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The central government has prohibited as many as 156 <keyword id="22893276" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="combination-drugs" source="keywords">combination drugs</keyword> that are often administered as painkillers, multivitamins, and antibiotics, for fever and cold, among others. In a gazette notification dated August 21, the government said that the use of the drug Fixed Dose Combination of Amylase, Protease, Glucoamylase, Pectinase, Alpha Galactosidase, Lactase, Beta-Gluconase, Cellulase, Lipase, Bromelain, Xylanase, Hemicellulase, Malt diastase, Invertase, Papain is likely to involve risk to human beings whereas safer alternatives to the said drug are available. Upon recommendations of the <keyword id="20092000" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Drugs-Technical-Advisory-Board" source="keywords">Drugs Technical Advisory Board</keyword>, the central government, in the greater interest of the public, has prohibited the manufacture for sale, sale, and distribution for human use of those drugs across the country with immediate effect. The move from the government comes after the matter was examined by an expert committee appointed by the central government, and the said expert committee considered the administration of this Fixed Dose Combination as "irrational". The Drugs Technical Advisory Board also examined the said FDC and recommended that "there is no therapeutic justification for the ingredients contained in this FDC. The FDC may involve risk to human beings. Hence in the larger public interest, it is necessary to prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution of this FDC under section 26 A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940. In view of above, any kind of regulation or restriction to allow for any use in patients is not justifiable," the notification read. The list of banned drugs also includes drugs used for hair treatments, antiparasitic, skincare, anti-allergic. The medicines combined in more than one drug in a single pill are Fixed dose combination drugs FDC, these drugs are also known as cocktail drugs. The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance supports the decision of the government. Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General, IPA told that, "this has been going for many years and there was a committee which reviewed the whole thing... This is a right step in the interest of patients and all aspects have been taken into consideration." "They have given the opportunity to give the data to support their products, so the right products will continue and when there is no data to support then companies have to withdraw it," Jain added. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/2024-tvs-jupiter-vs-honda-activa-6g-which-110cc-scooter-should-you-buy/slidelist/112730069.cms">2024 TVS Jupiter vs Honda Activa 6G – which 110cc scooter should you buy?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/how-to/how-to-add-music-to-instagram-profile/articleshow/112732934.cms">You can now add music to your Instagram profile – here's how</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/audi-q8-facelift-launched-in-india-with-a-1-17-crore-price-tag/slidelist/112707701.cms">Audi Q8 facelift launched in India with a ₹1.17 crore price tag</a>

India bans 156 commonly used combination drugs citing possible risks to humans

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo spoke about advancing AI during a May committee meeting. </li><li>Meanwhile, Raimondo's husband exercised up to $150,000 in stock options at his AI company in December 2021.</li></ul>Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo spoke on a committee in May discussing the regulation and advancement of artificial intelligence while her husband holds stock and is employed at a biotech AI firm.Former Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub, who first pointed out the meeting on Twitter on September 2, said this could have constituted a "<a href="https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1565820984065679367?s=20&amp;t=bKSCuFS3xCm9Zl0hI7ixrg">conflict of interest."</a>Shaub, now senior ethics fellow at Project On Government Oversight, told Insider that it "seemed pretty clear" that Raimondo's participation in the May meeting did not violate 18 US Code § 208, which prohibits government officials from participating in matters that could directly affect financial interests.However, her comments on "regulating AI" indicated that she may be working closely on issues narrowly focused on the industry, Shaub said."I don't understand how she can drop in and out of this committee's work without running the risk that, at some point, some of her activities will qualify as a particular matter and trigger the conflict of interest [law]," Shaub said.In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce defended the meeting, as well as Raimondo's work regulating "emerging technology," pointing to the <a href="https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/89BA5C322F850747852586640032DC75/%24FILE/Raimondo,%20Gina%20%20finalEA.pdf">ethics agreement</a> that Raimondo signed prior to her confirmation."The Secretary disclosed her husband's place of employment in the confirmation process; the options are from his job and were disclosed," the spokesperson said. "It is also well known that the Department of Commerce regulates emerging technology."The spokesperson continued: "The Secretary has a clear ethics agreement as it relates to her husband's employment and she remains in full compliance with that agreement."The Office of Government Ethics did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.In May, Raimondo spoke at the first meeting of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee, which <a href="https://www.ai.gov/naiac/#MEMBERS">is overseen by</a> the Secretary of Commerce."AI has the potential to be part of the solution for our greatest challenges, right?" Raimondo said during the onset of the meeting. "Our greatest economic challenges. Our greatest healthcare challenges. Advancing biotechnology.""AI has massive potential for good," she added. "The way we teach children, the way we run our businesses. It also has massive potential for bad."Raimondo's husband Andy Moffit is employed at PathAI, according to government filings. He exercised his company stock options and received between $65,000 and $150,000 in stocks on Dec. 27, 2021, <a href="https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/79F47D7EEFF81B9E852587E40033CA4C/$FILE/Gina-M-Raimondo-01.26.2022-278T.pdf">filings</a> with the Office of Government Ethics show. Moffit works as a strategic adviser at PathAI, according <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-moffit-he-him-02932215">to his LinkedIn</a>, but is not listed on the <a href="https://www.pathai.com/about-us/team/">company's team website.</a> Raimondo's year-end financial disclosures revealed up to $1.25 million in <a href="https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/6ACD4F276A676F3B85258856002EDD22/$FILE/Gina-M-Raimondo-2022-278.pdf">various stock options in PathAI</a> by the end of 2021. PathAI is a venture capital firm described <a href="https://www.pathai.com/">on its website</a> as a platform that seeks to improve the "accuracy of diagnosis and the measurement of therapeutic efficacy for complex diseases" using artificial intelligence technology. <h2>Other Biden officials have had their own conflict-of-interest controversies </h2>Key officials in the federal government in general have struggled mightily to either comply with federal conflicts of interest laws or otherwise avoid conflicts of interest, be they real or perceived.In Congress, Insider and other media organizations have since 2021 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-stock-act-violations-senate-house-trading-2021-9">identified 71 lawmakers who've violated the disclosure provisions</a> of the Stop Treading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012. At <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conflicted-congress-key-findings-stock-act-finances-investing-2021-12">least 182 senior-level congressional staffers</a> have also violated the law, Insider reported as part of its ongoing "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-conflicts-congress-members-rated-2021-12?page=stories">Conflicted Congress</a>" project.Congress is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-conflicts-congress-members-rated-2021-12?page=stories">now considering</a> whether to ban its members from trading stocks at all, with lawmakers expected to consider legislation this month. The executive branch has had its moment, too.In February, Insider's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-administration-energy-secretary-jennifer-granholm-stock-act-violator-2022-1">Warren Rojas</a> reported Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm violated the <a href="https://www.oge.gov/web/OGE.nsf/0/A709C70885CBAB8D852585B6005A12F9/$FILE/3f9ea6240ac14444bf3bcd7125b5d06a2.pdf">STOCK Act</a> when she failed to properly disclose $240,000 in stock sales before a disclosure deadline. Anita Dunn, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, <a href="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/editorialfiles/2022/08/11/AnitaDunn278.pdf">will have to divest between $16.8 million and $48.2 million</a> in stocks after her reappointment in May 2022, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/12/biden-senior-advisor-anita-dunn-has-to-divest-investment-portfolio-to-avoid-conflict.html">CNBC reported in August</a>. And tech-related investments by Mina Hsiang, the Biden administration's top digital officer, have also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watchdog-complaint-biden-ethics-investments-digital-omb-2022-2">come under scrutiny</a> this year.Biden himself has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/state-of-the-union-biden-congress-stock-trading-ban-2022-3">conspicuously</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-ban-congress-biden-pelosi-democrats-tom-nelson-wisconsin-2022-2">silent</a> about the federal government's conflicts-of-interest matters, ignoring <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watchdogs-demand-joe-biden-start-leading-congress-stock-trade-ban-2022-5">calls from government reform advocates</a> to speak out on the issue."The last administration didn't seem to care at all about ethics, but this one seems to approach ethics the way tax lawyers approach taxes, they look for loopholes, they look to do the bare technical minimum," Shaub said."They never step back and see the forest through the trees and realize okay, it may be technically legal for this Commerce Secretary to sit there on camera asking a group of experts how she should regulate AI," Shaub continued. "That's not okay."

Biden's Commerce secretary spoke on an AI committee while her husband held stocks in AI. It isn't illegal, but it could pose an ethical problem in the future, government watchdog expert says.

<keyword id="6355117" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="south-africa">South Africa</keyword> has "technically" entered the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the country's <keyword id="2469904" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Institute-for-Communicable-Diseases">National Institute for Communicable Diseases</keyword> said. The national seven-day moving average incidence, which reached 5,959 cases, exceeded the new wave threshold defined by the Ministerial Advisory Committee of the government, Xinhua news agency quoted the Institute as saying on Thursday. The threshold was defined as 30 per cent of the peak incidence of the previous wave. The Institute also reported 9,149 new <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">Covid-19</keyword> cases, bringing the national tally to 1,722,086, while the death toll stood at 57,410. The <keyword id="11425841" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="positivity-testing-rate">positivity testing rate</keyword> was 15.7 per cent, it said. The majority of new cases were from the Gauteng province, which hosts the nation's economic hub <keyword id="36345" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Johannesburg">Johannesburg</keyword> and the administrative capital Pretoria, accounting for 61 per cent of the infections, according to the statement. Western Cape province, home to the legislative capital Cape Town, came second with 10 per cent of the new cases, it read. Previously, four of South <keyword id="12925" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword>'s nine provinces, including Northern Cape, Free State, North West and Gauteng, had already entered a third wave at the provincial level. On Thursday morning, Western Cape said it was entering the third wave. The nation plans to vaccinate about 67 per cent of the population by the end of this year with three phases to achieve herd immunity. Following the first phase for healthcare workers only, the current second phase inoculates persons aged 60 years and above first, who will be followed by other groups of people including essential workers, persons in congregate settings and persons over 18 years of age with co-morbidities. South Africa, which has the highest Covid infection tally in Africa, moved to lockdown level two from the previous level one from May 31 as the number of infections began to rise sharply in several parts of the country and the positivity rate more than doubled in a month, from around 4 per cent to more than 11 per cent. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/battlegrounds-mobile-india-launch-teased-expected-to-be-released-on-june-18/articleshow/83426239.cms">Battlegrounds Mobile India launch teased, expected to be released on June 18</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/android-12-beta-breaks-records-googles-most-downloaded-beta-version-ever/articleshow/83425692.cms">Android 12 beta breaks records — Google’s most downloaded beta version ever</a>

South Africa 'technically' enters third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, says National Institute for Communicable Diseases

In a significant move to safeguard <keyword id="19913584" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-health" source="keywords">public health</keyword>, the Indian government has banned 156 widely sold fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs, many of which are used to treat common ailments such as fever, colds, allergies and pain. The banned FDCs include several popular antibacterial and pain-relief medications, which the government has declared "likely to involve risk to human beings." The ban was officially announced through a gazette notification issued by the <keyword id="19897332" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Health-Ministry" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Union Health Ministry" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Union Health Ministry">Union Health Ministry</keyword> on August 12. <keyword id="22891947" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="FDC-drugs" source="keywords">FDC drugs</keyword>, often referred to as "cocktail" drugs, contain a combination of two or more active pharmaceutical ingredients in a fixed ratio. While such combinations are intended to offer multi-faceted treatment, concerns have been raised about their safety and efficacy. Among the drugs on the banned list is the well-known combination of Aceclofenac 50 mg and <keyword id="20687368" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="paracetamol" source="keywords">Paracetamol</keyword> 125 mg, a popular pain reliever produced by several major pharmaceutical companies. Other banned FDCs include Mefenamic Acid Paracetamol Injection, Cetirizine HCl Paracetamol Phenylephrine HCl, Levocetirizine Phenylephrine HCl Paracetamol, Paracetamol Chlorpheniramine Maleate Phenyl Proanolamine, and Camylofin Dihydrochloride 25 mg Paracetamol 300 mg. A particularly notable ban is on the combination of Paracetamol, Tramadol, Taurine, and Caffeine. Tramadol, an opioid-based painkiller, has drawn attention for its potential for abuse and addiction, adding to the concerns surrounding its inclusion in over-the-counter FDCs. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112557689" title="The drugmaker that hopes to legalize MDMA is cutting 75% of its staff after the FDA rejected the drug" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>According to the government's notification, the Central government has determined that the use of these FDCs "is likely to involve risk to human beings," and that "safer alternatives to the said drugs are available." The decision follows an in-depth examination by an Expert Committee, which found many of these FDCs to be "irrational." The apex panel Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) also reviewed the combinations and concluded that there was "no therapeutic justification" for the ingredients in these FDCs. In light of the potential risks, the government deemed it necessary to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and distribution of these drugs under Section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The notification emphasised that "in the larger public interest, it is necessary to prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution of this FDC" as regulation or restriction would not be sufficient to protect patients. This is not the first time the Indian government has intervened to address the sale of FDCs. In 2016, the Centre had announced a ban on 344 FDCs after an expert panel — established at the direction of the Supreme Court — found that many of these combinations were being sold without sufficient scientific evidence supporting their efficacy. Although that decision was contested in court by <keyword id="22603498" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="drug-manufacturers" source="keywords">drug manufacturers</keyword>, it set a precedent for regulatory scrutiny of FDCs in India. In June 2023, 14 FDCs from the original list of 344 were also banned. Many of the drugs included in the recent list of 156 were part of this original 344-drug combination ban, reinforcing the government's continued efforts to remove unsafe and unjustified medications from the market. Several of the banned products had already been discontinued by manufacturers, but the new regulations ensure that these combinations will no longer be available for sale in India, further emphasising the government's commitment to public safety and rational drug use. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112374485" title="Govt waives clinical trial requirement for several drugs approved in select countries" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

156 ‘combination medicines’ containing Cetirizine, Paracetamol and other common drugs banned by Centre

Ahead of college admissions, <keyword id="56459" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="university-grants-commission" source="Orion">University Grants Commission</keyword> (<keyword id="44171" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ugc" source="Orion">UGC</keyword>) has warned students against unrecognised or 'fake' institutions operating in the country. In the last two years, the UGC has identified 27 such 'fake' higher educational institutions in the country. With the admission process around the corner, students across the country have been asked to beware of educational institutions that are not established as per the UGC Act but offer degrees in contravention of stated provisions. According to <keyword id="693288" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="union-education-ministry" source="Orion">Union Education Ministry</keyword>, the degrees provided by such institutions will not be valid for further studies or jobs. Recently, the UGC detected two unrecognised institutions and is likely to soon release a fresh list of such institutions. According to a recent notice issued by the UGC, the 'Open International University for Alternative Medicines' and the '<keyword id="17077663" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="national-board-of-alternative-medicines" source="Orion">National Board of Alternative Medicines</keyword>' are running courses in violation of the UGC Act 1956. The UGC appealed to students across the country not to take admission in these institutions as their degrees will not be valid for further education or job. Earlier, the UGC had also issued a similar notice against the All India Institute of Public and Physical Health Science, a higher educational institution in Delhi. The UGC in its notice advised students not to take admission in "self-styled" institutes. The UGC from time to time releases lists of such unrecognised colleges, universities and institutes to make students aware of institutions, which are fraudulently offering degree courses. It also keeps an eye on such self-styled institutions in the interest of students. Last year, the UGC identified about 24 such higher educational institutions and declared the degrees awarded by them "invalid and fake". According to the UGC, students should thoroughly examine it before taking admission in higher educational institutions. Students and parents should make sure that the concerned educational institution is recognised by the UGC. These educational institutions can be verified on the UGC website. Significantly, the UGC and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which promotes technical education in India, have also issued a warning against the educational institutions of Pakistan. In this joint advisory issued for Indian students, it was said that Indian students should not take admission in any college or educational institution in Pakistan. According to the UGC, students pursuing education in Pakistan will not be eligible to get jobs and higher education in India. UGC and AICTE have said that Indian students should not go to Pakistan for higher education. An Indian student going to Pakistan to pursue technical education, higher education or any other course will not be able to take admission in India for further studies or jobs. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-revises-indias-fy24-growth-outlook-expects-softer-inflation-on-the-back-of-lower-commodity-prices/articleshow/99290005.cms">RBI revises India’s FY24 growth outlook, expects softer inflation on the back of lower commodity prices</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbis-monetary-policy-committee-keeps-repo-rate-unchanged-at-6-5/articleshow/99284354.cms">RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.5%, for now</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/after-the-ides-of-march-analysts-pick-best-stocks-that-can-be-bought-on-dips/articleshow/99272438.cms">After the Ides of March, analysts pick best stocks that can be bought on dips</a>

UGC cautions Class 12 students against fake univs; says no to higher studies in Pak

It is too early to call the latest Omicron sub-variant BA.2.75, first reported from <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> last month, more severe, according to <keyword id="66471" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Soumya-Swaminathan" source="Orion">Soumya Swaminathan</keyword>, chief scientist at the <keyword id="43588" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="world-health-organization" source="Orion">World Health Organization</keyword> (<keyword id="6366244" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="Orion">WHO</keyword>). Besides India, BA.2.75 has also been reported from 10 other countries, Swaminathan said in a Twitter post, adding that and "the WHO is tracking it". "There's still limited sequencing available to analyse but this subvariant seems to have a few mutations on the receptor binding domain of the spike protein. That's the key part of the <keyword id="10860" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="virus" source="Orion">virus</keyword> that attaches itself to the human receptor. So we have to watch that," she said. "However, it is still too early to known that this sub-variant has properties of immune evasion or being more clinically severe" She added that the WHO's Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) committee is constantly looking at data from around the world. "We are tracking itaIf any time there's an emergence of a virus that looks very different from a previous one, enough to be called a separate variant of concern, then the committee will do that". Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said that the global health agency is tracking the new sub-variant. "In countries like India a new sub lineage of BA.2.75 has also been detected, which we're following," he said. On Sunday, Shay Fleishon, with the Central Virology Laboratory at Sheba Medical Center in Israel, in a series of tweets said that BA.2.75 has been detected from about 10 states in India. This included 69 from India: Delhi (1), Haryana (6), Himachal Pradesh (3), Jammu (1), Karnataka (10), Madhya Pradesh (5), Maharashtra (27), Telangana (2), Uttar Pradesh (1), and West Bengal (13). Besides India, the strain has also been reported by seven other countries: Japan (1), Germany (2), the UK (6), Canada (2), the US (2), Australia (1), and New Zealand (2), according to Nextstrain, an open-source platform of genomic data. While he said it is "too soon to tell" whether BA.2.75 will be the next dominant variant, the Israeli expert noted that the sub-variant may be "alarming because it may imply a trend to come". The sub-variant is worth "keeping a close eye" on, Thomas Peacock, a scientist at Imperial College London, said. The BA.2.75 was also flagged by Bloom Lab at the Fred Hutch research institute in the US. In a tweet, posted this week, the institute said the sub-variant "is worth tracking, as it has appreciable antigenic change relative to its parent BA.2". Besides India, BA.2.75 has also been reported from 10 other countries, Swaminathan said in a Twitter post, adding that and "the WHO is tracking it". "There's still limited sequencing available to analyse but this subvariant seems to have a few mutations on the receptor binding domain of the spike protein. That's the key part of the virus that attaches itself to the human receptor. So we have to watch that," she said. "However, it is still too early to known that this sub-variant has properties of immune evasion or being more clinically severe" She added that the WHO's Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) committee is constantly looking at data from around the world. "We are tracking itaIf any time there's an emergence of a virus that looks very different from a previous one, enough to be called a separate variant of concern, then the committee will do that". Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said that the global health agency is tracking the new sub-variant. "In countries like India a new sub lineage of BA.2.75 has also been detected, which we're following," he said. On Sunday, Shay Fleishon, with the Central Virology Laboratory at Sheba Medical Center in Israel, in a series of tweets said that BA.2.75 has been detected from about 10 states in India. This included 69 from India: Delhi (1), Haryana (6), Himachal Pradesh (3), Jammu (1), Karnataka (10), Madhya Pradesh (5), Maharashtra (27), Telangana (2), Uttar Pradesh (1), and West Bengal (13). Besides India, the strain has also been reported by seven other countries: Japan (1), Germany (2), the UK (6), Canada (2), the US (2), Australia (1), and New Zealand (2), according to Nextstrain, an open-source platform of genomic data. While he said it is "too soon to tell" whether BA.2.75 will be the next dominant variant, the Israeli expert noted that the sub-variant may be "alarming because it may imply a trend to come". The sub-variant is worth "keeping a close eye" on, Thomas Peacock, a scientist at Imperial College London, said. The BA.2.75 was also flagged by Bloom Lab at the Fred Hutch research institute in the US. In a tweet, posted this week, the institute said the sub-variant "is worth tracking, as it has appreciable antigenic change relative to its parent BA.2". SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/more-than-half-of-indias-blue-collared-employees-suffer-unequal-wage-access-earn-below-15k-per-month-report/articleshow/92719499.cms">More than half of India's blue-collared employees suffer unequal wage access, earn below ₹15K per month: report</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indian-taxes-on-cottage-cheese-will-hit-the-cottage-industry-and-dairy-lovers-alike/articleshow/92714967.cms">Indian taxes on cottage cheese will hit the cottage industry and dairy lovers alike</a>

It's too early to tell if Omicron sub-variant BA.2.75 is more severe says WHO chief scientist

<ul><li>The Indian immunisation panel is discussing a fourth dose of <keyword id="8764262" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="covid" source="Orion">Covid</keyword> vaccine, or a <keyword id="10424474" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="second-booster-dose" source="Orion">second booster dose</keyword>. </li><li>India started its booster or precaution dose drive in January 2022 and has so far inoculated over 15 crore Indians in the age group of 15-59 years. </li><li>Only 28% of the eligible population in India have received the first <keyword id="2825536" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="booster-dose" source="Orion">booster dose</keyword> so far.</li></ul>Covid-19 cases are once again <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/indias-case-tally-of-new-omicron-variant-xbb-1-5-reaches-five-heres-what-you-need-to-know/articleshow/96704832.cms">rising across various parts</a> of the world and the Indian government has already started taking precautionary measures. As India has also reported cases of new variants like XBB.1.5, BF.7, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) is considering to roll out a second booster dose or fourth dose of Covid vaccine for the Indian population. “Discussions have started on the matter of opening a second booster among members of the technical group. There is a section that is keen on allowing another booster dose. They will be minutely going through all the scientific data before making any recommendations,” an expert on one of the committees of NTAGI <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/discussions-begin-in-govt-panel-on-2nd-booster-dose-101672684219149.html">said</a>. Last week, doctors of <keyword id="6365835" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Medical-Association" source="Orion">Indian Medical Association</keyword> (IMA), in a discussion with the union health minister <keyword id="2607815" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="mansukh-mandaviya" source="Orion">Mansukh Mandaviya</keyword>, suggested that the government must approve a fourth Covid-19 vaccine for people. <a href="https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/medicines/c/covid-19-vaccine-booster/">New Zealand</a> is one such country which has approved a second booster dose for people at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. The second booster dose is offered at least six months after the previous dose or three months after a COVID-19 infection. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Booster dose coverage" comment="subhead" text="Booster dose coverage">Booster dose coverage</cmsannotation> Amid Covid fears, the government is also taking steps to boost the coverage of the first booster dose in the country. India started its booster or precaution dose drive in January 2022 and has given 15 crore booster doses to people in the age group of 15-59 years; and over 69 crore in the age group of 60 plus years, according to <a href="https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/CummulativeCovidVaccinationReport06Jan2023.pdf">data</a> by <keyword id="210071" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ministry-of-health" source="Orion">ministry of health</keyword>. As of January 6, 2023, around 92 crore adults have taken their first dose, while 86 crore vaccines have been administered a second dose in India. Additionally, over 6 crore children aged between 15-18 years have received the first dose, and over 5 crore children in this age group have received the second dose. In the age group of 12 to 14, around 4 crore children have received the first dose, and 3 crore have received the second dose. Other than Covaxin (by Bharat Biotech) and Covishield (by Serum Insitute of India), the government has also approved two more vaccines — Corbevax (by Biological E) and a nasal vaccine named as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/covid-19-nasal-vaccine-bharat-biotechs-incovacc-is-the-first-approved-intranasal-vaccine-in-the-world/slidelist/96542239.cms">iNCOVACC</a> (by Bharat Biotech) as booster dose. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="People reluctant to take booster dose" comment="subhead" text="People reluctant to take booster dose">People reluctant to take booster dose</cmsannotation> Even as discussions around the fourth vaccine are going on, people in various states are reluctant to get their precaution doses. In fact, as per <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/discussions-begin-in-govt-panel-on-2nd-booster-dose-101672684219149.html">reports</a>, currently only 28% of the eligible population in India has taken the first booster dose. The West Bengal health department also saw the number of booster dose nosedive, which led to 80,000 Covaxin vaccines expiring by December last year. As per <a href="https://ians.in/news/public-reluctance-to-go-for-covid-booster-dose-worries-bengal-govt/C-1-1550083.html">IANS</a>, the WB health department said that over seven crore people went for the first dose, but the number slid down for the second dose. However, when it came to the third dose aka the booster dose, the number fell to just 1.5 crore. The department official also said this reluctance of people will further lead to more expiration of Covid-19 vaccines in January. A <a href="https://ians.in/news/over-6-in-10-indians-avoiding-covid-booster-due-to-heart-attack-fears-report/C-1-1545504.html">LocalCircles survey</a> also revealed that 64% of Indians are reluctant to take the booster dose of Covid vaccine. The major reason cited by people is rising cases of heart attacks in young people. However, as cases are rising the demand for Covid-19 vaccine seems to be surging and in fact, states like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh reported a vaccine shortage. "Since the Covid cases had dropped drastically, people had started taking Covid-19 lightly and were less enthusiastic in taking booster doses, so the government, too, was keeping a low stock. As of Monday (December 26) there are 35,000 vaccine bottles available with the state government," <a href="https://ians.in/news/sudden-surge-in-demand-for-vaccine-leads-to-shortage-in-gujarat/C-1-1546640.html">said</a> Nilam Patel, additional director (Health), government of Gujarat. Patel further said, “Till the first week of December (2022), on an average 3,000 vaccinations were taking place on a daily basis but since December 15, all of a sudden, people were turning up in large numbers to take the booster dose." Similarly, the health department of Uttar Pradesh also reported that four government vaccine centres ran out of Covid vaccines, on Wednesday, January 4. However, the department has placed a fresh order of the Covid-19 vaccines and expects it to come by next week. "More than 10 lakh vaccines will be arriving in the state shortly to fulfill the demand across the state. We are also monitoring the COVID-19 situation," Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister of UP told <a href="https://www.cnbctv18.com/healthcare/uttar-pradesh-lucknow-government-hopital-run-out-of-covid-doses-india-15580451.htm">PTI</a>. A new <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/newsblogs/covid-outbreak-live-news-coronavirus-india-china-cases-latest-updates-5-january-2023/liveblog/96752025.cms">report</a> also reveals that around 11 types of Covid-19 variant were found in India, when testing international passengers at airports, seaports and landports between December 24 and January 3. (With inputs from PTI and IANS) SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/kreditbee-closes-200-million-series-d-from-advent-international-mufg-bank-others/articleshow/96791309.cms">KreditBee closes $200 million Series D from Advent International, MUFG Bank, others</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/reliance-makes-open-offer-to-acquire-26-stake-in-lotus-chocolate/articleshow/96791043.cms">Reliance makes open offer to acquire 26% stake in Lotus Chocolate</a>

India mulls 2nd Covid booster even as coverage of first dose remains feeble

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Debris from a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-long-march-5b-rocket-parts-may-rain-down-2021-5">Chinese space rocket</a> will fall back to Earth sometime this weekend, at an unknown location.</li><li>The massive Chinese rocket booster is traveling at 17,000 miles per hour and weighs roughly 25 tons.</li></ul>At this moment, a massive Chinese rocket is in the process of crashing down to Earth. Experts say the hunk of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iss-swerves-avoid-debris-chinese-satellite-space-junk-2021-11">rocket junk</a>, called the Long March 5B, will probably hit Earth this weekend.China's rocket launched on July 24 to deliver a lab module to China's Tiangong space station, which is currently under construction. According to researchers at the Aerospace Corporation's Center for Orbital Reentry and Debris Studies (CORDS), the rocket junk is descending and will begin an uncontrolled reentry into Earth's atmosphere sometime on Saturday or Sunday.There is "a non-zero probability of the surviving debris landing in a populated area," <a href="https://aerospace.org/article/aerospace-experts-tracking-massive-uncontrolled-reentry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CORDS researchers</a> wrote on the center's website.Using tracking data, researchers created a map that projects a potential field of locations for the space junk's reentry, but the actual reentry point is still uncertain. The blue and yellow lines indicate all the places where the rocket booster could fall.<div type="image" title="Graphic of possible reentry locations." height="866" width="1730" msid="93197610" hostid="261" sizebytes="171740"></div>The yellow satellite icon shows where the booster will be at exactly the middle of the 36-hour window of time when it could possibly fall. (The icon is not a prediction of where the booster will land.)This is the third time China has launched a Long March 5B and allowed its body to fall to Earth uncontrolled. China is preparing to launch the rocket again in October, according to <a href="https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/07/18/chinas-heavy-lift-long-march-5b-rocket-rolls-to-launch-pad-with-new-space-station-module/">Spaceflightnow</a>.<h1>Predicting the crash landing </h1>At this point, it is impossible to accurately estimate where the rocket stage will fall."The snag is that the density of the upper atmosphere varies with time. It's actually weather up there. That makes it impossible to predict exactly at what point the satellite will have plowed through enough atmosphere to melt and break up and finally reenter," Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said at a Thursday briefing.How fast the debris zips through space can lead to huge discrepancies in predictions, McDowell added. If you're an hour off, "because it's going at 17,000 miles an hour, you're 17,000 miles off in where it's going to come down, and that's the big challenge with all this," he said.Experts at The Aerospace Corporation say the general rule of thumb is that up to 40% of the mass of a large object will reach the ground. In this case, they expect between 5 and 9 tons of material to fall — up to 18,000 pounds.<div type="image" title="large white rocket with red markings rolls down tree lined avenue with large metal assembly building in the background" height="1667" width="2500" msid="93197612" hostid="261" sizebytes="398234"></div>Normally, after a launch, rockets push themselves into the atmosphere and fall back to Earth over remote ocean areas like the South Pacific — a process called "controlled reentry." It's not clear why China hasn't designed or programmed the Long March 5B to do that."On the surface, it looks irresponsible. And it's conceivable that they have enough technical data to know that it will come down in the South Pacific, even without being thrust to do that. That's one possibility. But you know, having this big thing fall out of the sky would be nasty," John Logsdon, the founder of George Washington University's Space Policy Institute and a former member of the NASA Advisory Council, told Insider.<h1>Rules of behavior in space</h1>If rocket parts land on people or their property, China could be on the hook for the damage. Under the 1972 Space Liability Convention treaty, the launching nation is liable for its rockets and any damage they cause.Robin Dickey, a space policy analyst at the Aerospace Corporation, said that current debris-mitigation guidelines and long-term sustainability guidelines from the UN's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space include recommendations to minimize the risk posed to people and property on Earth from uncontrolled reentries, both of which have been supported by China. "The problem is, is that they're not very technical or specific, and they're also non-binding. There's no legal consequences to not taking the steps seen as feasible to mitigate the risk," Dickey said at the Thursday briefing."One thing I'll be watching closely in response to things like this reentry is who are the actors — the countries, individuals, and companies — that are publicly responding to this behavior and saying that it's irresponsible, because that will indicate whether we'll be able to develop stronger or clearer norms on where the threshold between okay and not okay is," Dickey said.<div type="image" title="The same type of rocket blasted into space on May 5, 2020. Later, some of its debris crashed into an African village." height="3826" width="5733" msid="93197614" hostid="261" sizebytes="1031134"></div>In May 2021, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-long-march-5b-rocket-parts-may-rain-down-2021-5">pieces of another</a> of China's Long March rocket landed in the Indian Ocean. And in May of 2020, another Chinese rocket broke up, dropping debris and causing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-rocket-falling-earth-11-similar-space-station-2021-5">property damage</a> in Africa. "They have been participating in the UN discussions on rules of good behavior. And so they're certainly aware of the need for norms of behavior. Whether they're willfully ignoring it in this case — it's hard to think that they would be that irresponsible," Logsdon said.

Debris from a giant Chinese rocket booster is set to plummet uncontrollably to Earth, raining parts across unknown locations this weekend

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Olivia Melendez graduated from Harvard Business School in May and is a product manager at Google.</li><li>She attended the University of Michigan and gained work experience at Intel before pursuing an MBA.</li></ul><a href="https://www.hbs.edu/mba/student-life/people/Pages/perspectives.aspx?profile=omelendez">Olivia Melendez</a>, 29, received her MBA from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-into-harvard-business-school-according-to-admissions-2019-7">Harvard Business School</a> in May, and she now works as a <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?postID=6373b4f35178b042771783f0&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fomelendez11%2F">product manager at Google</a>.She told Insider she decided to pursue an MBA while working toward her bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Michigan. She described her field of study in industrial and operations engineering as "the middle ground between engineering and business."After enjoying her experience as an intern at Intel between her last year of undergrad and her master's year, she decided to go back full-time first."At that point, an MBA felt like more of a longer-term goal and wasn't something I was considering seriously yet. Plus, I had always heard that MBA programs prefer that candidates have three to four years of work experience before starting a full-time program," Melendez said.While working at Intel, where she held the roles of systems analyst, program manager, and portfolio manager from 2016 to 2020, she began to question how a company made certain business decisions — for example, why one project got funded or why another was canceled.She followed this curiosity to a role at the chief information officer's program-management office at Intel, where she began to receive answers. "It made me realize how much I didn't yet know. I felt like I lacked the practical business foundation that an MBA ultimately provides," Melendez said. She also wanted to dive deeper into strategy, organizational structure, and general leadership and managerial skills.Melendez got into HBS, her first choice, in early 2020, and started the program that August. In addition to HBS, she applied to several other top-tier programs, including the <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/mba">Stanford Graduate School of Business</a>, <a href="https://mba.wharton.upenn.edu">Wharton Business School</a>, and <a href="https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/programs/all-programs.aspx">Kellogg School of Management</a>, all of which she was admitted to. But HBS stood out to her because of the size of the program and diverse student body, both in terms of background and interests.Compared to her other business-school applications, Melendez said HBS' was the most concise. Whereas Stanford's application offered more room to discuss work experience, HBS' only allowed applicants to discuss their three most recent jobs. "This initially bummed me out, but led me to think of every word as being more impactful," Melendez said.Here's what Melendez did during her application process to maximize her chances of getting in.<h2>She signed up for prep programs to get help with the application process and network with fellow applicants</h2>Melendez applied and took part in one of <a href="https://www.jumpstartadvisorygroup.com">Jumpstart Advisory Group</a>'s <a href="https://www.jumpstartadvisorygroup.com/our-events/">annual MBA summits</a> prior to applying to HBS. The summit, which is aimed at undergraduates and working professionals who aspire to attain an MBA in the next one to five years, brought together representatives from competitive MBA programs around the country, and she learned about each school's unique value and whether it would be a good fit."I took advantage of as many resources as possible," Melendez said. "If you're eligible for any prep programs, I'd recommend applying."Through Jumpstart, Melendez heard about <a href="https://mlt.org/#">Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT)</a>, which offers career and MBA prep programs for the historically underrepresented minorities, and <a href="http://www.fortefoundation.org/site/PageServer">Forte Foundation</a>, which offers MBA prep programs for women."MLT and Forte both offered a cohort-style model of 10 to 20 people," Melendez said. "You have a coach and follow a curriculum that includes GMAT coaching, personal-statement workshopping, interview prep — basically every step of the application process."Melendez added an extra bonus to these programs was getting to connect with other prospective students going through the same process. "We would critique each other's personal statements, share advice, share resources," she said. "And once we all found out which programs we'd gotten into, it was awesome to see where everyone was going."She also pointed out that these programs cost a fraction of the price of hiring a private admissions consultant. Forte's Program is a few hundred dollars, MLT's traditional program is $1,000, and the accelerated program is $3,000.<h2>She focused her essay on tying together disparate parts of her life and career</h2><a href="https://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/application-process/Pages/default.aspx">HBS' admission essay</a> prompts applicants to share what else they believe the admissions committee should know beyond their résumé. "I think it's both a positive and a negative that the prompt is so open-ended," Melendez said. "It can be overwhelming, but on the positive side, it's a blank slate and you can go wherever you want with it."Melendez said she used the admissions essay as a chance to tie together pieces of her background that needed additional context. In her essay, she talked about her family, her hobbies at the time — boxing and jiu-jitsu — and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives she'd been involved with. "At the surface level, these three things don't connect, but I realized there was a consistent thread that bound them together," Melendez said."Growing up, I think I was very aware of how hard my parents worked to create a comfortable life for my siblings and I. I grew to believe that hard work, perseverance, and the right support system can lead to success, even in the most trying of circumstances," Melendez said. "It's not so different from a boxing match or a jiu-jitsu tournament. Fighters at every level put in countless of hours of preparation and have probably had to pick themselves up from the ground more times than they'd like."For anyone struggling with the admission essay, Melendez recommended an exercise she learned at MLT. "There was an old essay prompt from <a href="https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/">Duke Fuqua School of Business</a> that asks you to list 25 things about yourself," Melendez said. "During that process, I thought about different parts of my personality, background, and life decisions that explained how I got to where I was."<h2>She wasn't afraid to highlight extracurriculars that showed her strengths, even random hobbies</h2>Melendez said she mentioned a lot of her extracurriculars that had to do with diversity and inclusion in her essay, such as her involvement in the <a href="https://www.shpe.org/">Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers</a> and Latinx-focused employee groups at Intel. "I also got involved in innovation and patent workshopping at Intel, so that helped demonstrate my technical creativity and inspiration," she added.Melendez also encourages prospective applicants to mention their random hobbies. She'd been involved in boxing since college and began thinking more about why she boxes and how that hobby helped her detach for an hour or two every day and gave her the mental reset that she needed during the application process."I decided to include my hobbies in my application because they were a big part of my life at that time. Although an MBA is a professional degree, a lot of the experience is interpersonal and social," Melendez said. "I think the more you can represent yourself in an application as a complete and multifaceted individual, the better."<h2>She went into the interview ready to show who she was beyond her résumé</h2>Melendez said a lot of the questions she got during her admissions interview at HBS focused on why she chose certain career moves or became involved in certain activities, what she would've done differently, and how she interacted and influenced those around her. "It was ultimately very conversational, reflective, and dug deeper," Melendez said."The interview is about the admissions committee trying to understand who you are as a person, rather than all of the data points they see in your application," Melendez added.HBS also has prospective applicants complete a post-interview reflection, which is a written response to the interview itself. "It's very open-ended," Melendez said. "My best advice is to have a stream of consciousness right after the interview. I recorded a voice note and talked through what I was feeling — what I'm glad we covered, what surprised me."The best piece of advice she received during her preparation was to think about what the admissions committee would say once they read her entire application."Consider four or five highlights that you want the admissions committee to remember about you," she said. "The admissions committee wants to understand who you are as a human being. The easier you can make it for them, the more likely you are to end up at the school that's right for you."

A Harvard Business School grad who now works at Google shares how she got into the top MBA program

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Booster shots are now available to a broad swath of people in the US who are fully vaccinated.</li><li>But the truth is that most Pfizer and Moderna recipients probably don't need a third shot right now. </li></ul>Booster shots <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-moderna-jj-boosters-now-recommended-who-should-have-one-2021-10">have arrived in the US</a>.Many adults who've been fully vaccinated with Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson &amp; Johnson's COVID-19 vaccines may now boost their initial regimens with an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jj-boosters-moderna-pfizer-provide-better-response-new-study-2021-10">additional jab of whichever vaccine brand they want</a>, though that extra shot is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fully-vaccinated-definition-might-change-with-booster-shots-cdc-2021-10">voluntary, for now</a>.But not everyone needs a <keyword id="11896085" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="booster-shot" source="Orion">booster shot</keyword> yet, and the truth is that most Americans probably don't. A chart below displays this idea well, showing how many booster shots it would take to prevent a single COVID-19 hospitalization, over six months.It was part of a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/slides-2021-10-20-21.html">wide array</a> of data <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/slides-2021-09-22-23.html">reviewed by an independent advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> last week, showing that boosters should be most heartily recommended for older adults, as well as everyone who's had J&amp;J. For everyone else - even those with <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2021-10-20-21/10-COVID-jones-508.pdf#page=86">comorbidities</a> - the evidence is far flimsier."This isn't about who deserves a booster, it's about who needs a booster," Dr. Matthew Daley, a CDC advisory committee member from Kaiser Permanente Colorado, told the agency at their meeting on Pfizer boosters, stressing people over 65 and long term care facility residents should be prioritized.<h2>Who's eligible for a voluntary booster shot?</h2>The new <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-moderna-jj-boosters-now-recommended-who-should-have-one-2021-10">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations</a> are pretty broad, which means a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pfizer-covid-booster-shot-whos-eligible-now-2021-9">majority of fully vaccinated adults are technically eligible</a> to get jabbed again.Extra shots are available to:<ul><li>All J&amp;J vaccine recipients</li><li>All <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fda-expands-covid-19-vaccine-authorization-eua-booster-rollout-2021-8">immunocompromised patients</a></li><li>Pfizer and Moderna vaccine recipients aged 65 years and older </li><li>Pfizer and Moderna vaccine recipients aged 18 and up who live in <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html#long-term-care">long-term care settings</a></li><li>Pfizer and Moderna vaccine recipients aged 18 and up who have <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html">underlying medical conditions</a></li><li>Pfizer and Moderna vaccine recipients aged 18 and up who live or work in <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html#HighRisk">high-risk settings</a></li></ul><h2>Pretty much every J&amp;J recipient could use a boost</h2>The <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-onedose-pop-12yr">15.4 million adults</a> across the country who've recieved Johnson &amp; Johnson's vaccine could likely <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-jj-vaccine-doesnt-protect-as-well-as-moderna-pfizer-2021-10">all benefit from a booster shot (at least two months after their initial vaccine)</a>, regardless of their age or immune status.Though they are a small fraction of the fully vaccinated in the US (8%), <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2021-09-22/04-COVID-Link-Gelles-508.pdf">real world data</a> is showing they are at risk.J&amp;J's single shot vaccine is clearly not protecting them from hospitalization and death as well as the two shot mRNA vaccines. <h2>People under 65 with Pfizer or Moderna don't really need boosters, data suggests</h2>A plethora of real-world data on Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines is showing that they're both doing quite well at protecting people from serious illness.In fact, Moderna's vaccine was so effective at preventing hospitalizations among adults aged 30-49 (more than 95%) that federal scientists couldn't even calculate what effect a booster shot might have on their risk of hospitalization, because it is already so slim.There are always individual differences to consider, but generally speaking, boosters aren't giving young people much extra benefit right now. For adults 65 and up, the benefits of a boost are clearer. Fewer than 860 adults in the 65+ age group would need to be boosted with Moderna to prevent one hospitalization, and under 500 adults who got Pfizer would need to be boosted to prevent the same. <div type="image" title="graph showing number of people needed to be vaccinated with a booster in order to prevent one hospitalization over 6 months (showing much fewer needed among adults over 65)" height="675" width="1209" msid="87316326" hostid="261"></div><h2>Why older and immunocompromised people could use a boost</h2>Boosters will <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2021-10-20-21/11-COVID-Dooling-508.pdf">certainly help better protect older adults</a> from infection (their immune systems are naturally weaker, and in need of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/rec-vac/index.html">more frequent and stronger boosts</a>).Third (and even fourth) shots may also help some <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fvaccines%2Fcovid-19%2Finfo-by-product%2Fclinical-considerations.html#considerations-covid19-vax-immunocopromised">immunocompromised patients</a> who don't respond to a first or second dose (though, some immunocompromised people <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/organ-transplant-patients-booster-shot-covid-19-vaccine-2021-6">will likely never achieve great vaccine protection</a>, so they need others to get vaccinated to protect them).CDC advisors said the real reason boosters are even being considered for younger frontline workers, like hospital staff, is because there is such a long line of critically ill unvaccinated patients to care for - hospitals can't afford to have any vaccinated staff out sick while COVID-19 is spreading so fast among the unvaccinated.While there is early evidence that boosters <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/COVID-Press-Briefing_22October2021.pdf#page=9">might cut down on transmission or mild illness</a>, no booster shot of any vaccine will ever completely eliminate the risk of a breakthrough infection while community transmission is high, and it's unreasonable to expect it to do so.Boosters might be needed for everyone some day as vaccine protection wanes, but that day hasn't come yet.<h2>Vaccines are saving lives, even without boosters</h2>Despite the fact that vaccines work to prevent serious outcomes in younger adults, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death for people ages 35-54 in September, according to a recent <a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid19-and-other-leading-causes-of-death-in-the-us/">Kaiser Family Foundation</a> analysis. <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#rates-by-vaccine-status">Almost all of those deaths could've been prevented</a> if unvaccinated people got vaccinated."We're fighting a pandemic, and it's not because people got two doses of vaccine," Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot, a CDC advisory committee member from Vanderbilt University, said at a recent meeting on boosters. Federal data suggests that basically all of the life-threatening cases of COVID-19 in fully vaccinated people are in elderly patients <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#rates-by-vaccine-status">over the age of 80 (though there are a few in the 65-79 age group too.)</a><h2>The bottom line</h2>If you're over 65, immunocompromised, or got J&amp;J's vaccine, you probably could benefit from a booster.For everyone else, passing around boosters like Halloween candy may be like putting "lipstick on a frog," Talbot said.

One chart can tell you if you actually need a booster shot or not

Happy Friday, readers. The West's sanctions on Russia continue to batter the Russian economy, and crypto is playing a role. Plus, Richard Branson has been accused of pocketing millions in a new Virgin Galactic lawsuit.Let's get into it.If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-opening-bell">sign up here</a>. Download Insider's app <a href="https://www.insider.com/app">here.</a><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/crypto-market-outlook-upside-ahead-ruble-collapse-stablecoin-surge-bitcoin-2022-3"></a>1. JPMorgan said the collapse of Russia's currency will boost crypto. In the wake of the ruble's plunge, bitcoin transactions denominated in the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/crypto-market-outlook-upside-ahead-ruble-collapse-stablecoin-surge-bitcoin-2022-3">Russian currency have spiked.</a>Meanwhile, about $1.5 billion flowed into stablecoins since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, sending their share of the overall cryptocurrency market to a record high of 10%. Stablecoins are a primary facilitator of fiat-to-crypto conversions. JPMorgan noted that citizens of Venezuela, Brazil, and Turkey have made a similar rush to crypto in recent years. Russian citizens have lost significant <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ruble-hits-record-low-russians-rush-withdraw-us-dollars-atms-2022-2?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">purchasing power</a> as a result of sanctions, and have flocked to banks to withdraw dollars or other currencies as domestic cash loses value. On Friday, <keyword id="11893875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets" source="Orion">markets</keyword> were rattled again after Russian forces captured Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant, sparking fears of potential nuclear disaster that sent oil back above $110 a barrel and battered European stocks.The West's sanctions have devastated Russia's economy to such an extent that both Moody's and Fitch <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/russia-ukraine-war-invasion-moodys-fitch-credit-rating-markets-economy-2022-3">slashed the country's credit rating to "junk,"</a> a downgrade of six notches. The downgrades signal are a warning to investors that Russia is at high risk of defaulting on its debts, echoing the sentiment of the international banking lobby that <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/russia-ukraine-bank-lobby-warning-default-crisis-markets-ruble-2022-3">this week warned</a> a default is "extremely likely" if the Ukraine crisis persists.<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/chamath-palihapitiya-richard-branson-virgin-galactic-lawsuit-sued-insider-information-2022-3"></a><div type="image" title="Richard branson" height="2240" width="4480" msid="89995403" hostid="261"></div>In other news:2. European shares are plunging and US futures are sharply lower. Russian forces seized Ukraine's biggest nuclear power plant, which has seen volatility surge. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-markets-today-russia-ukraine-nuclear-plant-seize-invasion-2022-3">Here's what's happening across the markets today.</a>3. Earnings on deck: Atlas Technical Consultants, RF Capital Group, and Ensign Energy Services, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/earnings-calendar">all reporting</a>.4. UBS shared which sectors that investors should buy stocks in as the Russia-Ukraine crisis heats up. While 2022 has been a rough year in the market, UBS investment chiefs gave their investing advice for a volatile landscape —<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-russia-ukraine-investing-strategy-stock-sectors-ubs-2022-2"> and why they still see upside for the S&amp;P 500.</a>5. Russian stocks are "uninvestable" and will be removed from indexes at MSCI and FTSE Russell. Before <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/russian-stocks-uninvestable-ukraine-invasion-msci-ftse-russell-indexes-2022-3">announcing the decision</a>, the index providers consulted advisory committees, asset managers, and exchanges. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/russian-stock-market-crash-london-moscow-sberbank-gazprom-sanctions-ukraine-2022-3">London also scrapped trading in Russian shares. </a>6. Richard Branson and Chamath Palihapitiya are being sued for allegedly covering up flaws in Virgin Galactic's spaceships and pocketing millions by dumping shares. The lawsuit alleges that both individuals took advantage of an "artificially inflated" stock price while knowing the ships were defective. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/chamath-palihapitiya-richard-branson-virgin-galactic-lawsuit-sued-insider-information-2022-3">The shareholder who filed the suit now seeks damages from the company's leaders.</a>7. Meme investing is going to war against Russia. Ukraine has capitalized on <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/ukraine-crypto-donations-russia-war-bitcoin-dogecoin-polkadot-ether-markets-2022-3">dogecoin</a>, Elon Musk, and NFTs to support its military efforts. "Now even meme can support our army and<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/meme-investing-goes-to-war-against-russia-putin-in-ukraine-2022-3"> save lives from Russian invaders," Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister tweeted.</a>8. This 29-year-old made $271,000 in 2021 with online freelance platforms like Fiverr. Before that, she quit her job on a whim and didn't have any savings, but has since been able to go from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-six-figures-freelancing-online-freelancer-fiverr-2022-3">charging $5 for a writing gig to making well over six figures annually.</a>9. A real estate investor with over 100 rental units shared his "4, 3, 2, 1" strategy that anyone can use to start investing in properties. Anyone who has patience can use real estate as a way to bolster their wealth, he explained. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-investor-property-investing-top-strategy-house-hacking-wealth-2022-3">"It's a skill that can be learned."</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weekly-jobless-claims-boring-again-unemployment-insurance-benefits-labor-market-2022-2"></a><div type="image" title="volatility in initial claims 4x3" height="940" width="1240" msid="89995404" hostid="261"></div>10. The wildest pandemic-era economic indicator is suddenly boring. The number of Americans filing for unemployment is nearing pre-pandemic levels — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weekly-jobless-claims-boring-again-unemployment-insurance-benefits-labor-market-2022-2">here's why that's a good sign for the US economy.</a>Keep up with the latest markets news throughout your day by checking out<a href="https://www.insider.com/therefresh"> The Refresh from Insider,</a> a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. <a href="https://www.insider.com/therefresh">Listen here.</a>Curated by Phil Rosen in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email <a href="mailto:prosen@insider.com">prosen@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/philrosenn">@philrosenn</a>.)

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