Russia rolls out first (maybe) Covid vaccine
- The vaccine’s dubbed Sputnik V—after the original Sputnik which made USSR the first nation in space—and has been approved for widespread use even before passing its final stage trials.
- The vaccine was only tested on 38 volunteers in combined Phase I and II trials, and the results were never published.
- Phase III trials—when a vaccine is tested on a large and diverse number of volunteers—will only start today.
- But President Putin is already bragging, “I know it has proven efficient and forms a stable immunity”—and claims it's been administered to one of his daughters who is all A-okay.
- The global medical community’s reaction: “This is all beyond stupid… Putin doesn’t have a vaccine, he’s just making a political statement.”
- Associated Press has more details. New York Times has the international reaction.
Amazon’s $600 million Prime Day
The pandemic hasn’t slowed Amazon down. It clocked higher numbers than its Diwali sale last year—making this the biggest Prime Day in India ever. According to the company, more than 4,000 small sellers crossed sales of Rs 10 lakh, while 209 sellers “became crorepatis.”
Not having a good day: TikTok. France has begun a data privacy probe—which will impact EU’s regulation of the company. The reason this matters: TikTok needs EU approval of its plans to set up a base in Ireland.
Hoping for a better day: Airbnb which plans to file for an IPO later this month. The company laid off 25% of its staff in May—at which time CEO Brian Chesky said the 2020 revenue will be less than half of 2019.
A Kozhikode update
Aviation authorities have finally banned wide-body planes from landing at the airport during the monsoon. Also: The Hindu reports on how immediate action from the fire response teams prevented the plane from bursting into flames.
A Google calling card
You can create your very own virtual visiting card—called ‘people card’—that will pop up any time someone searches for you. You just have to give all your information to Google—including “their website and social media profiles and, optionally, their phone number, address, work and education details, and email address.” Because people will opt to put their phone number and address on the web, of course. TechCrunch explains how it works.
Say no to the dental work
The WHO wants you to delay all routine dental checkups. The reason: “Dental patients and staff need to be protected from any potential infection by aerosol-generating procedures”—such as three-way air/water spray, ultrasonic cleaning equipment and polishing.
In happier news for teeth: A German study says that gargling with an ordinary mouthwash reduces the quantities of viral particles in your mouth and throat—and could reduce the risk of transmission in the short-term. No, this won’t protect any of us from Covid or make us any less infectious. But it could be an effective precaution for frontline workers who have to work in close proximity to others.
Not-happy news for Kiwis: The virus has reared its ugly head 102 days after the nation was declared corona-free. Four members of an Auckland household have tested positive. The city has been moved to alert level 3—which means everyone has to stay at home, and bars/restaurants are closed.
Real estate lobby takes astonishing stance
The Builders’ Association of India has taken a strong stance against the latest draft of the Environmental Impact Assessment—which aims to dramatically weaken environmental protections (we explained it here). In a letter to the Environment Ministry, the BAI president made several demands:
“...[H]e requested four specific things about the draft EIA 2020 : a) its withdrawal from public consultation b) reissuing the draft only after the coronavirus pandemic is over c) full disclosure about the nature of comments received along with reasons for acceptance or rejection and d) ensuring widespread and informed public consultation about the proposed law.”
This is astonishing as the EIA’s proposals will make life easier and far more lucrative for builders. When pressed by Huffington Post, a BAI official would only say: “We are also citizens of India and this letter has been written in larger public interest.” Hmm...
Two trending social media memes
Everyone’s named Binod: YouTube channel Slayy Point made a video making fun of Indian commenters—and they picked on a guy called Binod Tharu. His MO: to simply offer his name—‘Binod’—as a comment on a video. For some reason, this went viral and PayTm changed its profile name to, well, ‘Binod’. Then everyone else from Mumbai police to Tinder jumped in. Mint has more on this bizarre trend.
The pandemic mood calendar: Reese Witherspoon kicked it off with a mock calendar with photos for every month, starting in January. Yeah, you can imagine how the ‘mood’ of each photo changed over the course of the last six months. Then, every other celeb decided to put one out as well (what’s not to like about a meme that offers an opportunity for multiple selfies!). Indian Express has the entire collection, but the only one we really like is Mark Ruffalo. PS: PC scored an A for Effort.
Oldest blood in the world
Scientists have extracted liquid blood from the mummified remains of a 42,000-year-old extinct baby horse in Siberia. They are calling it “the best preserved Ice Age animal ever found in the world.” And they hope to clone it! Well, at least it’s a horse not a T-Rex. (The SciEarth)
