Vaccine protection may wane over time, Israeli study shows: https://www.timesofisrael.com/hmo-those-who-inoculated-early-twice-as-likely-to-catch-covid-as-later-adopters/ . Uh-oh. This is a strong argument for booster shots. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-immunity-wanes-but-third-shot-still-rarely-needed-biontech-ceo-says-11627211359 . This is a significant income issue for the vaccine producers. It also raises production concerns as most of the world waits for initial vaccination.
WSJ: Delta variant challenges global pandemic response: https://www.wsj.com/articles/thedeltavariant-upends-the-worlds-pandemic-response-11627225200 .
WSJ: COVID pill begins human trials: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-pill-race-heats-up-as-japanese-firm-vies-with-pfizer-merck-11627205403 .
Variant from Colombia appears in UK: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/new-covid-variant-found-in-uk-16-cases-detected-so-far-what-we-know-101627210297146.html .
South Africa loosens restrictions as cases drop: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-07-25/south-africa-lifts-some-coronavirus-restrictions-as-third-wave-peak-passes . Good Grief! New daily infections are at about half the recent peak. But we have seen the Delta variant cause infections to double in a week even in highly vaccinated countries. Meanwhile, South Africa has 4% of its population vaccinated. So why do we keep repeating too-early re-openings?
Tunisian COVID surge provokes protests, weakens economy: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/25/tunisians-protest-as-covid-surges-economy-suffers .
Indonesia sees rising number of children dying from COVID: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/children-are-dying-of-covid-at-an-alarming-rate-in-indonesia/articleshow/84747251.cms .
Malaysian COVID surge leads doctors to walk out: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/26/malaysia-doctors-strike-parliament-meets-as-covid-strains-grow .
Vietnam COVID surge leads to lockdowns: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/07/worsening-covid-rise-vietnam-triggers-expanded-lockdowns . It is believed the Delta variant is causing the surge.
Fed should reduce easy money: https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/564743-time-for-the-fed-to-take-away-the-punchbowl . Powell in my view has not been a successful chairman. He provided stimulus early in the OJ presidency. But it looked to be in response to OJ’s bullying. Now the party has gone on for far too long. So, the Fed should accelerate rolling back these policies. Meanwhile, stimulus should come from things like infrastructure (hard and soft) and accelerated spending on climate change, specifically carbon dioxide reduction. In other words, federal spending is currently more appropriate than easy money.
And yes, AEI is a conservative think tank. But this thinking is sound.
Pelosi appoints Republican Adam Kinzinger to January 6 select committee: https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-committee-pelosi-kinzinger-b211da687cfba78f43ffb4042f9bd5db . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/rep-kinzinger-named-to-jan-6-committee-11627244860 . Hearings open on Tuesday: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/jan-6-select-committee-to-open-investigation-amid-political-chaos-and-controversy/ar-AAMybi4?li=BBnb7Kz . More: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-government-and-politics-capitol-siege-trump-impeachment-29f9dca497e443189dc0fde11bffbb9d .
WSJ: US wins 6 Olympic swimming medals on first day of finals: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tokyo-olympics-us-swimming-medals-11627196391 .
WSJ: Western fires keep growing: https://www.wsj.com/articles/fires-continue-to-rage-in-oregon-northern-california-11627246653 .