Companies Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna making €57,100 per minute

Nov 16 2021

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are making the combined profit of €57,100 ($65,000) per minute due to their successful COVID-19 vaccines. Despite the world’s poorest countries remaining largely unvaccinated, the companies have sold the vast majority of their doses to rich countries.

The People’s Vaccine Alliance (PVA), a coalition campaigning for wider COVID vaccine access, revealed how this is leaving low-income nations far behind in their epidemiological battle against the pandemic. The alliance is estimating that the trio will make pre-tax profits of €30 billion this year between them. This translates to €879 per second, €65,000 per minute and €82.2 million per day.

‘It is obscene that just a few companies are making millions of dollars in profit every single hour, while just 2% of people in low-income countries have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus’ highlighted Maaza Seyoum of the Africa Alliance and People’s Vaccine Alliance Africa.

Pfizer and BioNTech delivered less than 1% of their total supplies to low-income countries, whereas Moderna delivered just 0.2%. Conversely, 98% of people in low-income countries have not been fully vaccinated. These actions are contrasted to AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which provided vaccines on a not-for-profit basis. This is set to end as the pandemic winds down.

The PVA also said that the three companies are refusing calls to transfer vaccine technology to producers in low to middle income countries via WHO, which can increase global supply, drive down prices and save millions of lives.

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Illegal for bosses in Portugal to contact employees outside work hours

Nov 16 2021

Portugal has just passed new laws which make it illegal for bosses to contact employees outside of working hours. The new labour laws were passed earlier this month by Portugal’s Parliament, following an increase in people working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The document explained how workers should have the right to at least 11 consecutive hours of ‘night rest’ with no interruptions. Employees can only be contacted for emergencies. Employers are also required to contribute to their staff’s work-from-home expenses which involve electricity and internet. Bosses will also have to meet with staff members face-to-face every two months.

Portugal’s Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security Ana Mendes Godinho said that the pandemic shows how telecommuting was a game changer which gave employees the power over more of their work lives. Fines could be expected for employers who do not abide by the rules, but the law does not apply to companies with less than 10 members of staff.

Not all proposed laws were approved however. The proposal to give workers the right to ‘disconnect’ and turn off work devices at the end of the day was denied. This law has already been introduced in some form in countries like France and Spain.

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Three nurses a week quit their jobs, union raises alarms

Nov 16 2021

Union chief Paul Pace sounded the alarm again due to an average of three nurses a week quitting their jobs at Mater Dei Hospital. The head of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) said that the main contributors to this rate are burnout, stress and lack of new recruits.

Many are also reportedly resigning to work in the UK, where, as foreign nurses, they are promised citizenship, free accommodation and better pay along with their families. Pace said that this three per week resignation rate is just at Mater Dei, with others nearing retirement and having had enough.

There were fewer than 4000 nurses working in Malta according to EU data from 2019. The number is believed to have dropped further, with 15% of nurses being third-country nationals. According to Pace, only around 100 nurses graduated last year. 20 others moved on to further study, essentially not joining the work force. ‘These numbers simply do not cover the shortages’ said the union leader.

He also dismissed claims that the pandemic resulted in more people being drawn to the profession. COVID-19 had the opposite effect. The health ministry acknowledged the issue, saying that nurses resigning are majority foreigners as they opt to work in foreign countries offering immediate citizenship to nursing staff. It also said that it will be issuing a call for non-EU nurses as well as taking on the local nurse graduates.

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Photo Source: Chamberlain University, Wikipedia

No new restrictions but no relaxations as PM urges vaccination

Nov 16 2021

Speaking in parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Robert Abela urged the public to stick to vaccine appointments as the road back to normality depends on everyone’s actions. Abela also highlighted how the Health Authorities did not advise in an increase in restrictions, but also did not wish to relax any measures either.

The PM expressed his worry at other countries reinstating mitigation measures due to rising cases. However, ‘thanks to our vaccination numbers, we are in a good position to pave the way to normality’ he said. ‘The situation is clear as day and countries who have low vaccination rates find themselves in unpleasant situations. So far, as of time of writing, around 76,000 booster doses have been administered.

Malta currently has 603 active cases, but only 13 are being treated at Mater Dei Hospital. 2 of those are in Intensive Care. Health Minister Chris Fearne said that the successful vaccination rollout allows us to shift focus on the number of hospitalisations instead of daily cases.

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Photo Source: Robert Abela FB