Deliveries of holiday gifts purchased online at major retailers could get delayed by something far more critical — COVID-19 vaccines.Pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, as early as mid-December could begin sending inoculations to U.S. health care workers and nursing home residents.FedEx and United Parcel Service could make space for those shipments on cargo planes by bumping off packages from Amazon.com, Walmart, Target and other retailers.”FedEx is prioritizing vaccines,” company spokeswoman Bonny Harrison told Reuters.While vaccines could displace some FedEx Express air shipments, they will not affect the separate FedEx Ground network that depends on trucks and delivers the majority of the company’s holiday volume, Harrison said.FILE – An Amazon Prime logo appears on the side of a delivery van as it departs an Amazon Warehouse location, Oct. 1, 2020, in Dedham, Mass.UPS, without elaborating, said it is prepared for holiday and vaccine shipments. UPS and FedEx are transportation providers to the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine project.The additional cargo could cause problems for retailers who were already worried about a year-end “shipageddon” in the United States, where peak holiday demand and a pandemic-fueled surge in online orders of everything from food to furniture risk overwhelming delivery networks.During the peak holiday season, many more products use air versus ground transportation, said Alan Amling, distinguished fellow at the University of Tennessee’s Global Supply Chain Institute.The vaccine is “going to strain the industry, but when it comes to the trade-offs, I’ll take the vaccine,” said Amling, a former UPS executive.”It could not start at any worse time,” said Satish Jindel, president of ShipMatrix, a delivery tracking and management firm. He does not expect impatient shoppers to give the carriers a blanket pass for putting the nation’s health before their last-minute holiday gifts.”Seeing how American consumers are handling the recommendations for safety during the pandemic, they will be more upset about their Christmas online orders being delayed,” Jindel said.Retailers like Target and Best Buy launched Christmas promotions before Halloween, the earliest ever, to spread deliveries of online orders across a longer time frame.Those and other projects are designed to prevent networks from buckling when demand spikes.”This would include vaccines that may be approved for distribution during the holiday peak season,” said Mike Parra, chief executive for DHL Express Americas, a UPS and FedEx rival.Melissa Dorko, 41, and her husband are ordering holiday gifts weeks earlier than usual this year.”We are never this buttoned up,” said Dorko, a mother of three who used to be a last-minute Christmas shopper on Amazon.
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Day: November 24, 2020
Beyonce led nominations for the 2021 Grammy Awards on Tuesday with nine nods, followed by Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and rapper Roddy Ricch, who got six apiece. Swift and British singer Dua Lipa will compete for the top prize – album of the year – along with R&B singer Post Malone, British band Coldplay, female band Haim, avant-garde British artist Jacob Collier, American soul band Black Pumas and American alternative R&B singer Jhene Aiko. The biggest shutout was Canadian singer The Weeknd, who had been widely expected to rack up several nominations for his critically acclaimed, commercially successful album After Hours. FILE – The Weeknd arrives at the Oscars on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.Bob Dylan was also a no-show despite the acclaim for his first album of new music in eight years, Rough and Rowdy Ways. K-pop sensation BTS got a nod for their single Dynamite in the best pop group performance field but were left out of the top three categories. The Grammys, the highest honors in the music industry, will be handed out January 31 at a ceremony in Los Angeles hosted by Trevor Noah. Beyonce’s nominations came mostly from her song Black Parade, which celebrated Black culture and activism and was released during a summer of nationwide protests over systemic racism and police killings of Black people in the United States. Black Parade will compete in the song and record of the year categories, along with Dua Lipa’s pop hit Don’t Start Now. Swift’s coronavirus lockdown album Folklore is up for album of the year while her single Cardigan was among the song of the year categories. The best new artist field included rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat, as well as alternative artist Phoebe Bridgers. FILE – Billie Eilish accepts the award for top female artist at the Billboard Music Awards on October 14, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.Last year’s big Grammy winner, 18-year-old Billie Eilish, nabbed four nods this time, mostly for her ballad Everything I Wanted. The Recording Academy, whose members select the nominees and vote on the winners, in June announced tighter rules regarding potential conflicts of interest after claims that the selection process was open to rigging. Under the rule, members of the committees that nominate artists for the Grammys must declare in advance whether they have any financial, family or other ties to artists being considered.
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Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Parliament Tuesday that the number of new COVID-19 cases has stabilized and hospitalizations are down, but the COVID-19 alert levels in the country will remain as they are.”We now have grounds for cautious optimism,” Sturgeon told lawmakers. She said current restrictions would remain in place and unchanged until December 11.Scotland has a five-tiered alert system, with Level 0 being nearly normal and the most restrictions at Level 4. The government reviews the alerts every Tuesday. Sturgeon said except for East Lothian, which moved from Level 3 to Level 2, the government was not proposing any changes to restrictions that currently apply to each local authority. She said recent developments in vaccines meant there was “light at the end of the tunnel,” but she stressed the importance of continuing to observe restrictions during what was likely to be a “difficult winter ahead.” The first minister said there were plans to extend asymptomatic testing, adding that the government was working with regional authorities to develop and deliver targeted geographical testing to communities in alert Level 4. Meanwhile, Sturgeon announced on Tuesday that Scotland was joining the rest of Britain in allowing a relaxation of some COVID-19 restrictions over the Christmas holiday. From December 23 to December 27, three households will be allowed to gather inside a private home, a place of worship or outdoors to observe the holiday. The first minister was quick to point out that the virus does not take time off and urged people to be cautious.
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These days, with a pandemic raging, this is what life can look like: out the days in loungewear. Wearing minimal makeup because no one sees much of you. Considering an investment in home exercise equipment because gyms are closed or restricted.
The pandemic has forced people to spend more time with themselves than ever. Along the way, it has reshaped and broadened the way many think about and prioritize how they treat themselves — what has come to be called self-care.
The pandemic-era incarnation of self-care isn’t about buying a signature outfit, wearing a trendy shade of lipstick or getting a perfect haircut. It has, for many, put the purpose and meaning of life front and center, reconfiguring priorities and needs as the virus-inflected months drift by. No longer are worries about longevity and fears of mortality mere hypotheticals. They are 2020’s reality.
It is that daunting reality that has skyrocketed the importance of “me” time: stress-baking the latest viral creation, tending to a garden, learning a new skill, getting dressed like you’re going out just to feel some semblance of normalcy.
“People are social beings. And while the social fabric has been torn down, and you can’t be a normal social person, you have been more focused on yourself,” says Rod Little, CEO of Edgewell Personal Care, which makes Schick and Bull Dog products. “It’s beautifying for longevity, as opposed to how I look in the office tomorrow.”
It’s also a way to mitigate the feeling that life is careening forward haphazardly in so many ways. That’s true for Tonya Speaks, a 43-year-old wardrobe coach from Fort Mills, South Carolina. Before the pandemic, she was always zipping to and from business meetings. Now, the mother of two teenagers exercises regularly and opts for luxurious baths at night instead of quick showers in the morning. She’s happier doing so.
“Taking care of myself,” Speaks says, “is one way for me to have control.”Beyond The ‘Lipstick’ Index
Self-care isn’t a new fad. The difference is that pre-pandemic, it could fall by the wayside if a to-do list got crowded. Now, eight months into the new reality, it is a priority. After all, the thinking goes: If we’re not taking care of ourselves, how can we do jobs, parent children, care for loved ones?
For those who have the means — and that’s no small caveat during this pandemic — feeling good can mean looking good. And the widespread isolation has produced new trends in beauty and clothing.
Companies like Signet Jewelers and Blue Nile are seeing a surge in sales of earrings, which are visible on video calls and when people are out wearing face masks. Department stores like Kohl’s and Macy’s are expanding casual clothing offerings as more people stay close to home.
Pop star Lady Gaga, who has her own beauty line, recently posted a close-up shot in which she wears a cat-eye look with natural, peach-colored lipstick. She did her makeup “to cheer myself up.”
“(S)o many people are going through hard times during this pandemic,” she wrote in the Instagram post. “It is SO IMPORTANT that you celebrate yourself, live colorfully and rejoice in that BRAVE SOUL that is you.”
But when it comes to consumer products, the pandemic is pushing makeup aside as people gravitate towards skin care products. The virus is even turning the “lipstick index” upside down.
Typically, lipstick sales skyrocket when the economy gets rough because it is an inexpensive way to feel good. But during the pandemic, makeup sales have been rocky, and sales of skincare products are up. In fact, 70% of consumers scaled back their use of makeup this year, according to the NPD Group Inc., a market research firm. As a result, skincare has eclipsed makeup as the top category in the beauty industry’s market share from January through August.
“People are being more mindful of what people are putting on their skin and in their bodies because of the pandemic,” says Lauren Yavor, a beauty influencer who recently launched a “clean” nail polish line that sold out in just days. “This really was a turning point for clean beauty.”
— Beauty chains like Ulta and department stores like Macy’s are ramping up offerings in moisturizers and bath and body products. Walmart teamed up with Unilever, maker of Dove and Suave, to launch shops called “Find Your Happy Place” aimed at customers looking to destress. The concept, in the works before the pandemic, was accelerated by one year.
— Companies are also reinventing marketing to cater to the new way of grooming. Little says Edgewell retooled an ad campaign for a multipurpose facial beauty tool to focus on eyebrow-shaping because of the rise in video calls.
— Within makeup, eyeshadow and eyeliner as well as false eyelashes are thriving as people play up the features that are peeping through their masks when they’re out, says Larissa Jensen, NPD’s beauty industry advisor. Hair products saw an 11% sales increase during the third quarter as people take a DIY approach to coloring and styling.
Says Esi Eggleston Bracey, chief operating officer of Unilever North America’s personal care and beauty division: “This is a wellness revolution.”A Deeper Importance
How deep does this run? Is all the pandemic self-care working, or are people are just going through haphazard motions? One psychologist compares it to a roller coaster — up on some days, down on others.
“Some days, you have a great day when you did all the things you wanted to do. You got up on time, you made a salad. And then the next day, it’s Cheetos for lunch,” says Dr. Vaile Wright, a senior director at the American Psychological Association.
Being kind to one’s self feels especially important during the pandemic, where every aspect of human life has been impacted and there is little control over what’s next. That level of uncertainty is unnerving, Wright says, and further depletes already limited energy levels.
Self-care, of course, is only one dimension of coping during stressful times. Surveys have shown a sharp increase in anxiety disorders. Many therapists are reporting upticks in referrals and increases in caseloads. Virtual mental health services are booming — another form of self-care, in a more medical sense.
“Having a toolbox of coping skills is really critical,” Wright says. She highlights other types of self-care like meditation, journaling and organizing — each of which has its own culture and committed practitioners. “We have a tendency to isolate emotionally,” Wright says. “It is really important that people don’t do that.”
Ultimately, “self-care” contains as many definitions as there are people who take care of themselves — a Google search of the term will show you that. The World Health Organization takes an expansive view, describing it as a “broad concept” that includes hygiene, lifestyle, social habits, income levels and cultural beliefs — and, in the best cases, can “strengthen national institutions” to encourage a society’s overall health.
As the world navigates a web of unknowns that sometimes feels like the Upside Down in “Stranger Things,” there is one thing that people can do something about: themselves. For all the horror the pandemic has brought, it has also revealed things that matter. And from the way people have reacted through this year, it seems clear that, in all the forms it takes, self-care matters — particularly right now, particularly with so many unknowns still ahead.
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Kenyan doctors are threatening to go on strike next month unless the government addresses their concerns about safety, health insurance, and staffing needs to fight COVID-19. The threat comes after at least 10 doctors died from the virus this month.Speaking to reporters in Nairobi Tuesday, the secretary-general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union, Chibanzi Mwachonda, said his members plan to go on strike because the government is not giving them medical insurance.
“If these doctors are not covered, then this strike will kick off until the time that they will be covered,” Mwachonda said.
Kenya has lost 32 medical workers to COVID-19, at least 10 of them in the last two weeks. The deaths have angered medical workers.
Watende Andrew lost his younger brother to the disease. His late brother, a doctor, worked at the University of Nairobi. After seven days in the hospital, he died.
“I think because of other comorbidities he was in the category of severe disease, he got the best attention he could but I think still because of comorbidities he developed hypoxia with saturation which were low. Then when they were trying to intubate he passed on,” Andrew said.
Doctors also complain about not receiving adequate personal protective gear. The union says all their requests are met with silence.
Recently, President Uhuru Kenyatta opened a new health facility with 100 beds for United Nations staffers and the diplomatic community.
Meanwhile, some Kenyans say they were turned away at health facilities and advised to take care of themselves at home.
Mwachonda is calling on the government to employ at least 2,350 doctors and medical workers to attend to the sick in various hospitals across the country.
“There is an acute shortage of doctors in this country in each and every county and our demand that each county must employ at least 50 doctors to cover for COVID and for the other services. If this is not addressed equally, we shall be on strike come on the 6th of December,” Mwachonda said.
The Kenya Nurses Union has also issued a 14-day strike notice. The union is demanding compensation for the families of 18 nurses who died from COVID-19 and salaries for some nurses, who have not been paid for months.
The head of the National Assembly Health Committee, Sabina Chege, said Kenya cannot afford to see doctors not working during this challenging period.
“It’s not a unique situation where doctors are feeling that they are not taken care of by the government. At what point do you say it’s optimal or enough? It can never be enough but people can try, and we can’t manage everything. Let’s look at what is the priority, what can we be able to do for now, what can wait for a month or two then we can have an agreement. I don’t think the strike will solve anything. We’ll lose more life and nobody is safe,” Chege said.
Kenya has recorded 77,800 coronavirus cases and 1,400 deaths since March.
A parliamentary committee will meet Wednesday with county governors and other officials to discuss ways to avert the strike.
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The government of the Solomon Islands has defended its plans to ban Facebook, insisting the move would preserve “national unity.” Ministers say the world’s largest social media platform has been “grossly abused.” But critics insist a ban is an attempt to shut down criticism of the government’s economic policies.Facebook helps connect the people of a tropical archipelago that stretches over more than 1,400 kilometers of the South Pacific.
But the government believes the social media platform is being “grossly abused.” Officials in the capital, Honiara, are to discuss blocking Facebook with internet companies because of concerns about defamation and cyber bullying.
Authorities want to regulate users’ behavior to protect the community from “vile abusive language” online. Until new laws can be passed, there would be a temporary ban on Facebook.
Minister of Communications Peter Shanel Agovaka told Radio New Zealand Pacific that tough regulations are needed.
“Coming with freedom of expression and freedom of the media is a lot of responsibility. You don’t just go out and say things out of the ordinary to your neighbors. It’s about using it wisely, communicate, share information and so on, and not to abuse people,” Agovaka said.
It is unclear, however, how a ban on Facebook would work.
Critics say the move would breach the constitutional rights of Solomon Islanders and attempt to shut down dissent. Opposition politicians call the proposals “pathetic,” while Amnesty International says any such ban would be a ‘brazen attack on human rights.”
Facebook has said it was contacting authorities to discuss the plans.
Any ban would put the Pacific island nation alongside just four other countries where the social media platform is outlawed: China, Iran, North Korea and Syria.
The Solomon Islands is home to about 685,000 people. While the archipelago stretches across a vast area of ocean, its land mass is comparable to that of Albania.
About 20% of the population has access to the internet.
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Britain announced Tuesday that travelers from abroad could face a shorter isolation period with a negative COVID-19 test days after their arrival.Current rules require 14 days of quarantine. Starting December 15, travelers will have the option to pay for a test after five days, and if the test comes back negative, they will be free to end their self-isolation.In Germany, officials in 16 states are looking toward next months Christmas holiday and ways to make it safer for families to gather.The states have agreed among themselves on a proposal to tighten restrictions in the weeks ahead of the holiday in order to hold down the spread of the coronavirus, and then relax the rules to allow small gatherings.Officials are due to discuss the plan with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday.Here’s How the Three COVID-19 Vaccines Compare Main differences seem to be in cost, storage and number of early doses available, but information is limited Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte expressed his own concerns about Christmas, saying Tuesday people should not plan to go on ski trips.Conte said it would not be possible “to allow holidays on the snow. We cannot afford it.”Italy was one of the hardest-hit nations in the early stages of the pandemic and on Monday became the sixth country in the world to surpass 50,000 deaths.Spain, another early hotspot, has seen a sharp decline in tourism like in many areas. It’s national statistics office reported Tuesday the number of hotel nights booked in October was down 83% from the same time last year.There are concerns in the United States this week as the country celebrates its Thanksgiving holiday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged people not to travel and hold large family gatherings amid a surge in COVID-19 infections across the country.More than 59 million people around the world have been infected with the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. The United States continues to lead the world in infections with more than 12.4 million cases, followed by India with more than 9.1 million infections and Brazil with 6 million. The virus has killed about 1.4 million people. More than 257,000 of those deaths were in the United States.
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With pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca’s announcement Monday that its vaccine successfully prevented coronavirus infection, three candidates appear to be promising vital tools to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic. Biotech firm Moderna and drug company partners Pfizer and BioNTech announced last week that their vaccines were ready to submit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization. They are signs of hope as the global death toll from COVID-19 nears 1.4 million people, according to Johns Hopkins University. However, scientists caution that all they know about these vaccines is what the companies have said in press releases. Like movie trailers, “They provide some exciting scenes but leave a lot unsaid. You have to go see the whole movie,” said Vanderbilt University infectious diseases professor William Schaffner. More data will be available in the coming weeks, when the companies take their applications to the FDA. Until then, here is how the vaccines compare, based on the limited information presented in company press releases.FILE – Biotechnology company Moderna protocol files for COVID-19 vaccinations are kept at the Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida, Aug. 13, 2020.Efficacy All three vaccines appear extremely effective. The FDA told companies their products would have to be better than 50% effective to get emergency approval. All three far surpassed that mark while requiring two doses for maximum effectiveness. Pfizer and Moderna both reported about 95% efficacy in their clinical trials. The AstraZeneca vaccine was up to 90% effective, although one dosing regimen was less effective and reached only 62%. However, the companies have not yet released all the data on how well the vaccine works in different age or ethnic groups, Schaffner notes, or for people with different medical conditions. The studies may be too small to answer those questions fully. “The question is, effective in whom?” said Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Studies have not yet been done on children or pregnant women, Schaffner noted. The studies also will not determine how long protection lasts. And they will not say whether the vaccine prevents infection, or just lowers the amount of virus enough to keep a person from getting sick. If vaccinated people still can carry and spread the virus, “you still have to maintain mask wearing and social distancing et cetera,” Schaffner said, “which will make many people grumpy.” Safety None of the vaccine companies have reported any major safety problems. For Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines, the most common side effects were sore arms lasting more than a day, fevers and fatigue. “They’re not at all what we call serious, but they’re notable,” Schaffner said. “That’s much more than you get with flu vaccine.” AstraZeneca said no serious safety problems have been identified but has not released details. The company paused the trial twice because two study participants developed serious neurological problems. The study’s safety board said they were coincidental and not because of the vaccine, but outside experts have not yet seen the data. “You’d like to see all that information, and we don’t have that information,” Offit said. Availability AstraZeneca may have the most doses available early. CEO Pascal Soriot did not specify exact numbers but said the company will have “hundreds of millions of doses on approval.” The company has agreements to produce 1.7 billion doses worldwide, including a deal with the Serum Institute of India to produce 1 billion doses mainly for low- and middle-income countries. Pfizer says it will produce 50 million doses worldwide by the end of this year and up to 1.3 billion doses next year. Moderna aims to ship 20 million doses in the United States this year and 500 million to 1 billion doses globally in 2021. All three companies have taken the extremely unusual step of scaling up manufacturing before the results of their clinical trials were in. That means doses can start being distributed as soon as regulators give the green light. Moderna and AstraZeneca did so with government funding. Pfizer had government purchase guarantees.Vials and medical syringe are seen in front of AstraZeneca logo in this illustration.Distribution AstraZeneca’s vaccine is the easiest to ship and store. It lasts for at least 6 months in the refrigerator. Moderna’s and Pfizer’s vaccines need to be frozen for long-term storage. Moderna’s lasts at least a month in the refrigerator. Pfizer’s needs special ultra-cold freezers that are not commonly available outside academic medical centers and lasts up to five days in the refrigerator. Cost AstraZeneca’s is cheapest. The company has pledged not to make a profit on the vaccine during the pandemic. Shots are expected to cost under $5 each, compared with around $20 to $40 for the other vaccines, according to news reports. Since governments will be the main buyers, cost will be a factor mainly in low- and middle-income countries, and with nonprofit and public-private groups who will be purchasing and distributing the vaccines.
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Weeks after the passing of legendary Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, Sony Pictures Television has announced that popular contestant and “Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time” tournament winner Ken Jennings will serve as the first of a series of interim guest hosts when the trivia game show returns to production on Monday. “Alex believed in the importance of Jeopardy! and always said that he wanted the show to go on after him,” said Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards. “We will honor Alex’s legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved with smart contestants and challenging clues. By bringing in familiar guest hosts for the foreseeable future, our goal is to create a sense of community and continuity for our viewers.” Trebek died November 8 from pancreatic cancer, after being first diagnosed in March 2019. His last day in studio was October 29. A long-term replacement host will not be named at this time, said the studio. Jennings has long been a favorite to assume Trebek’s iconic position at the Jeopardy! podium, having first emerged on the scene in the early 2000s with a 74-game winning streak and an all-time record for highest winnings in regular-season play with $2.52 million in earnings. He also became a consulting producer on the show after winning the “GOAT!” tournament earlier this year. Other names, including Anderson Cooper and George Stephanopoulos, have been floated as potential new hosts. More guest hosts will be announced in the weeks to come, Sony Pictures Television said.
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China successfully launched an unmanned spacecraft to the moon Monday to land, gather soil and rock samples, and return them to Earth. If successful, it will be the first mission by any nation to retrieve samples from the lunar surface since the 1970s, and the third nation, after the United States and Russia, to retrieve such samples. The Chang’e 5 probe, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the moon, will seek to collect material that can help scientists understand more about the moon’s origins and formation. U.S. space agency NASA says the mission’s goal is to land in a previously unvisited area of the moon known as Oceanus Procellarum and operate for one lunar day, which lasts 14 earth days, and return a 2-kilogram sample of lunar soil, possibly from as deep as 2 meters. Matt Siegler, a research scientist at the Arizona-based Planetary Science Institute who is not part of the Chang’e 5 mission, told Reuters the area where the spacecraft is to land is 1 to 2 billion years old. “That is very young for the moon — most of our samples are 3.5 billion years old or more,” Siegler said in an email. “We want to find out what is special about these regions and why they remained warm longer than the rest of the moon,” Siegler added. The sample will travel to Earth in the return capsule and land in the Siziwang Banner grassland of the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia in China. During a brief government-organized visit to the launch center, reporters were taken to a place where they could see in the distance the Long March 5 rocket that carries the Chang’e 5 probe. The launch took place between 4:30 a.m. Beijing time Tuesday (2030 GMT Monday). The Reuters news service reports that China made its first lunar landing in 2013. In January 2019, the Chang’e 4 probe touched down on the far side of the moon, the first by any space probe. Within the next decade, China plans to establish a robotic base station to conduct unmanned exploration in the south polar region.
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