UK To Start Distributing COVID Vaccine Next Week
And now begins the distribution of the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) vaccine for COVID-19. The rollout begins next week, and it will likely be quite difficult. “Although the NHS is well versed in delivering vaccines (it delivers around 15 million flu vaccines per year as an example), the Pfizer/BioNTech candidate has well flagged characteristics that make it more difficult to deliver,” said Dr. Adam Barker, health analyst at Shore Capital. This is because the vaccine needs to be stored at -70C, a bit colder than your average freezer, and delivered in special delivery containers filled with dry ice, which is frozen carbon dioxide, which sublimates. DHL, will help in the logistics of the delivery throughout the country with its “Medical Express” service. The UK has ordered 40 million doses for 20 million people over the course of this year and next. Batch testing has already been completed for the first 800,000 doses. According to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the vaccine will not be mandatory.
Bitcoin Back Above $19,000
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is back above $19,000, having gained over 11% in the past week. The move higher in the crypto space is coinciding with a strong selloff in the US Dollar (NYSEARCA:UUP), down 4% in the last month. Dominance of the original cryptocurrency compared to the rest the market is now around 62%, slightly down from the peak of 70% hit in 2019 prior to the 2017 run to previous highs just below $20,000. With the added popularity of crypto-trading however, comes an increase in trading scams. According to Financial Reliance CEO Sam Walter, a lot have people have lost money to crypto scam, investment scam or forex trading scam. Says Walter, “The good news is that Financial Reliance offers a way to recover scammed or stolen bitcoin lost to crypto scam, bitcoin scam or online trading scam.”
Pelosi, Schumer, Restart Negotiations at $908 Billion
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have agreed on a $908 billion coronavirus bailout bill as the starting point for future negotiations. No official word on what Republican leadership thinks about this yet. Meaning, the next bailout bill will almost certainly top $1 trillion, and probably much more than that. Congress has until December to pass a spending bill or shut down parts of the government, so the next bailout could be ironed out as soon as next week. Schumer and Pelosi spoke about the spirit of compromise while discussing the gargantuan spending plans. “In the spirit of compromise, we believe the bipartisan framework introduced by Senators yesterday should be used as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations. Of course, we and others will offer improvements, but the need to act is immediate and we believe that with good-faith negotiations we could come to an agreement.” There is no second stimulus check in the deal, though it is likely this will be added in.
123,797 Gun Background Checks for Cyber Monday
Lots of gun purchases on cyber Monday this year. Another 417,465 were done from Thanksgiving through Sunday. Despite the extreme demand for personal firearms, some gun stocks like Smith and Wesson (NASDAQ:SWBI) have yet to regain previous highs hit back in July 2016. Nearly 20 million background checks have been made this year so far, as fears of what may happen because of the pandemic or the policies it has engendered, are pressing many Americans to do what they can preemptively in order to protect themselves.