Health

Going by the latest IMF estimate, India would be the third poorest nation in South Asia, with only Pakistan and Nepal reporting lower per capita GDP, whereas Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Sri Lanka would outpace India.
However, India, Asia’s third-largest economy, is likely to bounce back with an impressive 8.8 per cent growth rate in 2021, thus regaining the position of the fastest growing emerging economy, surpassing China’s projected growth rate of 8.2 per cent, the IMF said.

Eli Lilly pauses trial of antibody drug Trump touted as COVID-19 ‘cure’ over safety concern

Oct 14, 2020 | Eco/Invest/Demography, Health, International News, Non-Life, Pandemic

“Out of an abundance of caution, the ACTIV-3 independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB) has recommended a pause in enrollment.Lilly is supportive of the decision by the independent DSMB to cautiously ensure the safety of the patients participating in this study,”,” Lilly spokeswoman Molly McCully said in an emailed statement. “

World Bank approves $12B to finance Virus Vaccines, Care

Oct 14, 2020 | Eco/Invest/Demography, Health, International News, Pandemic

The world’s richest countries have locked up most of the world’s potential vaccine supply through 2021, raising worries that poor and vulnerable communities will not be able to get the shots. Meanwhile, an ambitious international project to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the world’s poorest people, called Covax, is facing potential shortages of money, cargo planes, refrigeration and vaccines themselves.

Worried European nations revive curfews, lockdowns amid ‘exponential growth’ in virus

Oct 14, 2020 | Eco/Invest/Demography, Health, International News, Pandemic

Most European governments eased lockdowns over the summer to start reviving economies already battered by the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the return of normal activity – from packed restaurants to new university terms – fuelled a sharp spike in cases all over the continent.

‘Long COVID’ may affect multiple parts of body and mind, doctors say

Oct 14, 2020 | Eco/Invest/Demography, Facts, Health, Pandemic

Britain’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) said one common theme among ongoing COVID patients – some of whom are seven months or more into their illness – is that symptoms appear in one physiological area, such as the heart or lungs, only to abate and then arise again in a different area.According to UK-based patient group Long Covid SOS, data from a King’s College London-devised symptom tracker app shows that 10% of COVID-19 patients remain unwell after three weeks, and up to 5% may continue to be sick for months.

Nearly nine of 10 workers want to keep work-from-home option: survey

Oct 14, 2020 | Eco/Invest/Demography, Facts, Health, Pandemic, Workplace/Employee Benefits

Cisco Vice President Gordon Thomson said companies would have to reconfigure how they operate to help meet the new demands of workers, who prioritised effective communication and collaboration above everything else.

Facebook will ban ads discouraging people from getting vaccines

Oct 13, 2020 | Eco/Invest/Demography, Facts, Health, Non-Life, Pandemic, Risk Management, Technology

Facebook is working with public health partners like the World Health Organization and UNICEF on messaging campaigns to increase immunization rates, they added.

Anti-vaccine content and misinformation about the new COVID-19 vaccines have flourished on social media platforms including Facebook during the coronavirus pandemic, researchers told Reuters earlier this year.

Lloyd’s headquarters to be transformed into a workplace for the future:CEO

Oct 13, 2020 | Eco/Invest/Demography, Health, International News, Pandemic, Reinsurance, Workplace/Employee Benefits

“The Lloyd’s building is almost 35 years old, so how can it be the right environment for the market to operate?For the first time, we have both a virtual capability and a real capability operating simultaneously at Lloyd’s. We’ve also set some ideas on the table to metaphorically rip up the underwriting room and decide what it should look like in the 21st century, and what the marketplace should look like in the 21st century,” said Neal while speaking at a Virtual Reinsurance Renewal Season fireside chats.hosted by Dominic Christian, global chairman of Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions,

Asia-Pacific countries begin to ease pandemic-related travel bans, but hurdles remain

Oct 13, 2020 | Eco/Invest/Demography, Health, International News, Non-Life, Pandemic, Risk Management

For now, few people are likely to travel because of testing and insurance requirements, and in some cases the need to quarantine upon return home, meaning the deals offer limited hope for airlines and the tourism industry.

A Singapore-Indonesia deal announced on Monday for essential business and official travel will require an application and COVID-19 swab tests both before and after travel.