World Coronavirus Dispatch: Vaccine good for people, not for some stocks

Students lag in math and reading during remote learning, 59% Russians say they don't want vaccine, managers are working harder than before, and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Pfizer tells US it cannot supply substantial vaccine until late July

Pfizer has told the Trump administration it cannot provide substantial additional doses of its coronavirus vaccine until late June or July because other countries have rushed to buy up most of its supply, according to multiple individuals familiar with the situation. That means the US government may not be able to ramp up as rapidly as it had expected from the 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine that it purchased earlier this year, raising questions about whether it can keep to its aggressive schedule to vaccinate most Americans by late spring or early summer. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 67,618,431

Change Over Yesterday: 544,703

Global deaths: 1,544,543

Nations with most cases: US (14,949,300), India (9,703,770), Brazil (6,623,911), Russia (2,466,961), France(2,349,059).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

A 90-year-old UK woman first to receive Pfizer Covid jab

Margaret Keenan, 90, became the first patient in the world to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine following its clinical approval. This marks the start of a historic mass vaccination programme. Jabs will be administered at dozens of hospital hubs across UK. Keenan, known to family and friends as Maggie, received the jab at her local hospital in Coventry. The former jewellery shop assistant, who turns 91 next week, only retired four years ago. She feels privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19 and says: "It’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the new year after being on my own for most of the year." Read here

Students fall behind in maths and reading during remote learning

Elementary school students who were learning remotely in the spring lost the equivalent of roughly three months’ progress in maths and fell a month and a half behind in reading, according to a new analysis released this week by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. The losses appeared more severe among nonwhite students. The authors of the report estimate that those students may have fallen three to five months behind in math, on average, compared with two months for white students. The analysis was based on data from in-classroom assessments taken by hundreds of thousands of elementary school students across 25 states in US this fall. Read here

59% Russians say they have no intention of getting a shot

Russia made its coronavirus vaccine available for free in recent days to frontline workers. But, a lack of trust is hobbling Russia’s rollout of a vaccine: the country’s scientists may well have made great strides in battling the pandemic, but many Russians are not ready to believe it. An independent survey found that the 'first-in-the-world bombast' of a vaccine may have only deepened Russians’ suspicions. In October, 59 per cent of respondents said they would not get a coronavirus vaccine, even if it was voluntary and free of charge. The Russian government entity that makes the vaccine now being distributed says its product is 95 per cent effective, but outside experts are skeptical of those claims.  Read here

Covid vaccine is good for people, nor firms' stocks

A successful vaccine may not help companies that have benefited from social changes caused by covid-19. When pfizer and BioNTech, two pharmaceutical companies, revealed in November that their covid-19 vaccine was over 90 per cent effective, health experts celebrated around the world. Stockmarkets, however, responded with a mere golf clap. The S&P 500, a technology-heavy index of big American firms, rose by just 1.2 per cent that day. Goldman Sachs analysed how shares in each industry had responded to shifts in the odds of an early-arriving vaccine. It found that technology companies, whose products have enjoyed faster adoption during lockdowns, lagged behind the market when vaccine prospects improved. Conversely, energy and materials firms rallied the most under such conditions. Read here

Specials

How the pandemic is forcing managers to work harder

Businesses are still struggling to understand which of the pandemic’s effects will be temporary and which will turn out to be permanent. Three new reports attempt to analyse these longer-term trends. They imply that firms stand to benefit—but that managers’ lives are about to get more difficult. One change that is all but certain to last is employees spending more of their time working at home. The Glassdoor report finds that less commuting has improved employee health and morale. Splitting the week between the home and the office is also overwhelmingly popular with workers: 70 per cent of those surveyed wanted such a combination, 26 per cent wanted to stay at home and just 4 per cent desired a full-time return to the office. Perhaps as a consequence, remote work has not dented productivity—and indeed improved it in some areas. Flexible work schedules can be a cheap way to retain employees who have child-care and other home responsibilities. Read here

As Pandemic threatens Britain’s mental health, these ‘fishermen’ fight back

The impact of the pandemic and its knock-on effects — lockdowns, an economic downturn and social isolation — on mental health have been well documented around the world. In line with the trend, the pandemic devastated Britain and two national lockdowns left many feeling isolated. Experts say there are rising concerns about the mental health and well-being of people across the country. In the East Midlands of England, a mental health charity started a suicide-prevention initiative to monitor known suicide hot spots in the area, and they will look for people in crisis. In one recent week alone, they had responded to a number of crisis calls, including some from people threatening to take their own lives. Read here