Big Tech booms even as lockdown living wanes

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Big Tech goliaths like Facebook and Amazon unveiled whopping profits this week, showing their dominance in lockdown lifestyles is on course to grow well beyond the pandemic.

"Tech wins the day, the week, and seemingly the year," Futurum Research analysts said of the surging revenues, driven by digital advertising, cloud computing, gaming and booming use of smartphones and e-commerce.

"The strength of tech is clearly untethered from Covid," they added.

Powerhouses Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet all reported higher revenues even as they face heightened scrutiny from antitrust regulators for their growing dominance of key economic sectors.

Amazon said Thursday that second-quarter profit jumped 48 percent from a year ago to $7.8 billion, even if that showing was below high Wall Street forecasts.

A growing number of consumers turned to Amazon during the pandemic to get everything from tofu to toilet paper, and its cloud computing division also grew to help businesses and consumers stay connected.

The Amazon results capped a series of earnings from the major tech firms that benefited from successive lockdowns, but also the gradual lifting of restrictions.

Earlier in the week, Apple said its profit in the just-ended quarter nearly doubled amid improving consumer spending and a "growing sense of optimism" as pandemic lockdowns eased.

Revenue from iPhone sales jumped some 50 percent and Apple posted increases for its services such as digital payments, music, streaming television and gaming.

Facebook reported its profit doubled in the recently ended quarter as digital advertising surged, but warned of cooler growth in the months ahead in an update which sent its shares sinking.

Google parent Alphabet reported quarterly profit that had nearly tripled, as money poured in from ads on its search engine and YouTube video platform.

'Not going away'

Revenue at the global video-sharing platform topped $7 billion, a leap from the $3.8 billion brought in during the same period a year earlier, according to Alphabet.

Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart told AFP that hybrid work, online entertainment and internet shopping are now facts of life.

"Those are overarching trends that got accelerated by the pandemic but aren't going away," he added.

However, a gradual resumption of in-person activities will require adjustments from Big Tech.

Amazon chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky said on an earnings call that a reason for missing revenue expectations appeared to be vaccines giving people the confidence to leave home.

"Not only shopping offline but also living life and getting out," Olsavsky said. "It takes away from shopping time. It's a good phenomenon and it's great."

Regulators' wary gaze

Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai credited long-term investments in artificial intelligence and cloud computing as powering the internet giant's performance.

Google's cloud computing business competes with powerhouses Amazon and Microsoft, poising them to vie for virtual terrain in an immersive online world.

Microsoft this week reported a jump in profits in the recently ended quarter, keeping strong momentum from accelerated gains in cloud computing during the pandemic.

Transition to relying on computing power and services in the internet cloud as well as working remotely are likely to last, playing to the strength of tech giants powering such platforms, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.

However, a global chip shortage has hobbled production of the wide range of devices enhanced with computing and internet capabilities, from cars to video game consoles.

And, as US tech titans gain clout and wealth, they are increasingly in the crosshairs of government regulators wary of monopolistic abuses and sidestepped taxes.

Despite political pressure, the tech companies continue to spend on bolstering and expanding their offerings.

Amazon made a deal early this year to buy iconic Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $8.45 billion in a move aimed at strengthening its Amazon Prime television streaming service.

Apple is working on self-driving car technology, while Alphabet is already testing a "robo-taxi" service in the United States with its Waymo unit.

Agence France-Presse

Thailand warns COVID-19 surge pushing hospitals to the brink

Hospitals in Thailand's capital Bangkok and surrounding province are running out of beds due to a jump in COVID-19 patients, a health official said on Thursday, as the country reported a record number of infections for the fourth time this week.

Thailand has in the last few months been struggling with its worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, first detected in India.

The country's COVID-19 task force reported on Thursday 17,669 coronavirus cases and 165 deaths, both record highs, while it said 21 of the fatalities died at home.

"We don't know where to put the sick people anymore, the ER (emergency room) units in many hospitals have to be temporarily closed because they no longer have bed spaces," Somsak Akksilp, head of the Department of Medical Services, told a news conference.

In Bangkok and nearby provinces, more than 1,200 people were waiting for hospital beds and over 6,000 called a hotline over the past week requesting treatment, health authorities said.

There are more than 37,000 hospital beds in Bangkok, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Earlier in the pandemic, all COVID-19 patients were admitted to hospitals, but Somsak said authorities last month brought in home isolation for more than 30,000 people in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. The government has also been converting public places in Bangkok into temporary field hospitals for COVID-19 patients as the spike in cases strains the city's health system.

The jump in infections has increased pressure on the government to boost the sluggish pace of vaccinations, with only 5.6% of Thailand's more than 66 million people fully vaccinated.

Thailand won plaudits for containing the coronavirus for most of last year, but authorities have struggled to halt the wave of cases starting in April that has taken total infections to 561,030, with 4,562 fatalities.

-reuters

As virus rages globally, US to vaccinate low-risk teens

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden wants 70 percent of American adults to have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine by the July 4 holiday, and has made vaccinating adolescents a key part of the next phase of the country's immunization campaign.

But targeting US teens is a controversial move among many experts, who argue it is a serious mistake to use the world's limited supply of doses on a low-risk population while the pandemic surges in countries like India and Brazil.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said in March their two-dose regimen was shown to be safe and highly effective in a trial of 2,260 12-to-15-year-olds.An emergency use authorization is expected in the coming days, and Biden told White House reporters Tuesday that "if that announcement comes, we are ready to move immediately." 

The president's address comes as the nation's immunization campaign is stalling after hitting a peak in early April.

More than 56 percent of adults have received one or more shots, but as the rate of uptake falls, officials are devising new ways to reach vaccine hold-outs.

These will include discounts to shoppers who get vaccinated at grocery stores, promotions for fans at sports stadiums, and more vaccines at rural health clinics, said Biden.

The federal government is also working on a program with pharmacies and pediatricians nationwide to reach the country's estimated 17 million 12-to-15-year-olds ahead of school reopening in fall.

'TERRIBLE ERROR'

Many experts have, however, voiced concern whether now is the right moment to reach this group as the global situation deteriorates.

The issue of vaccine disparity has been brought into sharp focus by India, which reported 350,000 new cases Tuesday and recorded nearly 3,500 deaths -- more than anywhere in the world.

"The overwhelming majority of 15-year-olds, we know are not at high risk of severe complications from COVID," ER doctor Craig Spencer, director of Global Health in Emergency Medicine at Columbia University, told AFP.

"It is absolutely raging around the world and we're talking about how we're going to vaccinate an incredibly low-risk population, when the overwhelming majority of health care workers around the world have zero protection," he said.

Priya Sampathkumar, chair of Infection Prevention & Control at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, added that beyond being an ethics issue, exporting more vaccines was in America's own best interest.

"Vaccinating more people in the US is not going to help us if the variants in India, Nepal and South Asia get out of control and hit our shores," she told AFP.

The US has pledged to release up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but the experts believe much more can be done.

"I think if you vaccinate 12-to-15-year-olds in the United States before you vaccinate 70 year olds globally, you're making a terrible error," UCSF physician and epidemiologist Vinay Prasad told AFP. 

Israel's experience had shown that it is possible to achieve a "remarkable reduction" in cases without targeting teens, he added.

LOR RISK

Sampathkumar explained that the main reason to vaccinate teens is to drive down transmission -- a goal which she agreed with, though with US cases declining, it is a question of timing.

Statistics show children are at extremely low risk from severe COVID.

In the United States, under-18s have accounted for 277 deaths in total, according to the latest official data, a miniscule fraction of the total of 574,000.

There have been a further 36 deaths from multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a rare but serious post-viral disease.

Still, low risk isn't no risk, and pediatrician Lee Beers, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, welcomed the arrival of a vaccine for children. 

She called vaccinating teens "an important tool in our toolbox for safe return to schools," saying it may "increase the comfort for many families and school staff." 

Figures aggregated by the data company Burbio shows 67.1 percent of US school students are attending schools in-person, while 29.6 percent are in a "hybrid" set-up combining in-person and remote classes, and 3.3 percent are learning virtually. 

But Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins, said that the government's own research had shown it is entirely possible to reopen schools safely without vaccines.

"It's just another barrier that's been falsely erected to stand in the way of returning kids to education," she stressed.

Nuzzo added global hotspots should be the priority. 

"It's not good for kids in the long run if we just let this virus spread unchecked across the globe," she said.

Agence France-Presse

CDC updates guidance to cruise ship industry, urges vaccinations

WASHINGTON— The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention on Friday issued new guidance to the cruise ship industry, including the need for COVID-19 vaccinations, a necessary step before passenger voyages can resume.

The new technical instructions, the first update since October, include increasing from weekly to daily reporting frequency of COVID-19 cases and illnesses and implementing routine testing of all crew based on a ship’s COVID-19 status and establishing a plan and timeline for vaccination of crew and port personnel.

"COVID-19 vaccination efforts will be critical in the safe resumption of passenger operations," the CDC said.

CDC said the next phase of the CDC's conditional sail order will include simulated voyages to will allow crew and port personnel to practice new COVID-19 operational procedures with volunteers before sailing with passengers.

"CDC is committed to working with the cruise industry and seaport partners to resume cruising when it is safe to do so, following the phased approach outlined in October's conditional sail order," the agency said.

It did not specify a date for the resumption of cruise operations from US ports despite calls from the industry for planning for a phased resumption by the beginning of July. The CDC said it would issue additional guidance before it allows cruises to resume.

The Cruise Lines International Association, which represents Carnival Corp, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises and others had pleaded with CDC to issue new guidance, saying in a March 24 statement the "lack of any action by the CDC has effectively banned all sailings in the largest cruise market in the world." It did not immediately comment on Friday.

The group had said the prior conditional sail order issued in October was "outdated" and "does not reflect the industry’s proven advancements and success operating in other parts of the world, nor the advent of vaccines, and unfairly treats cruises differently. Cruise lines should be treated the same as other travel, tourism, hospitality, and entertainment sectors." 

-reuters

Virus vaccine put to final test in thousands of volunteers

The world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccine study got underway Monday with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test shots created by the U.S. government -- one of several candidates in the final stretch of the global vaccine race.

There’s still no guarantee that the experimental vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., will really protect.

The needed proof: Volunteers won’t know if they’re getting the real shot or a dummy version. After two doses, scientists will closely track which group experiences more infections as they go about their daily routines, especially in areas where the virus still is spreading unchecked.

“Unfortunately for the United States of America, we have plenty of infections right now” to get that answer, NIH’s Dr. Anthony Fauci recently told The Associated Press.

Moderna said the vaccination was done in Savannah, Georgia, the first site to get underway among more than seven dozen trial sites scattered around the country.

In Binghamton, New York, nurse Melissa Harting said she volunteered as a way “to do my part to help out.”

“I’m excited,” Harting said before she received a study injection Monday morning. Especially with family members in front-line jobs that could expose them to the virus, “doing our part to eradicate it is very important to me.”

Several other vaccines made by China and by Britain’s Oxford University began smaller final-stage tests in Brazil and other hard-hit countries earlier this month.

But the U.S. requires its own tests of any vaccine that might be used in the country and has set a high bar: Every month through fall, the government-funded COVID-19 Prevention Network will roll out a new study of a leading candidate -- each one with 30,000 newly recruited volunteers.

The massive studies aren’t just to test if the shots work — they’re needed to check each potential vaccine’s safety. And following the same study rules will let scientists eventually compare all the shots.

Next up in August, the final U.S. study of the Oxford shot begins, followed by plans to test a candidate from Johnson & Johnson in September and Novavax in October -- if all goes according to schedule. Pfizer Inc. plans its own 30,000-person study this summer.

That’s a stunning number of people needed to roll up their sleeves for science. But in recent weeks, more than 150,000 Americans filled out an online registry signaling interest, said Dr. Larry Corey, a virologist with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute in Seattle, who helps oversee the study sites.

“These trials need to be multigenerational, they need to be multiethnic, they need to reflect the diversity of the United States population,” Corey told a vaccine meeting last week. He stressed that it’s especially important to ensure enough Black and Hispanic participants as those populations are hard-hit by COVID-19.

It normally takes years to create a new vaccine from scratch, but scientists are setting speed records this time around, spurred by knowledge that vaccination is the world’s best hope against the pandemic. The coronavirus wasn’t even known to exist before late December, and vaccine makers sprang into action Jan. 10 when China shared the virus’ genetic sequence.

Just 65 days later in March, the NIH-made vaccine was tested in people. The first recipient is encouraging others to volunteer now.

“We all feel so helpless right now. There’s very little that we can do to combat this virus. And being able to participate in this trial has given me a sense of, that I’m doing something,” Jennifer Haller of Seattle told the AP. “Be prepared for a lot of questions from your friends and family about how it’s going, and a lot of thank-you’s.”

That first-stage study that included Haller and 44 others showed the shots revved up volunteers’ immune systems in ways scientists expect will be protective, with some minor side effects such as a brief fever, chills and pain at the injection site. Early testing of other leading candidates have had similarly encouraging results.

If everything goes right with the final studies, it still will take months for the first data to trickle in from the Moderna test, followed by the Oxford one.

Governments around the world are trying to stockpile millions of doses of those leading candidates so if and when regulators approve one or more vaccines, immunizations can begin immediately. But the first available doses will be rationed, presumably reserved for people at highest risk from the virus.

“We’re optimistic, cautiously optimistic” that the vaccine will work and that “toward the end of the year” there will be data to prove it, Dr. Stephen Hoge, president of Massachusetts-based Moderna, told a House subcommittee last week.

Until then, Haller, the volunteer vaccinated back in March, wears a mask in public and takes the same distancing precautions advised for everyone -- while hoping that one of the shots in the pipeline pans out.

“I don’t know what the chances are that this is the exact right vaccine. But thank goodness that there are so many others out there battling this right now,” she said.

Associated Press

AP photographer Ted Warren in Seattle contributed to this report.

Number of measles cases in US this year surpasses 1,000

WASHINGTON, United States — The number of measles cases in the United States this year has reached 1,001, health officials said Wednesday, as they vowed to stop the spread of misinformation about vaccines.

The announcement comes days after authorities declared the US was in danger of losing its "elimination status" on the contagious respiratory disease if the current outbreaks continue.

"The 1,000th case of a preventable disease like measles is a troubling reminder of how important" it is to ensure that people understand that vaccines are safe, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.

Azar vowed to "continue our efforts to support local health departments and health care providers in responding to this situation, with the ultimate goal of stopping the outbreak and the spread of misinformation about vaccines."

"We cannot say this enough: Vaccines are a safe and highly effective public health tool that can prevent this disease and end the current outbreak."

The previous record number of cases came in 1992 when 963 cases were reported across the year -- a figure now surpassed in less than the first six months of 2019.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were giving health care providers guidelines for recognizing and preventing measles, and developing a toolkit for physicians to counter misinformation, Azar said.

Authorities declared measles eliminated in the US in 2000, a goal set in 1966 with the introduction of the vaccine.

Measles is considered eliminated when there is an absence of continuous disease transmission for 12 months or more in a specific geographic area, according to the CDC.

An ongoing outbreak in and around New York that started last fall is threatening the nation's "elimination status" -- if it continues for four more months, the country will no longer be able to say it has eliminated measles.

Even though New York city officials began requiring residents in heavily affected areas, many with large Orthodox Jewish communities, to be vaccinated starting in April, the city still had 173 cases that month and 60 in May.

The US has never counted zero measles cases.

Since 2000, the number has fluctuated between a few dozen and a few hundred cases per year, with 667 cases recorded during a 2014 outbreak in Ohio, especially in Amish communities.

The disease's resurgence can mostly be traced back to un- or under-vaccinated travelers who brought the infection back with them from abroad -- that's what happened last year when cases were reported throughout the country, originating from the Philippines, Israel and Ukraine.

source: philstar.com