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U.S. vaccine rollout’s next challenge: Verifying who is ‘essential’

The vaccination campaign under way is now focused on hospital staff and nursing homes, tightly controlled environments where verification is relatively simple. But beginning in January or February, Americans employed in a range of industries will be eligible for inoculation, provided they are essential frontline workers.
The criteria to qualify as an essential, frontline worker varies from state to state. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that roughly 30 million essential workers will be next in line for a shot. An additional 57 million essential workers will be vaccinated later.

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COVID-19: India records 23,950 new cases

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 96,63,382 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.69 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent.

The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh for the second consecutive day.

There are 2,89,240 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 2.86 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

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Hiring, better appraisals back on India Inc agenda amid Covid-19 pandemic

The pandemic emerged the biggest inflection point for the Indian job landscape. For corporates, work-from-home and remote workers became the new normal, while for professionals, online learning and digital skills took centre stage.
“Yes, the market is showing positive signs of recovery with almost all industries showing growth in hiring but with caution. Overall, the intent to hire recovered smartly from 11 per cent during the lockdown period to 18 per cent for HY (half year), and this number is growing,” said Deval Singh, business head, mobilization (hiring), at TeamLease Services.

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WHO calls meeting on new virus variant, European head says

“Limiting travel to contain spread is prudent until we have better info. Supply chains for essential goods & essential travel should remain possible,” WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge said on Twitter, urging increased preventive measures.
South Africa has announced that a new variant of the COVID-19 virus is driving the country’s current resurgence of the disease, which is seeing higher numbers of confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

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Scientists say UK strain unlikely to affect efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, warn against more mutations

According to Jeremy Farrar, director of the London-based research charity Wellcome Trust UK, there is no indication at the moment that the new strain would evade treatments and vaccines.

However, the mutation is a reminder of the power of the virus to adapt, and that cannot be ruled out in the future. Acting urgently to reduce transmission is critical, Farrar said in a statement.

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Nine in 10 India Employees Feel Prepared to Work Remotely for the Long-Term

However, employees shared concerns about not having access to the right technologies and the blurring of boundaries between work and personal lives in a long-term remote work arrangement. 

The research also found that the most in-demand technology resources that employees want are productivity equipment or tools, remote access to internal company resources and cloud technology.

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44% rural Indians willing to pay for COVID-19 vaccine; 51% consider coronavirus ‘Chinese conspiracy’: Survey

The survey, conducted by Gaon Connection among 6,040 rural respondents across 60 districts in 16 states and one union territory, found that 36 per cent said they would not want to pay for it. The remaining 20 per cent said they are yet to decide on paying for the vaccine.

Of those who were willing to pay, two-third said they can pay up to Rs 500 for two doses of the vaccine, whenever it is available.

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Industry bodies to press for holding back new wage definition in meeting with govt on Dec 24

The source also said that lobbyists want the government to hold back the new definition and fear that this would result in major cut in take-home salaries and also put additional burden on employers.
The industry bodies want that the implementation should be put on hold till the economy rebounds again and buoyancy returns.

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