With U.S. vaccination rates on the rise, many companies are opening up their offices and asking employees to return. But after more than a year of remote work, workers are hesitant to go back to a traditional workplace that offers less flexibility and often long commutes. In fact, 58% of employees would seek a new job if working in-person were required, and 98% would prefer a fully remote or hybrid career.
Tag: COVID 19

The Best Practices of Carrying Vaccines from Place to Place
Change is the law of business. With every change, businesses undergo more efficiency and productivity. The recent change in the business landscape is vaccine packaging for transportation.
Vaccines need to be transported from place to place. Be it bringing vaccines to the satellite site, running an off-site immunization clinic, or moving vaccines to a safe place, you need to transport vaccines from place to place.

Driving in ‘The New Normal’ – 5 Key Things to Know
We are all adjusting to ‘the new normal’. After a turbulent period around the world, many are now taking positive steps: coming out of national lockdowns or restrictions and returning to a regular routine.
But this ‘normal’ is new. The return to our old habits and routines has already changed significantly, giving rise to a new situation that we must all be aware of. Below, we explore five key things to know within the world of transport that could affect the way you travel and drive in this new environment.

Storage and Handling Vaccines in the Right Ways – A Practical Guide
Every year, healthcare facilities worldwide incur substantial financial losses due to errors in vaccine handling and storing.
Financial losses are not the only fall out of improper vaccine handling; healthcare facilities can also elicit the loss of confidence of patients if compromised vaccines are administered by mistake.
Healthcare facilities should maintain an effective cold chain to maintain vaccine potency. To maintain an effective vaccine supply chain, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended the following steps:

The Impact of the COVID-19 Vaccine on Businesses
Since the outbreak at the end of 2019, the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped the way we conduct business all over the world. Now, vaccines are making their way through the populace.
With estimations that vaccines could mean economic recovery by late 2021/early 2022, the full-blown effects of the virus on the economy may have already been seen. The vaccine might reverse some of this damage to have its own impact on global trade.

7 Ways the Pandemic Helped the Medical Industry
The pandemic brought out so much sadness and anxiety in this world. Thankfully, however, there have been some good changes that have come from it, including in the healthcare industry as a whole. With a larger focus on technology, changes have been made to benefit both patients and doctors, as is seen in the information below.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Email Marketing Trends
Email usage spiked by more than 100% during the coronavirus pandemic, which has been ravaging the world for several months in a row. Gone are the days that emails were simply used to communicate. Emails are now an essential marketing tool that both startups and established businesses use to reach existing and potential customers.

COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market Growth Prospects
Overview
Personal protective equipment includes products such as protective clothing, helmets, goggles and visors, and other garments or equipment designed to protect the user from potential exposure, infection, or injury from biohazards and other threats. PPE safeguards individuals from a range of hazards including physical, electrical, heat, chemicals, biohazards, and airborne particulate matter. This equipment is extremely critical, in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of infectious diseases, as well as to ensure the safety of medical personnel in laboratories, research centers, and other settings, where there is potential to contract infections or other related diseases. The global personal protective equipment market report is segmented on the basis of type, application, end-users, as well as regions and countries.

Stocks & Bonds — Inflation Fears Drop, Dow Soars
U.S. bond interest rates fell from their highs, alleviating market participants’ concerns about inflation, and driving the Dow to soar by more than 600 points. The Dow closed at 31,543 points, up 611 points, or 1.98%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,879 points, up 68 points, or 1.8%. The Nasdaq closed at 13,421 points, up 229 points, or 1.74%.

Russia — Putin Focuses A Full Day of Negotiation with Lukashenko
The president of Russia Vladimir Putin and the president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will hold the talks in Sochi this week. The talks are on the eve of the February 23rd, which traditionally is the holiday that honors men in Russia. Lukashenko arrived in Sochi well an advance and this is the first time, Lukashenko left Belarus after the beginning of the protests.

New Zealand — Standard and Poor Upgrades Rating
S&P Global Ratings upgraded New Zealand’s foreign currency and local currency sovereign credit ratings by one notch to AA+ and AAA, saying that New Zealand is recovering from the impact of the new crown epidemic faster than most advanced economies.

Alabama — Politician Encourages Amazon Workers to Unionize
Alabama’s Amazon warehouse workers have gotten a boost in their bid to unionize. Stacey Abrams, a Georgia democrat has encouraged the workers to vote to join the union. On a video posted on Saturday, the leader called on the workers to form a union so that they make their jobs more ‘secure, safer and stronger.’

Amazon Amassing Control Over Air Fleet
Amazon Air is said to be making an average of 140 flights a day a significant growth. According to a report from the DePaul University Chaddick Institte for Metropolitan Development, the flights are expected to move to 160 and above by June this year since new airplanes are to be added to the fleet.

Russian’s Third Vaccine Utilizes Whole Virus
Russia registered third coronavirus vaccine. Coronavirus continues to be a serious barrier for the world economies. Currently, there over 111 million infected and over 2.4 million deaths around the globe. The new vaccine was developed by the Chumakov Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune-and-Biological Products of Russian Academy of Sciences.

Coronavirus — Sputnik V Gaining Popularity
The Coronavirus pandemic continues to be at the forefront of major news around the globe. Currently, there are over 110 million cases and over 2.4 million deaths around the world. The Russian Sputnik V vaccine is becoming very popular in Latin America and the demand for the vaccine continues to increase.

UK — January Retail Sales Worse than Expected
The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics announced that retail sales in the United Kingdom decreased by 8.2% month-on-month in January, which is expected to decrease by 2.5%. The year-on-year decrease is 5.9%, which is expected to decrease by 1.3%. During the period, retail sales excluding energy decreased by 8.8% month-on-month.

Israel Roundup — February Snowstorms Bring March Elections
Israel witnessed its first snowstorm of the year this week. There is snow in the mountain areas, including Jerusalem, and rain in other parts of the country. Snow is more common than one might think in Israel. However, Israelis only see snow once or twice in a winter season.

Indian Summer — S&P Expects Economic Rebound
In its latest report, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) anticipates that India’s economy will rebound 10% in the next two years. This comes as a major relief for the many Indian professionals who had to deal with cutbacks and job cuts at the lowest level in their lives. The current recession has affected every sector of the Indian economy.

PayPal Hidden Issues Revealed
At present, there is a demand to purchase online and pay later. The platforms like Klarna Quadpay and AfterPay becoming increasingly popular. They allow the consumers to purchase items from a large number of the online stores using interest free payments split in 4. The payments are billed every 2 weeks.

Putin — West Is Using Navalny As “Containment Policy”
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday accused Western countries of using the country’s currently imprisoned opposition politician, Alexeï Navalny as part of Russia’s “containment policy.” “The stronger we become, the stronger the containment policy”, he argued.

Amazon — Alabama Union Vote by Mail
Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama have continued with their unionization push as pressure continues to mount. It is alleged that workers are short break and failure to return to work on time would mean a cut on the pay or dismissal from work. Workers have decried poor working conditions in the company’s facilities.

Amazon Sues New York’s Attorney General
Amazon.com Inc has sued New York’s Attorney General Letitia James. In the complaint that was filed at Brooklyn federal court, Amazon accuses the Attorney General of overstepping her boundaries. In the suit, Amazon wants the Attorney General to regulate safety measures at work places.

EU Lowers Growth Forecast in Eurozone
The European Union lowered the economic growth rate of the Eurozone this year to 3.8%, which was previously expected to rise 4.2%. Among them, the economy is expected to contract by 0.9% year-on-year in the first quarter. The EU pointed out that the current risk is still quite high.

Coronavirus — Vaccines and Politics
The Coronavirus pandemic continues to be a major factor around the world. Currently, there are over 107 million infected and over 2.3 million deaths around the globe. Many countries are experiencing shortages of the COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID-19 restrictions continue to hurt the global economies.

Coronavirus — WHO Echoes China’s Origin Findings
The World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origin of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, has certified the animal origin of the virus. However, it considers that no sufficiently solid evidence has been found to conclude that it originated from bats or pangolins, which it has identified as “potential candidates.”

Amazon Fail 2.0
The Coronavirus pandemic is one of the main factors driving the customers to shop online. The convenience, lockdowns, and safety measures make online platforms a necessity for items including pet products. Last month I placed an order for the Okokat cat litter. However, when I opened the box, a saw dust cloud covered the whole area and it made me cough.

The Not So Verified Amazon Reviews
Amazon became simply to large to efficiently control the sales process on the micro level. Amazon offers free delivery to Prime Members and encourages reviews once the items have been received. The consumer can leave a review by going to the original list of the orders and choose the option of the review.

Shell Reports Record Losses
The giant oil group Royal Dutch Shell announced a large net loss of $21.7 billion in 2020 due to lower energy prices and the massive decline in demand for it due to the Coronavirus epidemic. The Dutch-British group said in a statement that it made a net profit of $15.8 billion in 2019, before the start of the health crisis.

Israel Roundup — Elections Coming, Lockdowns Remain
Israel’s attention is focused on the March elections. Many consider the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu insufficient to meet the needs of the public amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic. The Israeli public is frustrated by the lockdown that is planned to be extended for another week because of the still-soaring infection rate.

EU — GDP Contractions Less Than Expected
The gross domestic product (GDP) fell 6.4% across the European Union (EU) and 6.8% in the Eurozone in 2020, according to preliminary data published Tuesday by Eurostat. The contraction, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, ended seven years of growth in both areas.

Switch Sales Power Nintendo Through Quarantine
Nintendo has increased its expectations for full-year revenue, earnings, and shipments for its Switch gaming console. The numbers are not enough to fight predictions and are disappointing. Nearly 11.5 million units of Switch were sold and almost 78 million copies of Switch applications were delivered during the December quarter.

Norther Ireland — EU Restricts Coronavirus Vaccine
The European Union has applied a special article of the annex to the Brexit treaty to impose restrictions on the supply of coronavirus vaccines from the EU-member Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom Causing a sharp reaction in the UK.

Southwest Airlines CEO: “Even Southwest is Not Immune to Covid-19”
Southwest Airlines reports today that they have received a net loss of over $3.5 billion in 2020 due to the economic recession. “Even Southwest is not immune to Covid-19,” said CEO Gary Kelly. “Yes, these are bad times. Yes, we had our first loss since our startup year. But we have much to be grateful for, and we have every reason to be hopeful that this, too, shall pass.”

Amazon Delivery Failure
Amazon allows the customer to have an option of purchasing the prime membership on the monthly or the annual bases to get the Amazon prime perks. The costs for an adult is close tot the $14 dollars per month. The perks include unlimited prime 2 day shipping on the large selection of the items including products from Whole Foods.

Xi and China at the World Economic Forum
Chinese president Xi Jinping spoke at the Davos Economic Forum. President Xi’s speech touched on the equality of the international relations. However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the forum was held in the online format. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the forum as well.

Coronavirus — 2020 Worst Year on Record for Tourism
The year 2020 closed as the worst year in the history of tourism, with 1 billion fewer international arrivals in the world and losses estimated at more than €1 trillion caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As reported on Thursday by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the figures represent a 74% drop in the volume of tourists compared to 2019.

Israel Extends Lockdown, Gets to Know Biden
This week, on Wednesday, Holocaust Remembrance Day was observed around the world. Of course, the commemoration could not be like every year, but the message of remembrance of the Holocaust is necessary to be repeated every year. There is always the fear of genocide, which, after the Holocaust, can never be accepted.

Coronavirus — WHO Team Begins Investigation
On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s team will visit laboratories and markets in Wuhan, China, as part of an investigation into the origin of the emerging virus, which infected and killed millions around the world within about a year of its discovery. More than 2 million people have died as a result of more than 101 million infections worldwide.

Coronavirus — Mexico’s AMLO Tests Positive
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has tested positive for COVID-19. He relayed this via a tweet on Sunday in which he indicated that the symptoms were mild. He remained optimistic about getting back to work soon. The president has over the past year been criticized for failing to adhere to precautionary measures.

The World Economic Forum and Vladimir Putin
On Sunday, the Russian program, The Kremlin and Putin, released the Russian President, Vladimir Putin’s itinerary. The schedule included President Putin attending the Davos Forum. The Coronavirus pandemic made it impossible to conduct the forum in the real life setting.

Lagarde: Eurozone Economic Recovery Delayed
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the economic data from the fourth quarter of last year showed the eurozone’s economic recovery process has been delayed. Lagarde made these remarks at the 25th meeting of the World Economic Forum Dialogue, “Davos Agenda.”

AliExpress and Amazon Customer Fail
The Coronavirus pandemic changed the way people live and shop. Recently, I purchased a product from AliExpress, a popular online marketplace based in China. The tracking number proved the item was never received, and in fact never left China. My appeal for a refund was denied.

Zimbabwe — Loses Four Government Ministers Due to Covid-19
In Zimbabwe, the Covid-19 pandemic is leaving its trail in the ranks of the Government. Pandemic also affects the country’s health system, on the verge of collapse and tainted by reports of corruption. Within a few months, the Government of Zimbabwe lost several ministers, killed due to infection with coronavirus.

Russia — AliExpress Future is Bleak
The e-commerce wholesale platforms continue to grow. In 2020, online retailers saw a sharp increase in sales. The Coronavirus pandemic that spread around the world contributed to a change in shopping preferences for consumers. However, China has been one of the largest contributors of counterfeit products’ sales and manufacturing.

Gift Purchasing on Amazon, Not So Hot
The Coronavirus pandemic changed shopping habits and the social interactions. Canada implemented the new lockdowns amid the second wave of the Coronavirus. Therefore, given the rigid temperatures and lack of social interaction, online shopping became more attractive than ever.

Amazon Offered Biden Help with Coronavirus Vaccination Campaign
Amazon, the Seattle based company congratulated Biden and Kamala Harris and assured that “Amazon is ready to help in their efforts to address climate change, control the spread of Covid-19, restart our economy and promote common sense immigration reforms that honor America’s diversity.

Latin American Exports Fall 13% in 2020
The exports of Latin America recorded a fall of 13% in value in 2020 compared to the previous year, its worst record in more than a decade, due to the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported on Friday by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). On the other side, imports shrank by 20 percent.

Amazon Fresh Not So Fresh
According to the the Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the third quarter of 2020, adjusted for seasonal variation, but not for price changes, was $209.5 billion, a decrease of 1.0 percent (±0.7%) from the second quarter of 2020.

Israel Extends Lockdown, Settlements
The lockdown in Israel against the Coronavirus has been extended for another two weeks. The lockdown has not been successful in getting down the number of daily infections. Instead, Israel has seen a change in the number of younger people that have become hospitalized from the Coronavirus in the last two weeks.

China Reports 2.3% Economic Growth in 2020
China’s GDP increased by 6.5% in the last quarter of 2020, completing the year with an annual mark of 2.3%. The figures are courtesy of the official data published on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics. By recording a positive outturn, China succeeded in turning around a year that began with the coronavirus threatening to become a thorn in its flesh.