Pandemic

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Billionaire Mark Cuban says President Trump is wrong to the think the economy can open up as early as May 1. And when it does open, it will take years to return to post-pandemic norms. “I wish he was right, but he’s not,” Cuban said in an interview on Sunday with Chris Wallace of FOX News Sunday. “People aren’t going to just venture outside. They're not going to go to large gatherings. They're not going to feel confident right off the bat. There’s going to be a lot of trepidation. And that concern is going to lead to people holding back on spending money,” he says. Some people are appalled by the rising stock market as unemployment explodes — over 16 million people have filed for unemployment in just 15 business days due to mandated government shutdowns of business. Retail, restaurants, travel, sports and entertainment have been particularly hard hit. “It speaks of a vast transfer of wealth orchestrated by the … [Read more...] about Mark Cuban Says Economy Will Never Be The Same Post-Pandemic

(CTN News) – Last year, Pfizer’s earnings hit a record $100 billion thanks to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, with almost $57 billion driven by its Paxlovid antiviral pill and vaccine. Pfizer sold $37.8 billion of its Covid vaccine last year Pfizer sold $37.8 billion of vaccines, up just 3% from 2021, as demand slowed for shots. However, sales of Paxlovid, it’s blockbuster antiviral, jumped to $18.9 billion in 2022, its first full year on the market. Pfizer’s sales from its Covid vaccine and antiviral treatment generated more revenue last year than in total sales in 2019 before the pandemic became a global crisis that killed more than 6.8 million people. This year won’t be like last year. In 2023, Pfizer expects revenue to decline by 33% to between $67 billion and $71 billion as the world emerges from the pandemic. From $37.8 billion in 2022, Covid vaccine sales will plummet by 64% to $13.5 billion this year. From $18.9 billion in 2022, Paxlovid sales are … [Read more...] about The COVID Pandemic Leads to Pfizer’s Record-Breaking Revenue of $100 Billion in 2022

(PC-Shutterstock) As many as 61,767 Environment Related Offences (ERO) were registered in 2020, a 78 percent increase over the 34,676 cases registered in 2019, according to the Crime In India 2020 report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Cases reported under The Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) topped the list, at 80 percent or 49,710 cases, followed by Noise Pollution Acts (State/Central) with 7,318 cases or 12 percent. Overall, Tamil Nadu registered the most cases, with 69 percent or 42,756 environment-related cases in 2020, followed by Rajasthan (9,543), Uttar Pradesh (2,981), Kerala (1,795) and Uttarakhand (1,271). These five states account for 94 percent of all cases reported under ERO. In terms of the rate of environmental related offences, or the crime rate calculated as cases per 100,000 people, Tamil Nadu again topped with 56.1, followed by Rajasthan (12.1), Uttarakhand (11.2), Kerala (5.1) and Puducherry (3.5). The national rate of … [Read more...] about Tobacco crackdown during pandemic sees number of environment cases rise 78% in NCRB 2020 report

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline : The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on the entertainment sector. Now one of the biggest brands in the sector, Cirque du Soleil, has announced thousands of layoffs after shutting down its circus-based spectaculars. The Montreal-based circus producer announced it would lay off 95% of its 4,679 staff on March 19, 2020. Cirque du Soleil will keep just 259 staffers to maintain “basic operations” and to plan, and sell tickets for, future tours, according to its statement . “ We have no choice but to accept that the current global instability is pushing companies to take drastic measures to ensure their long-term sustainability. This climate of uncertainty unfortunately affects the entire entertainment industry and the Cirque du Soleil is no exception. Let us hope that this situation is resolved quickly and produces a positive outcome for all,” said Guy Laliberté in a statement. … [Read more...] about Cirque Du Soleil Lays Off 95% Of Staff Over Coronavirus Pandemic Shutdown

UPDATE: This piece has been updated to reflect a statement from Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. College enrollment rates still have not recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to National Student Clearinghouse data published Thursday. While fall undergraduate enrollment rates stabilized in 2022 after tallying about 0.6% fewer students than 2021 levels, there are still 1.1 million fewer students enrolled than was recorded in 2019, according to data released Thursday. Adam Kissel, visiting fellow on higher education reform at the Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that that there are multiple factors that could contribute to this downward trend including population decline, pandemic-era mandates and deemphasized importance on college degrees. (RELATED: While Students Flee Public Universities, Christian Schools Are Only Getting Bigger) “College enrollment is facing multiple pressures,” Kissel said. Like many institutions … [Read more...] about College Enrollment Decline Tied To Pandemic-Era Mandates, Population Decrease, Expert Says

The central government has emphasised capital expenditure in the economy but it still has not addressed the issues surrounding public-private partnerships in the country, which needs to be urgently looked into, said Vinayak Chatterjee, founder and managing trustee, The Infravision Foundation. " I am not particularly optimistic (about the sucess of the PPP model in India) because I have not seen any, shall I say, strenuous or concerted attempt to address the ills of PPP, to address the issues that made PPP fall," Chatterjee said. He added that while the Centre’s move to increase capital expenditure on infrastructure in 2023-24 is an encouraging move to drive India’s economy and will push the country’s gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) to be around 7.5-8 percent of GDP in the next financial year, “Just a year after recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, if India's GFCF touches 7.5-8 percent in FY24, this is an encouraging sign for the country’s economy,” Chatterjee said. … [Read more...] about Govt spend will boost infra but concerns around public private partnership not addressed: Vinayak Chatterjee.

So far, NHAI InvIT has raised more than Rs 10,200 crore from foreign and Indian institutional investors up to December 2022, the Economic Survey 2023 said. (Representative image) The road transport and highways ministry (MoRTH) has received a push with the Union Budget raising the allocation by 36 percent to around Rs 2.7 lakh crore for 2023-24. This is nearly 10 percent jump over the Budgetary allocation of Rs 1.99 lakh crore made in the Budget for 2022-23. Higher budgetary allocations were necessary to help the ministry meet the 25,000-km road development target announced by the government in the 2022-23 Budget, amid rising interest expenses and increasing land acquisition costs. The government had set a target of 13,000 km of highway construction in FY2022-23, but the speed of construction was affected by unfavorable weather conditions. The road ministry is likely to complete the construction of 11,000 km of national highways in the current financial year. As a … [Read more...] about Budget 2023 | Road ministry gets a 36% hike in allocation at Rs 2.7 lakh cr for 2023-24

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin This article is part of a larger series on the risks of molnupiravir. For a summary of the risks at the level of the individual, see here , and for an overview of the risks on a societal level, see here . Mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 genome, especially in the spike protein, help the virus elude vaccines, natural immunity, and monoclonal antibody treatments. Such mutations can also help improve viral fitness, including quicker viral replication, shorter incubation periods, and increased immunosuppressive capabilities. Together, these issues pose a serious challenge to pandemic control. One potential area of hope are antiviral drugs. Unfortunately, none of our current options are effective in preventing infection. In fact, one of the more widely-used drugs against Covid-19 —molnupiravir— may supercharge viral mutation and spawn new variants. When I first voiced this concern , it was sidelined as largely … [Read more...] about Taking A Closer Look At Molnupiravir. Is Continued Use Justified?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The first hearing of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee kicked off today for the 118 th Congress. The hearing, The State of Transportation Infrastructure and Supply Chain Challenges , featured new Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and Ranking Member Rick Laursen (D-CA). The supply chain, labor, and regulation of freight rail, America’s best scoring infrastructure which drove $1 trillion to the US economy in 2021, were topics of the hearing. Roughly half of the $1.2 trillion of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) falls under the jurisdiction of this committee. Chairman Graves laid out priorities of the committee, noting that America’s transportation network is essential and integral to American competitiveness, movement of goods and people, and quality of life. He noted how Covid-19 exposed the vulnerabilities of America’s transportation networks and was exacerbated by misguided regulation. A … [Read more...] about Freight Rail Pushes Past Pandemic Driving Billions To US Economy

The world leaders need to take immediate action to limit climate change, restore biodiversity, and protect health, according to an editorial published in over 220 leading journals, including The Lancet and the National Medical Journal of India. The editorial is being published ahead of the UN General Assembly, one of the last international meetings taking place before the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, UK in November. It warns that the greatest threat to global public health into the future is the continued failure of world leaders to take adequate action to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius and to restore nature. "The recent examples of extreme weather all over the globe have brought into focus the reality that climate change is," said Peush Sahni, Editor-in-Chief of the National Medical Journal of India, and one of the co-authors of the editorial. "We must act now lest it is too late. We owe it to the future generations," Sahni said. … [Read more...] about Climate action cannot wait for Covid pandemic to end, 220 journals warn