World Coronavirus Dispatch: 'Black Widow' sends good vibes for theatres

Taiwan tech firms buy 10 mn vaccines in deals sidestepping Beijing, China's slowing V-shaped recovery sends global warning, and other pandemic-related news across the globe

China’s slowing V-shaped recovery sends global warning

The world is keenly watching China's rebound from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic and the signals aren't very promising. According to a Bloomberg poll, China's growth rate has probably moderated to eight per cent from a record gain of 18.3 per cent in the first quarter. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) too has cut the reserves that banks can hold to boost lending. After a sharp revival, owing to a last year's low base, the softening of growth is expected, but has it come too soon is the question puzzling many economists worldwide. It could even act as a warning to nations on how their own recoveries will play out. This comes even as G20 has warned about the growing threat of variants to the fragile global recovery. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 186,806,577

Global deaths: 4,031,742

Vaccine doses administered: 3,437,314,741

Nations with most cases: US (33,853,971), India (30,874,376), Brazil (19,089,940), France (5,874,719), Russia (5,713,351).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

‘Black Widow’ sets pandemic record in hopeful sign for theaters

Black Widow, the action-packed spy thriller starring Scarlett Johansson, has generated record revenues since the onset of the pandemic, at $80 million from US and Canadian theatre ticket sales, in a positive sign that Covid hasn't completely shifted the movie-watching pattern to streaming. Black Widow, the latest movie in the Marvel franchise, has also produced more than $60 million in revenue from fans paying $30 to watch at home. While the revenues are strong, they fell way short when compared with earlier Marvel movies released in pre-Covid times. For instance, Black Widow is the worst Marvel movie ever in terms of domestic openings in the US. Read here

Fauci says boosters are not recommended ‘right now'

US' top infection expert Anthony Fauci tried to quell the confusion over growing questions about the necessity of booster shots. Pfizer-BioNtech are planning to apply for emergency authorisation of the booster shot they are developing once they get the full results from the human trial. Reuters had reported that Israel would begin offering boosters to adults with weakened immune systems who already had two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, in light of the rising number of cases there caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Fauci emphasised that boosters were not recommended “right now,” but he did not rule out the possibility that they might eventually be advisable for some population groups. Read here

Taiwan tech companies buy 10 million vaccine doses in deal that sidesteps China

In billion dollar deals that sidestep China, major Taiwanese tech companies have inked agreements to buy 10 million vaccine doses for Taiwan. The $350 million purchase from German manufacturer BioNTech, is split between TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, and Foxconn, one of the world’s largest contract electronics makers, and its charity foundation. The two companies will donate the vaccines to Taiwan’s central epidemic command centre for distribution. Read here