the vaccines — Morris said:

“Yes, if it is true that mutations are more likely or mostly occurring in the unvaccinated, then ‘the vaccines are continuing to mutate’ is not a great argument … I would be contributing to the problem. However, I think the mutations are going to come whether I vax or not.”

I’m really not bothered at all by the various restrictions…

The WHO has repeatedly said that Covid-19 vaccines are safe and life-saving. “One of the best ways of guarding against new variants is to continue… rolling out vaccines,” according to the WHO’s website.

In the meantime, Morris said he’s fine to wait years for long-term studies to be published. As to whether he would vaccinate to visit Australia, he isn’t budging.

“Tougher enforcement and restrictions make me less likely to be vaccinated in the future,” he said. “I’m stubborn!”

‘Not bothered’

Bryan Hale, a 54-year-old self-employed coach from Phoenix, isn’t vaccinated. But he isn’t averse to the idea either.

“I’m more than willing to get vaccinated if it becomes a serious issue or need,” he said. “I’ve just been busy.”

His vaccination status has resulted in backlash from his family, some of whom have refused to see him until he is immunized, he said.

Though studies indicate that unvaccinated people are less likely to wear masks or practice social distancing, Hale said he does both, especially since he travels weekly by car in the U.S. Southwest and Mexico.

Bryan Hale said he has experienced “zero” Covid-related delays at the U.S.-Mexico border — though news reports show others haven’t been as lucky.

Erin Clark | Boston Globe | Getty Images

“I’m really not bothered at all by the various restrictions and protocols that have been put in place for travelers,” he said, adding that he feels the government and society at large are “doing the best they can to deal with an unpredictable, complex and serious challenge.”

Hale said he respects the rights of individuals to choose to vaccinate, as well as businesses to implement rules for their organizations.

Deciding to vaccinate

Travel restrictions are coaxing people like Lois Lindsey over the line. The retired accountant from Houston got vaccinated last week solely to safeguard her upcoming vacation plans, she said.  

“I don’t want to take the vaccine but feel forced to do so since I will be taking a trip to Kentucky in October and a cruise in January,” she said. “I don’t want to … pay more or be delayed at the airport if I’m not vaccinated.”

If I could make my own decision, I would put my life in God’s hands.

According to a Time/Harris poll conducted in March, more than half (52%) of vaccinated respondents indicated their decision was influenced at least in part by the desire to travel.   

Lindsey’s cruise on Carnival Cruise Line requires all passengers aged 12 and older to be vaccinated. Exemptions are available, but unvaccinated travelers have to pay a $150 surcharge, submit to additional Covid tests, buy travel insurance (if leaving from Florida or Texas) and forgo “independent sightseeing in ports of call,” according to the company’s website.  

Lois Lindsey said she, her daughter and eldest grandchild decided to get vaccinated to go on a cruise departing this winter from Galveston, Texas.

Thomas Shea | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Lindsey says she feels there’s “conflicting information floating around” about who is spreading Covid, the effectiveness of masks, and whether vaccines protect against variants. She gets her news from CNN, Fox News, NBC News and talk radio, she said.

“If I could make my own decision, I would put my life in God’s hands,” said Lindsey.

A 50-year-old woman who works in New York’s financial sector and who did not wish to be identified told CNBC she’s considering getting vaccinated due to an upcoming trip to Hawaii.

Vaccinations aren’t required to enter the state, but she wants to avoid “any surprises” during the trip. Her travel companion is also pressing her to get vaccinated, which she feels she will likely do “for travel and for my parents … to feel safer.”   

She is currently working virtually from New Jersey, which lets her take a wait-and-see approach on vaccines. If called back into her New York office, “I would go forward with the vaccine,” she said.

‘Incredibly stubborn and foolish’

After a mild bout with Covid left her with a lingering cough for 10 months, Monica McLary, 45, decided to get vaccinated. She was initially hesitant, but the desire to travel with fewer restrictions spurred her to act.

“I want freedom to travel, I don’t want to get Covid again and I want to know that others cannot get the virus from me,” she told CNBC. “I feel like it’s everyone’s civic duty and find myself angered by those that continue to refuse based on misinformation.”

I am a conservative, voted for Trump, but these people are incredibly stubborn and foolish.

Since the pandemic started, the part-time Pilates instructor and real estate agent from Atlanta has traveled to Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks (“oblivious to the pandemic with no rules or regulations”), Boston and Nantucket, Massachusetts (“so many restrictions”); Jackson Hole, Wyoming (“no masks required”); and Louisville to watch the Kentucky Derby (“we flew privately so that was the best”), among other places.

McLary persuaded her two teenage sons to get vaccinated so they could avoid masks and travel restrictions. Problems began, she said, when unvaccinated people stopped wearing masks too. Now Covid hospitalizations are rising again in Georgia and other U.S. states with low vaccination rates.  

“I am a conservative, voted for Trump,” she said, “but these people are incredibly stubborn and foolish.”

An article in the Economist last week indicated that the single greatest predictor of whether an American has been vaccinated is who they voted for in the last U.S. presidential election.

“I hope [Trump] doesn’t run again, and I hope more businesses — airlines included — and schools mandate vaccines,” McLary said.  

“It is not about politics, but about public safety,” she said. “We are all in this together.”

Read more from CNBC about travel and vaccinations

Categories
Health

Moderna, Canada agree on constructing manufacturing plant

Moderna, Canada agree on building manufacturing plant

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, listens during a press conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on Friday June 4, 2021. Trudeau said 65% of eligible Canadians received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

David Kawai | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Moderna said Tuesday it had reached an agreement with the Canadian government to build a “state-of-the-art” manufacturing facility in Canada to manufacture Covid vaccines and possibly vaccines for other respiratory viruses after the country suffered from supply shortages earlier this year.

The facility is designed to give Canadians access to domestically manufactured mRNA vaccines against respiratory viruses, including Covid, seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and possibly other vaccines, pending approval, the U.S. drugmaker said.

It is also to be used “urgently” to aid the country with health emergencies with direct access to vaccines, the company said.

Moderna said it was in talks with other governments about similar collaborations.

“We are very excited to expand our presence and continue our long-term relationship with Canada,” said Patricia Gauthier, Moderna’s head of Canadian business, in a statement. “With our industry-leading mRNA technology platform and rapid drug development capabilities, we look forward to being an active participant in Canada’s robust life science ecosystem.”

Canada has suffered repeated delays and supply shortages of Covid vaccines this year as it struggled to get the vaccines from other countries that manufactured them. The problem forced the government to postpone the second vaccinations for up to 16 weeks and advise residents to “mix and match” vaccines.

The Biden government, under pressure from allies worldwide to share vaccines, announced plans in March to ship about 4 million doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine that it was not using to Mexico and Canada.

Vaccine supplies and the pace of vaccinations have increased since then, Canadian health officials said, and residents have since received their second doses.

Moderna shares fell about 3% on Tuesday just before the announcement. The stock is up more than 360% since the beginning of the year.

Categories
Health

Virus Misinformation Spikes as Delta Circumstances Surge

Virus Misinformation Spikes as Delta Cases Surge

In the past few weeks, the vast majority of the most heavily engaged social media posts with misinformation about the coronavirus came from people who came to light last year through questioning the vaccines.

In July, right-wing commentator Candace Owens jumped on the false testimony of the British scientific advisor. “That’s shocking!” She wrote. “60% of people hospitalized in England with # COVID19 have received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the government’s chief scientific adviser.”

After scientific advisor Patrick Vallance corrected himself, Ms. Owens added the correct information to the bottom of her Facebook post. But the post was liked or shared over 62,000 times in the three hours leading up to its update – two-thirds of the total interactions – according to an analysis by the New York Times. In total, the rumor garnered 142,000 likes and shares on Facebook, most of them from Ms. Owens’ post, according to a report by the Virality Project, a consortium of misinformation researchers from institutions like Stanford Internet Observatory and Graphika.

When asked to comment, Ms. Owens said in an email, “I’m sorry, I’m not interested in the New York Times. The people who follow me don’t take your hits seriously. “

Updated

Aug 10, 2021, 7:18 p.m. ET

Also in July, lawyer Thomas Renz appeared in a video claiming 45,000 people had died from coronavirus vaccines. The claim that has been debunked is based on unconfirmed information from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a government database. The unsubstantiated claim was included in a lawsuit Mr. Renz filed on behalf of an anonymous “whistleblower” in coordination with America’s Frontline Doctors – a right-wing group that has historically spread misinformation about the pandemic.

Mr. Renz’s video has more than 19,000 views on Bitchute. The unsubstantiated claim was repeated by the leading Spanish-speaking Telegram channels, Facebook groups and the conspiracy website Infowars, and it garnered over 120,000 views on the platforms, according to the Virality Project.

In an email, Mr. Renz said his practice “performed the necessary due diligence” to believe the accuracy of the allegations in the lawsuit he filed. “We do not actually believe that the Biden administration is responsible, rather we believe that President Biden, like President Trump before him, was misled by the same group of contradicting bureaucrats,” said Renz.

Categories
Health

David Roche on China Covid outbreak hitting progress, markets

David Roche on China Covid outbreak hitting growth, markets

Medical personnel work on the sixth round of covid-19 test since late July in Nanjing in east China’s Jiangsu province on Sunday, August 08, 2021.

Feature China | Barcroft Media | Getty Images

China has tightened Covid-19 measures to combat an uptick in daily cases — a move that could hold back the country’s economic growth and hit its stock markets, said veteran strategist David Roche.

Investor sentiment toward Chinese stocks has been dampened by Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on sectors including technology and after-school tutoring.

“Markets have got into the mode of thinking Covid is very … bad, but economic recovery (is) taking away lockdowns, removing social restrictions — that’s kind of the world recipe at the moment,” Roche, president and global strategist at Independent Strategy, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Tuesday.

“Well it’s very much not the world recipe in China for good reasons, and therefore markets have to come to terms with the fact that there are economic costs not only within China, but globally as a result of this,” he added.

I think China is in the process of exiting its big recovery story from Covid …

David Roche

president and global strategist, Independent Strategy

The country’s National Health Commission reported 143 new Covid cases in mainland China on Monday — the highest number of daily infections since January, according to Reuters. Chinese state media attributed the latest resurgence in infections to the highly transmissible delta variant.

Chinese authorities last week ordered mass testing in Wuhan city — where the coronavirus was first detected — and imposed widespread movement restrictions in major cities including Beijing.

Some economists have raised concerns about China’s “zero tolerance” approach to Covid, which refers to the country’s aggressive clampdown on any flare-ups in Covid cases. The approach, which includes strict lockdowns and mass testing, helped China keep previous outbreaks under control before the latest resurgence.

Read more about China from CNBC Pro

But the delta variant is more contagious and could be more difficult to contain — and that could hurt economic recovery in China, economists have warned.

“If lockdowns and vaccination progress do not allow local economies to reopen by mid-August or early September we will need to revisit our 8.8% 2021 GDP forecast,” economists from Australian bank ANZ wrote in a Tuesday report.

China effect on the global economy

Any disruptions in the Chinese economy could affect global economic growth, said Roche.

The strategist explained that broader lockdowns across China could interrupt global supply chains – much of which are located in the country.

That could hit international trade, increase the costs of some goods, and raise inflation expectations around the world, he added.

Roche expects China’s year-on-year growth in the third quarter to slow to between 2% and 3% from the second quarter’s 7.9% expansion.

Over the longer term, China’s economic growth will settle at around 5% to 6%, according to Roche.

“I think China is in the process of exiting its big recovery story from Covid, which of course is ahead of the world … and is now converging with a long-term growth trajectory which is much, much lower than what people became used to in China,” he said.

Categories
Health

Why absolutely vaccinated folks can get Covid

Why fully vaccinated people can get Covid

Nurses watch a computer screen in Bogota, Colombia on February 18, 2021.

JUAN BARRETO | AFP | Getty Images

LONDON – People fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are highly protected from serious infection, hospitalization and death from the virus. But coronavirus cases among the fully vaccinated – so-called “breakthrough” covid cases – are still seen in those who received two doses.

It does this for a number of reasons, experts note.

First off, none of the vaccines used in the US or Europe are 100% effective at preventing infections.

In addition, new Covid strains such as the highly contagious Delta variant – which is now widespread worldwide – have made the efficacy picture more difficult. There is also incomplete data on how long immunity to Covid lasts after vaccination.

The alarm was raised over groundbreaking Covid cases when preliminary data released in late July in Israel – which had one of the fastest vaccination programs in the world – showed that the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was only 40.5% effective at preventing symptomatic illness was.

The analysis, conducted when the Delta variant became the dominant tribe in the country, nonetheless found that two doses of the shot offered strong protection from serious illness and hospitalization, the country’s health ministry reported.

The data also appeared to show declining effectiveness of the Pfizer BioNTech shot, with the vaccine being only 16% effective against symptomatic infections in those who received two doses of the shot in January. However, in people who had received two doses by April, the rate of effectiveness (against symptomatic infection) was 79%.

However, a study conducted in England from April to May found that after two doses, the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic diseases caused by the Delta variant.

However, comparing the results is difficult given the differences in the nature of vaccination programs in the two countries (for example, Israel has given the Pfizer vaccine to the entire adult population, while in the UK several vaccines with the Pfizer BioNTech shot mostly at younger people) as well Differences in study dates, Covid test regimes and age groups.

Like the Israeli data, the English data concluded that the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine was 96% effective against hospitalizations from the Delta variant after two doses. Similarly, after two doses, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was found to be 92% effective in preventing hospitalization. Initial data on the vaccine’s efficacy from clinical studies published last year by Pfizer and BioNTech showed that the vaccine was 95% effective.

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick Medical School in the UK, told CNBC that cases of Covid in fully vaccinated people are a reminder that “no vaccine is 100% effective”.

“There will always be a proportion of people who are still susceptible to infection and disease,” he said on Monday.

“There are also two other factors that affect the effectiveness of the vaccine: (1) Waning immunity – we still don’t know how long the protective immunity induced by the vaccine will last. This is very likely a factor in older and more vulnerable people who vaccinated at the beginning of the vaccine rollout program, “he noted.

The second factor, he added, relates to “breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals due to the more contagious Delta variant,” which made the case more important for booster programs, he said. In the case of booster programs, the jury has not yet made a decision, in the USA and Great Britain a decision has yet to be made

Breakthrough cases by number

It’s difficult to know the full extent of the “breakthrough” Covid cases, but figures from NBC News have shown that at least 125,000 fully vaccinated Americans have tested positive for Covid and 1,400 of them have died. Still, the 125,682 “breakthrough” cases in 38 states found by NBC News represented less than 0.08% of the more than 164.2 million people (and will be) fully vaccinated since the beginning of the year, or about every 1,300.

That is, the number of cases and deaths among the vaccinated is very low compared to the number among the unvaccinated. Health authorities, especially in the US, are urging unvaccinated people to register for a Covid vaccination.

Andrew Freedman, an infectious disease reader at Cardiff Medical School, UK, told CNBC that “breakthrough cases” are expected.

“The vaccines are very good at protecting against serious infections, hospitalizations, and death, but they are less effective at providing complete protection against infection, and we know that many people who have been fully vaccinated are still having delta infections in most cases get mild symptoms. ” “He said on Monday to CNBC’s” Squawk Box Europe “.

“What we don’t know is whether there is an additional booster will actually increase protection and reduce infections with delta variants, “he noted.

It must be emphasized that studies show that fully vaccinated people are much less likely to contract Covid – or even contract the virus at all.

New research from the UK published last Friday showed that people who were double-vaccinated were three times less likely to test positive for the coronavirus than those who were not vaccinated.

Analysis of the PCR test results in the REACT-1 study – a large coronavirus surveillance program in the UK led by Imperial College London – also suggested that fully vaccinated people may also be less likely to pass the virus on to others than those who were not vaccinated, because they have an average lower viral load and therefore probably less virus shedding.

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the Imperial School of Public Health’s REACT program, said the results highlight both the benefits and the limitations of Covid vaccines.

“These results confirm our previous data, which show that both doses of a vaccine offer good protection against infection. But we also see that there is still a risk of infection as no vaccine is 100% effective and we know that some are double vaccinated. “People can still get the virus,” he said.

Steven Riley, professor of infectious disease dynamics at Imperial, said “breakthrough infections” need further investigation in fully vaccinated people, especially as parts of the world are grappling with the spread of the Delta variant.

“The Delta variant is known to be highly contagious, and as a result, we can see from our data and others that breakthrough infections occur in fully vaccinated people. We need to better understand how contagious fully vaccinated people become infected as this will help better predict the situation in the months to come, and our results will help build a broader picture of it. “