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☆ The Covid Pandemic Emergency is Apparently Over - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

This is a pace of about four million excess deaths per year. Excess mortality tells a somewhat different story. With a couple of brief exceptions, excess deaths have held steady for about a year now in a range between about 8,000 and 15,000 per day. At some point we may simply stop referring to these as excess deaths and incorporate them instead into higher mortality baselines. Excess mortality, too.

☆ CDC will have less data to track Covid and new variants after public health emergency ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"The end of the public health emergency means CDC will have less authority to collect certain types of public health data — that means less data will be available to us," Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC's principal deputy director, told reporters during a call Thursday. Congress required these labs in March 2020 to send results to the federal government, but that mandate was tied to the public health emergency. "In some of the jurisdictions or some of the states those authorities will go away with the end of public health emergency," he said. The spotty reporting of case data also means the CDC will no longer report virus transmission at the county level after the public health emergency ends. Shah said the CDC will still have ways to monitor Covid after the public health emergency ends.

WHAT IS TITLE 42? The COVID restrictions, known as Title 42, were first implemented under Republican then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. The Biden administration intends to lift Title 42 next Thursday when the U.S. COVID public health emergency ends. In April, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended some 183,000 migrants, according to preliminary data provided by Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a 13 percent increase from March. U.S. border cities are bracing for a possible rise in migrants when Title 42 ends.

☆ Factbox: India's Wadia Group whose Go First is in trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, May 4 (Reuters) - India's Wadia Group has survived British colonial rule and fierce business rivalries to create an empire that spans industries, from aviation and real estate to retail, healthcare, engineering and chemicals. - Founded in 1736 by Loeji Nusserwanjee Wadia, the group began as a marine construction company that built ships for the British empire, according to its website. - Chairman Nusli N. Wadia is the grandson of Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. - Go First, India's third-largest airline filed for bankruptcy protection blaming "faulty" Pratt & Whitney engines for the grounding of about half its fleet. The Wadia Group said all its transactions had been conducted in compliance with the law.

☆ U.S. Covid Vaccine Mandates to End May 11 for Federal Workers, Others
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Catherine Lucey | Sabrina Siddiqui | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The White House said Monday that ‘vaccination remains one of the most important tools in advancing the health and safety of employees.’ Photo: Frederic J. Brown/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—The White House plans to end the Covid-19 vaccine requirements for federal workers, federal contractors and international air travelers on May 11, as the pandemic public health emergency ends. The administration announced the policy plans Monday, more than three years since the start of the pandemic that has claimed over 1.1 million lives in the U.S. The White House also said that the process has also begun to end the vaccination requirements for Head Start school workers and at certain healthcare facilities.

☆ U.S. Covid-19 Deaths and Hospitalizations Near New Lows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jon Kamp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New Covid-19 subvariants are on the rise, but the U.S. has broadly recorded declining numbers this year. Photo: Gabby Jones for The Wall Street JournalU.S. Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths are hovering near new lows, providing fresh evidence that even as the virus endures it has become less damaging in a population with strengthened immune defenses. New subvariants are on the rise, and cutbacks in data reporting have clouded the view of recent trends. But the U.S. has broadly recorded declining numbers this year following a winter of less intense Covid-19 spread.

☆ When a Walkable City Becomes a Death Trap
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Last year saw 257 traffic fatalities in the city; just one fewer than there had been nine years ago, when Vision Zero began. The pandemic managed both to confirm and undermine New York’s reputation as the most walkable city in the country. Speeding and reckless driving were the leading causes of traffic deaths, and in 2021 they reached their highest point in the Vision Zero era. Nationally, there were more pedestrian deaths in 2021 than there had been in 40 years. Under Vision Zero, the Department of Transportation was tasked with identifying “priority corridors” — those stretches where pedestrian deaths and serious injuries are most concentrated.

☆ I'm a former Microsoft VP of HR. Here are the real reasons why layoffs are happening and how much longer they'll last.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Chris Williams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some of the layoffs we've seen have included long-time employees years from their most meaningful contributions. The opticsSome of the layoffs we've seen in tech are ones that the companies have probably wished they could do for years. The future is brightWe are in a season of layoffs, and it's not clear we've seen the last or worst of it. That said, there is no reason to see the layoffs as a harbinger of doom and gloom for the tech world. Chris Williams is the former VP of HR at Microsoft and a leadership advisor, podcaster, TikTok creator, and author.

☆ Tax refunds are getting smaller, and fit into the picture of a slowing economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

But as pandemic-related tailwinds run their course, another example becoming a thing of the recent past is bigger than typical tax refunds. "Earlier in the quarter, we were seeing taxes, your tax refunds higher year-over-year, during the last probably five or six weeks we've seen that decline. As pandemic-era benefits and tax credit wane, the tax refund data factors into the broader economic picture and the consumer as a source of strength. watch nowAll spending, not just retail spending, will be impacted by lower tax refunds, and that will continue into next quarter. The smaller tax refunds should not be a surprise to businesses — the data has been mounting over the past four to six weeks.

☆ Tupperware Brands boxes itself into a corner
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TORONTO, April 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Tupperware Brands’ (TUP.N) options are looking less airtight. As with other direct selling companies, it casts doubt over its business model, as well as how speedily it can remake itself as consumer habits shift. An earnings misstatement, which has left it late in filing its annual report, could cause creditors to declare Tupperware has violated its debt covenants. Even if Tupperware can appease its creditors or find new investors, the rise of e-commerce has dented the fortunes of companies that lean on direct selling. Compared with the company’s heyday, customers have more options for food storage, more places to buy from, and less time for Tupperware parties.

☆ TikTok, “Ted Lasso,” Bo Burnham and Other Covid-Era Cultural Highlights - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Nine days after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, “Tiger King” premiered. In this time of relative calm, it’s possible to see the pandemic as not just a crisis of public health but also a distinct cultural era with its own emerging canon. What unites these shows, movies, books and songs is not a common aesthetic or shared themes. We asked an array of cultural critics to consider the following 17 artifacts, each of which captured something essential during Covid. These works reflected a tumultuous moment back at us, illuminating it and us, too.

☆ Fact Check-Document mentioning cryogenic-electron microscopy does not prove Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine contains graphene oxide
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Graphene oxide is not an ingredient in the vaccine,” she said. When contacted by Reuters, a Pfizer spokesperson sent a link with the full list of ingredients of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (here, see page six). No graphene oxide is listed. “We confirm that graphene oxide is not used in the manufacture of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine,” the spokesperson said. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine does not contain graphene oxide.

☆ Vaccine makers prep bird flu shot for humans 'just in case'; rich nations lock in supplies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | Thomson Reuters | Jen Reports On Health Issues Affecting People Around The World | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

There has also been a push among companies to develop a bird flu vaccine for poultry, a market potentially far larger than that for humans. Many countries' pandemic plans say flu shots should go first to the most vulnerable while supply is limited. The agreements include six of the largest seasonal flu manufacturers, such as GSK, Sanofi and CSL Seqirus, the WHO said. NEW APPROACHESIn a pandemic, vaccine manufacturers would shift production of seasonal flu vaccines and instead make shots tailored to the new outbreak when needed. The results will be closely watched, as the data on Moderna’s seasonal flu candidate was mixed.

☆ A popular post on Blind says all tech workers who got jobs during the pandemic were 'charity cases,' but getting hired now at a big tech company will actually mean something
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A popular post on workplace forum Blind calls tech workers hired during the pandemic "charity cases." One popular post on the anonymous workplace forum Blind takes that a step further, saying tech employees brought on during the pandemic were "charity cases." Tech companies added many new employees to their ranks during the pandemic, when business was booming for the sector. At the time time, other commenters on the popular Blind post defended employees who got tech jobs during the pandemic. "Also I refuse to believe I am some charity case, I was good enough for the company, did their process and got hired.

☆ Almost 30,000 Amazon employees have signed an internal petition to fight the company's return-to-office mandate. Read the full copy here.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

New mandate requires most office workers to come into the office at least 3 times a week starting in May. About 3 weeks since the announcement of the new policy, more than 29,200 Amazon employees have signed an internal petition opposing the mandate. Roughly 30,000 Amazon employees have joined that Slack channel, which was created shortly after the RTO announcement. In the petition, Amazon employees added internal data supporting continued remote work and dozens of comments explaining why they oppose the change. A 2013 Stanford University study of Chinese workers found that remote workers are 13% more productive than their in-office counterparts.

☆ U.S. retailers' ocean shipping price woes ending as new delays threaten
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Lisa Baertlein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb 27 (Reuters) - Collapsing ocean shipping rates are not all good news for U.S. retailers, who paid as much as $20,000 to move a container of goods during the worst pandemic disruptions, as they now are bracing for delays due to plummeting demand. dolls to the short-term spot market from the long-term contract market. Volatile spot rates were the first to plummet when pandemic-weary consumers shifted spending from goods to travel and entertainment. Previously loyal customers are aggressively comparison- shopping, spreading their business around and gambling on the spot market, experts said. This time around, importer and exporter shipping managers, whose costs exploded when they were unexpectedly forced into the sky-high spot market, have the upper hand.

☆ The pullback in this high-quality edtech stock could be opportunity for investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Knoblauch raised his price target to $27 from $21, saying the stock's underperformance so far this year is an opportunity. Last year, PowerSchool's stock outperformed its edtech peers by a wide margin. Demand for PowerSchool's products are largely driven by the growth of school budgets, which are recession-resilient. The international opportunity Thill said it's early days for PowerSchool's international expansion, and it's one of the reasons he's positive on the stock in the long term. We're particularly optimistic regarding the company's persona-based cloud bundles and international opportunity.

☆ Why the U.S. Covid-19 Death Toll Is Still Rising
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Jon Kamp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. has dodged a major wintertime Covid-19 surge as the pandemic continues to recede into the background. But the death toll is still growing. The U.S., which recently topped 1.1 million Covid-19 deaths since the pandemic began, continues to record several hundred more each day, death-certificate data show. The people who are dying remain old, often with underlying health issues such as heart and lung ailments, the data indicate.

☆ Singapore must prepare for economic and geopolitical headwinds, says Lawrence Wong
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Escalating conflict from the Russia-Ukraine war and the slowing global economy are some downside risks that Singapore must be prepared for, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong told CNBC in an exclusive interview Wednesday. "There are a few [risks]," Wong told CNBC's Martin Soong. "The strength of the global economy, particularly the U.S. economy, that's one. Lawrence Wong Singapore deputy prime ministerSingapore already has strong fundamentals and branding, and is "highly regarded for honesty, integrity with loyalty," Wong said. On escalating tensions between the U.S. and China, Wong said Singapore "watched with great concern."

☆ China's real estate crisis isn't over yet, IMF says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

China's real estate market has slumped in the last two years after Beijing cracked down on developers' high reliance on debt for growth. Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China needs to do more in order to fix its real estate problems, the International Monetary Fund said Friday. Chinese authorities started to ease restrictions on financing for the sector over the last several months. Still, residential floor space sold in China dropped by nearly 27% last year, while real estate investment fell by 10%, according to official numbers. The IMF report pointed out that a significant portion of investors in Chinese developers' bonds have been affected.

☆ Fact Check-COVID-19 vaccines do not add a ‘third strand’ of DNA
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine does not alter human DNA or add a third strand to people’s DNA, as claimed in a video circulating on social media and viewed more than 400,000 times on Twitter. This gave me chills.”However, the video offers no evidence for its claim about the vaccine altering human DNA. The messenger RNA (mRNA) in approved COVID-19 vaccines does not interact with human DNA inside cells, and does not enter the cell nucleus where DNA is housed. Reuters has also addressed other false claims that mRNA vaccines alter human DNA (here, here, here). COVID-19 vaccines based on mRNA do not alter human DNA or add a third strand to the DNA double helix.

☆ Apple tries to be both desirable and predictable
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In 2018, the company’s enterprise value was equivalent to 3 times estimated revenue for the year ahead, according to Refinitiv. One way to make sense of that is to break Apple’s valuation into parts. Deduct that from Apple’s enterprise value, and investors are pricing the services business at $1 trillion, around 10 times forecast revenue. Whether it’s justified, though, depends on what services Apple is peddling, and how steady and subscription-like they are. If 20% of Apple’s services are cyclical, for example, and investors put the same multiple of sales as those peers, the company's fair share price drops 5%.

☆ I'm a Cirque du Soleil performer. I grew up in the circus, and now I travel the world with my husband and kids.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Jill Schildhouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Her husband works alongside her, and their kids travel with them. Then, at age 20, I was invited by Cirque du Soleil to join the Flying Trapeze troupe of Zaia in Macau, China. Working for Cirque du Soleil, I have a lot more consistency. I see my husband 24/7I met my husband, Ammed Tuniziani — a third-generation performer who comes from a traditional circus family in Venezuela — while working with Cirque du Soleil. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and everything is complimentary — it's one of the benefits that comes with being on tour with Cirque du Soleil.

☆ FDA pulls authorization for AstraZeneca’s Covid antibody drug Evusheld
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

The Food and Drug Administration has withdrawn emergency use authorization for AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 antibody cocktail Evusheld as the treatment is not expected to neutralize the currently dominant XBB.1.5 subvariant of omicron. Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 has been spreading rapidly in the country since December and it made up nearly half of all U.S. Covid cases last week, according to government data. The drugmaker plans to continue to share relevant data with the FDA and other health authorities regarding Evusheld and SARS-CoV-2 variants. In November, the U.S. health regulator also pulled emergency use authorization for Eli Lilly's Covid drug bebtelovimab, citing similar concerns. Evusheld was first authorized in late 2021 by the FDA to prevent Covid infections in individuals with weak immune systems or a history of severe side effects from coronavirus vaccines.

☆ My 7-month-old baby has had COVID, flu, and RSV. I'm angry, but I also know I did my best.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Samantha Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I'm a mom of four kids.The youngest is 7 months oldHe spent his early weeks behind two baby gates, away from his siblings. RSV at 3 months, flu at 5 months, and COVID at 6 months. Our son, Fox, was exposed to COVID the day he was born. Fox spent a lot of time safely stowed in the bassinet behind two baby gates — a place where both he and the dog felt protected. I know I did my best to keep him healthyFox spiked his first fever with the flu.

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