Day: December 19, 2021

Most of the World’s Vaccines Likely Won’t Prevent Infection From Omicron

Chin@Strategy

A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant. All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world. The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson…

Most of the World’s Vaccines Likely Won’t Prevent Infection From Omicron

Chin@Strategy

A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant. All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world. The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson…

Peng Shuai, Chinese Tennis Player, Denies Sexual Assault Claim

Chin@Strategy

Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis star whose account of sexual coercion by a former Communist Party leader ignited weeks of tensions and galvanized calls for boycotts of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, has reversed her assertion that she had been sexually assaulted by the official. Ms. Peng made the comments in an interview that was published on Sunday by a Singaporean newspaper. But the retraction appeared unlikely to extinguish concerns about her well-being and suspicions that she had been the target of well-honed pressure techniques and a propaganda campaign by…

Your Monday Briefing: Omicron Evades Many Vaccines

Chin@Strategy

Good morning. We’re covering the latest Omicron news, the Hong Kong elections and a Times investigation into civilian casualties from U.S. airstrikes. Omicron outstrips many vaccines A growing body of preliminary research suggests most Covid vaccines offer almost no defense against infection from the highly contagious Omicron variant. The only vaccines that appear to be effective against infections are those made by Pfizer and Moderna, reinforced by a booster, which are not widely available around the world. Other vaccines — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and vaccines manufactured…

Peng Shuai retracts sexual assault claims as fears over wellbeing persist

Chin@Strategy

The Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has denied that she had accused a former senior official of having sexually assaulted her, in what is believed to be the first foreign press interview since her November essay caused a media storm. “I wanted to make this very clear: I have never claimed, or written about anyone having sexually assaulted me,” Peng said. “With regards to Weibo, it’s about my personal privacy … There’s been a lot of misunderstanding … There [should be] no distorted interpretation.” The claim apparently contradicted a 2…

Police deployed at polling stations as Hong Kong votes in overhauled ‘patriots’ election

Chin@Strategy

Hong Kong’s first “patriots-only” legislative elections have seen sluggish early turnout across the city, as thousands of police officers were deployed to monitor the polling stations. Sunday’s polls, which saw 153 candidates compete for 90 seats, are the first to be held after Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral processes earlier this year, reducing the ratio of directly-elected seats and introducing a two-tiered candidate vetting process by national security police and officials to ensure only “patriots” can administer the city. The voter turnout averaged about 6% for all 10 geographical constituencies,…