Covid vax recipients may have lower non-Covid death rates

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Covid vax recipients may have lower non-Covid death rates

People vaccinated against Covid-19 may have a lower non-Covid-19 death rates than people who are not inoculated, according to a new research.

The study indicated that Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine recipients had a mortality rate of 4.2 deaths per 1,000 vaccinated people per year after the first dose and 3.5 deaths after the second dose.

Meanwhile, Moderna Covid-19 vaccine recipients had 3.7 deaths per 1,000 people per year after the first dose and 3.4 deaths after the second dose.

Both the unvaccinated comparison group had a mortality rate of 11.1 deaths per 1,000 people per year.

“Despite numerous studies showing the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, some people have remained hesitant to get vaccinated,” said lead author Stanley Xu, PhD, of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research and Evaluation.

For the study, the research team evaluated the electronic health records of 6.4 million Covid-19 vaccine recipients compared to 4.6 million unvaccinated people with similar demographics and geographic locations from December 14, 2020, through July 31, 2021.

The study, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, looked at only non-Covid-19-related deaths to avoid masking any safety concerns regarding Covid-19 vaccine-related death with the protective effects of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines require two doses for full vaccination, while the Johnson & Johnson adenoviral vector vaccine requires only one dose.

The one-dose and two-dose vaccines had different comparison groups due to differences in when the vaccines were available and potential differences in the demographics of people who chose the one or two-dose vaccines.

The research also showed that Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine recipients had 8.4 deaths per 1,000 people per year.

The unvaccinated comparison group had a mortality rate of 14.7 deaths per 1,000 people per year.

Fulfill poll promise relating to construction materials: Palaniswami to DMK

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Fulfill poll promise relating to construction materials: Palaniswami to DMK

Leader of Opposition and AIADMK Joint Coordinator K. Palaniswami on Saturday demanded that the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu include construction materials in essential commodities list and make them available to people at a fair price.

Citing the spiralling prices of cement, sand, blue metal, steel, among others soon after the DMK came to power in Tamil Nadu, Palaniswami said the incumbent government has failed to fulfil its poll promise.

The DMK had promised to bring construction materials under the essential commodities list so that people can avail them at fair prices, he added.

Tamil Nadu,he said, produces more cement than other states. But the retail price of cement is Rs 470 per bag as against Rs 370 sold before the DMK came to power.

Nowhere in the country is cement being sold at such a high rate. In Delhi, the retail price of a cement bag is Rs 350, Andhra Pradesh– Rs 370, Telangana– Rs 360 and Karnataka– Rs 380, Palaniswami added.

Similarly, the prices of M-sand have gone up to more than Rs 5,000 per unit (old price Rs 3,000), blue metal costs more than Rs 3,800 (old price Rs 2,000), one ton steel costs more than Rs 78,000 (old price Rs 48,000), bricks Rs 29,000 (old price Rs 18,000), among others, the AIADMK Joint Coordinator said.

According to him, the construction cost per sq.ft has gone up to Rs 3,100 from about Rs 2,200 at the start of 2021.

‘Bigg Boss 15’: Donal Bisht says ex-housemates pulled her down

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‘Bigg Boss 15’: Donal Bisht says ex-housemates pulled her down

Actress-model Donal Bisht, who recently got evicted from ‘Bigg Boss 15’, says she is overwhelmed with the love coming her way and that she gave her hundred percent in the controversial reality show.

Donal said: “I am just overwhelmed with the hashtags going around on social media, it is more than enough for me and I am sure it is going to help me a lot in my career.”

During the game, contestants pointed out that she lacked in making connections. However, Donal feels that that although she “gave her hundred percent to make connections,” the other contestants pulled her down.

Donal asserted that she can’t be a follower.

She said: “I have my own thinking and this is what the housemates were not liking about me. Many follow Vishal Kotian who himself is toxic and if you follow the toxicity, it will obviously spread around.”

According to Donal, there was a lot of planning inside the house to sideline her.

“Vishal Kotian, Karan Kundrra, Jay Bhanushali and Tejasswi Prakash were completely against me and in fact Afsana Khan with whom later I developed a good bonding, told me that initially they all had decided to sideline me. They never wanted me to shine in the house.

“Afsana was also with them in all their games. But afterwards we became friends. Afsana also revealed to me that they said there should be only one girl in the house and that is Tejasswi. And for Tejasswi, I was the biggest threat.

“Eventually when Afsana understood me she used to tell everyone that I am beautiful person with a golden heart. She often calls me ‘Vishwasundari’,” Donal added.

She shares that Shamita Shetty and Vishal Kotian tried to create misunderstanding between her and Afsana.

“Shamita and Vishal always advised me to stay away from Afsana as it would portray me in the wrong light. But I never listened to them.”

“Actually, they all feel that I am arrogant. During Weekend ka Vaar, Salman Khan and Farah Khan too mentioned that everyone targetted me in the house. Nishant Bhat and Pratik Sehajpal always called me a lone warrior,” she adds.

Anushka Shetty’s sweet wishes on Prabhas’ birthday grab hearts

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Anushka Shetty’s sweet wishes on Prabhas’ birthday grab hearts

Actor Prabhas, who is referred to as the Telugu ‘Rebel Star’, has grown his image as a Pan-India star, with his engrossing movies like ‘Baahubali’ and ‘Saaho’. As the ‘Darling’ actor celebrates his birthday on Saturday, his fans are all wishing him, creating virtual trends on social media platforms.

Actress Anushka Shetty, who is one of the closest friends of Prabhas, joins the army to wish him on his birthday.

She shared a ravishing photograph featuring Prabhas and wrote a short, sweet note which has caught the attention of all. The photograph is apparently from the sets of the movie ‘Mirchi’, in which they were both seen together.

Prabhas and Anushka are some of the most hyped on-screen pairs, as they also share the credits of starring in the world-famous Telugu movie ‘Baahubali’.

Their pair in ‘Mirchi’ is still considered one of the best on-screen couples. Prabhas and Anushka were seen together in the movie ‘Billa’ as well.

“Happy happy birthday wishing u only the best in all that life has to offer and may all ur stories reach out to as many hearts all over world. happiness and health ur way #HappyBirthdayPrabhas,” Anushka’s post reads.

Instagram testing tools to make it easier for creators to find sponsors

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Instagram testing tools to make it easier for creators to find sponsors

Facebook-owned Instagram is testing new tools to make it easier for creators to earn money through its service.

The app is now testing affiliate shops, a feature it first previewed at its Creator Week event in June, and a dedicated “partnerships” inbox, reports Engadget.

Affiliate shops are an extension of Facebook’s existing shopping features, which are already widely available. But the latest version of the storefronts allows creators to link to products that are already part of their affiliate arrangements.

Creators will earn commission fees when their followers buy products from these shops, the report said.

The company said that for now the shopping feature will only be available to creators who are part of that affiliate programme.

Instagram is also testing new inbox features it says will make it easier for brands to connect with creators for sponsorships. Instagram DMs will get a dedicated “partnerships” section just for messages from brands.

The company said this will give those messages “priority placement” and will allow them to skip the “requests” section where incoming messages are often lost.

Instagram is testing a new inbox for messages from potential partners.

Separately, the app is working on tools to match brands with creators looking for sponsorships.

With the tools, creators can identify brands they are interested in working with directly from the app. While brands would be able to browse creators who fit their needs based on factors like age, gender and follower count.

The tools are still in an early stage, with only a handful of companies and creators participating for now. But the company has previously signalled such features could expand significantly.

T’gana committed to fulfil ideals of Komaram Bheem: KCR

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T’gana committed to fulfil ideals of Komaram Bheem: KCR

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has said that the state government is committed to fulfil the ideals of Komaram Bheem who fought for the rights of the tribals.

He claimed that the state government has made the aspiration of Adivasis “Our rule in our Gudem, our Thanda”, a reality.

The Chief Minister paid rich tributes to Adivasis’ most worshipped leader Komaram Bheem on his birth anniversary on Friday, and recalled the services rendered by him.

He said that the state government is implementing several schemes and programmes for the welfare and development of Adivasis and Komaram Bheem’s birth anniversary is celebrated officially.

He said that Jodeghat, the place from where Komaram Bheem waged his battle, has been developed. Komaram Bheem memorial, Smriti Vanam and a museum have been constructed at Jodeghat.

The Chief Minister said to uphold the self-respect of the tribals, an Adivasi Bhavan is being constructed in the centre of Hyderabad and it is ready for the inauguration.

Chandrasekhar Rao said that Komaram Bheem’s slogan ‘Jal Jangal Zameen’ was very much an integral part of the separate Telangana statehood and of the development path under the self-governing state.

Stating that Adivasis have a very special love towards forests and nature, he said everyone should take inspiration from them in this regard.

New whistleblower accuses FB of ‘profits’ over fighting hate speech

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New whistleblower accuses FB of ‘profits’ over fighting hate speech

In what could spell fresh trouble for Facebook, a new whistleblower has alleged that the social network puts profits before efforts to fight hate speech and misinformation on its platform.

A former member of Facebook’s Integrity team has alleged that “the company prizes growth and profits over combating hate speech, misinformation and other threats to the public”, reports The Washington Post.

According to a copy of the affidavit obtained by The Post, the allegations echoed many of those made by the first whistleblower Frances Haugen.

“Haugen, like the new whistleblower, also made allegations to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which oversees publicly traded companies,” the report said on Friday.

The new whistleblower has alleged in the complaint that Facebook did not warn investors about illegal activity.

In a statement, Facebook spokesperson Erin McPike said: “This is beneath the Washington Post, which during the last five years competed ferociously with the New York Times over the number of corroborating sources its reporters could find for single anecdotes in deeply reported, intricate stories. It sets a dangerous precedent to hang an entire story on a single source making a wide range of claims without any apparent corroboration.”

The whistleblower complaint also criticised the social network “for not being aggressive enough in addressing evidence that the platform was being used by military officials in Myanmar to spread hate speech during mass killings of the minority Rohingya ethnic group”.

“I, working for Facebook, had been a party to genocide,” the whistleblower wrote in the affidavit.

Earlier this month, Haugen, a former product manager in Facebook’s civic integrity group, testified before the US Congress about a trove of internal documents she gave to The Wall Street Journal.

One of her main arguments was that Facebook’s business of selling ads based on engagement leads it to keep users on the service at all costs, even when it knows that the content they are engaging with is harmful.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on consumer protection, has demanded that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg or Instagram chief Adam Mosseri should testify before the Senate to explain how the company plans to protect kids in light of new reports that platforms like Instagram can encourage harmful behaviour in teenagers.

Billionaire tech critic Pierre Omidyar who founded e-commerce platform eBay is reportedly financially supporting Facebook whistleblower Haugen to take on the social media giant.

No mental scars from 2016 T20 World Cup final; we’ve moved on: Eoin Morgan

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No mental scars from 2016 T20 World Cup final; we’ve moved on: Eoin Morgan

England skipper Eoin Morgan has emphatically said that there will be “no” mental scars when his side takes on defending champions West Indies in their opening ICC T20 World Cup ‘Super 12’ game here late on Saturday.

England were at the receiving end of Carlos Brathwaite’s pyrotechnics in the 2016 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup final, as the Barbados-born West Indian smashed four consecutive sixes off England’s Ben Stokes in the last over that propelled the Caribbean side to the title.

The feat prompted commentator Ian Bishop to demand viewers watching coverage around the world get to know Brathwaite with the line “Carlos Brathwaite, Carlossss Brathwaite…. Remember the name.”

Asked if the “mental scars” from that game still lingered in the minds of the players, Morgan categorically said, “No. The West Indies are a strong team with a lot of experience. They have a lot of guys that have been around for a very long time. We’ve played them a lot over the last three years, both as individuals and in various tournaments around the world, but in an England shirt, as well. It’s been a long time since we’ve played them in a T20 World Cup (2016 final), so we’re looking forward to it.

“I think some of the biggest disappointments in any career are more learnings than scars. I think if there were scars we would have lost a lot of players that wouldn’t have progressed like they have done over the last four or five years throughout their careers, and I think the development of the side has, I suppose, reinforced that any time we’ve come up against a side that has beaten us in whatever fashion they have, we’ve always looked to learn and progress and become a better side,” added Morgan.

On whether, England would take the knee ahead of the clash against the West Indies in support of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, Morgan said, his side will certainly be doing that “to show our support in the fight against racism”, but did not commit to whether England will repeat the gesture before every game here.

“We’ll join the West Indies in taking a knee to show our support in the fight against racism. The second part of it is we’ve always felt that we need something that within our squad and our side that we feel a part of making a change, both locally and nationally and potentially globally. Our moment of unity that we have had at home for quite a period of time has been our piece of, I suppose, cultural development, education, raising awareness within that space, as well, and it’s worked for us, and it’s progressing nicely and guys are engaged and want to do more.

“Unfortunately during this tournament we’re not able to do that. If we could do that every game, we would. But yeah, we’re more than happy to take a knee (before the game against the West Indies),” added Morgan.

Samsung not allowed to sell 61 models of its smartphones in Russia

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Samsung not allowed to sell 61 models of its smartphones in Russia

Russian courts have ruled that Samsung should halt imports and sales of up to 61 models of its smartphones running Samsung Pay, since it infringes patents owned by SQWIN SA – a Switzerland-based mobile payments company.

SQWIN SA claims THAT Samsung Pay is based on its electronic payment system. The company registered a patent for the technology in Russia nearly eight years ago, reports PhoneArena.

The list includes 61 models, including some of Samsung’s best 2021 phones like the latest Galaxy Z Flip and Fold flagships and also some budget models like 2017’s Galaxy J5.

In July, the Moscow Arbitration Court ruled in favour of SQWIN SA , suing Samsung Electronics Russian Company over the protection of exclusive patent rights, and banned the operation of the payment service Samsung Pay.

Samsung Pay is regarded as the third most used contactless payment system in Russia with 17 per cent of transactions, trailing Apple Pay (30 per cent) and Google Pay (32 per cent).

According to Counterpoint, Samsung maintained its leading position in the Russian smartphone market in Q1 2021.

It also improved its online share due to the strong performance of the Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A31 models.

However, Samsung’s total smartphone sales decreased in Q1 2021 compared to Q4 2020.

Google Meet hosts can keep participants’ microphones, cameras off

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Google Meet hosts can keep participants’ microphones, cameras off

Google Meet is rolling out a new feature that would let the meeting host to turn off participants’ microphones or cameras.

The feature has been rolled for Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals and Education Plus domains. It will launch to additional Google Workspace editions in the coming months.

“The meeting host is the only user in a meeting who can use the ‘mute all’ feature. Once all participants are muted, the meeting host cannot unmute them. However, users will be able to unmute themselves as needed. The mute all feature will only be available for hosts who are joining from a desktop browser, but will be launching on other platforms in the coming months,” Google said in a blog post.

The microphone and camera lock feature will be off by default; hosts will have to turn it on during meetings if they want to use it.

Recently, Google Meet started rolling out live speech into translated captions. The live caption feature comes in handy especially for users with disabilities and also for those who want to keep track of what is being said in a virtual meeting word by word.

The feature will be useful in all-hands meetings and training programs with globally distributed teams, as well as educators communicating with students.

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