13 vaccine diplomacy, confusing jobs report

the weekly rundown

we were taking a walk with our niece and nephew, and after answering our nephew’s question, he responded “was talking to sister, not uncle!”. while we’re uncertain how we feel about a two year old talking back to us, rest assured that this message is directed to you, not our niece. what’s the message, you ask? refer a friend today and win groovy prizes, like a coffee mug, a hoodie, or cookies! we promise, no sass included.

big idea: vaccine diplomacy

1. as india continues to set records for daily new infections amid continuing oxygen shortages, Joe announced he would support lifting international patent protections on COVID vaccines.
2. this is a major development which big pharma had lobbied successfully against until now. they worry competitors will use the technology not just during the current pandemic, but for future products, essentially stealing Pfizer & Moderna’s R&D. it’s unclear if Joe will be able to get this done. it requires international agreement, and germany (where Pfizer’s research partner is based) is refusing to sign on.
3. lifting these patents would theoretically allow for manufacturers around the world to quickly ramp up production of already approved vaccines. this comes amid major supply issues from india & china’s manufacturers, which haven’t been able to meet domestic needs (despite exporting millions of doses earlier in the year in PR moves).
4. however, the reality is these manufacturers don’t have the expertise, supplies, or factory capacity to make Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccines anytime soon. it would likely take them a year or more to make them at scale. germany argues that it would be more efficient to simply export those vaccines from existing plants here and in europe.
5. germany also feels that Joe is just grandstanding against china. they feel he knows waiving patents won’t do anything in the short-term, and wants to make the US look like the good guy since we haven’t exported many doses yet. who knew big pharma and European socialists could be on the same side of an argument?

story to watch: latest jobs report is...confusing

1. the jobs report revealed only 266,000 new jobs were created in april, well below expectations of a million new jobs. nobody really knows why the report was so bad, which has led to republicans and democrats falling back into their typical political talking points.
2. republicans are complaining that generous unemployment benefits are keeping people from working, leading some governors to cut them off for their residents. democrats are complaining that low wages, poor worker safety, and a lack of affordable child care are keeping workers at home. economists also point to more americans switching career paths, and supply issues with stuff like computer chips and lumber which can slow down business growth & hiring.
3. the truth is probably a little bit of all these factors contributed to the poor report - but don’t tell progressive twitter, they’ll get triggered.

this week’s image: skiing robot

• (The Atlantic) a robot skis down a beijing slope. you ask why, we ask why not?

this week’s number: Trump mentions on social media drop by 90%

1. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was named in the news again this week, as Facebook reconsiders whether to lift their ban on him. Twitter has already decided their ban is permanent, but YouTube is considering lifting theirs. what’s astonishing is that mentions of You-Know-Who dropped by an astounding 90% after he was banned, despite him still being the de facto head of the republican party.
2. while at least some of that decline must be attributed to him not being president anymore, the incredible cratering over such a short time period cannot be ignored. if anyone still needs convincing that Facebook and Twitter made him president, refer them to this stat. as if the world needed one more reason to hate Zuckerberg, huh?

what we’re watching: israel storms al-aqsa mosque during ramadan

1. weeks-long tension over the eviction of palestinian residents from the east jerusalem neighborhood of sheikh jarrah boiled over when israeli police stormed al-aqsa mosque. tens of thousands of muslims were worshipping there during ramadan. more than 170 palestinians were injured in the attack.
2. young palestinians have been organizing peaceful protests and posting on social media with the hashtag #SaveSheikhJarrah to call attention to the recent evictions. israeli police have responded aggressively by spraying tear gas and skunk water. if only jared kushner were around, he’d be able to swoop in and save the day.

and, in case you missed it:

• Verizon has given up on its dreams of becoming a media conglomerate by selling off AOL and Yahoo at half the price they originally paid for them
• the NRA’s latest attempt to avoid legal problems by moving HQ to texas is in trouble
• a war is brewing in a canadian town over business signs (not curling, like we expected). gems include a church telling Dairy Queen “our sundays are the best” and a funeral home posting “sign war with us? grave mistake!”

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal (@faisalc93), and Ahmed (@ahmedhcheema). learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!