A COVID-19 vaccine could be a lifeline...
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A COVID-19 vaccine could be a lifeline...
A COVID-19 vaccine could be a lifeline to airlines — and a headache - Axios
Joann MullerNov 13, 2020 - Economy & BusinessThe vaccine news airlines have been waiting for arrived this week, raising hopes for a recovery in passenger air travel — but only if the crippled industry can muster the resources to deliver billions of life-saving doses to the world.Why it matters: A vaccine could restore the public's trust in flying — if it's widely available — and airlines themselves will play a crucial role in what UNICEF calls the world’s largest and fastest vaccine distribution effort in history.
"We've always said that airlines are critical infrastructure. Well, we just got more critical. You can't have a successful vaccine unless you can get it to the people who need it." — Nicholas Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for AmericaCatch up fast: On Monday, drug makers Pfizer and BioNTech announced early results of a clinical trial suggesting their coronavirus vaccine was 90% effective in preventing COVID-19.
- Even if this or other vaccines are approved, it will take months to manufacture and distribute the doses.
- If half the needed vaccines are transported by land, it would still be the biggest single challenge the air cargo industry has ever faced, says IATA.
- The majority of those parked planes are wide-body jets typically flown on international routes — precisely the ones needed to distribute vaccines.
- Few airlines are equipped to maintain shipments below -25°C, reports Skift, a travel industry publication. Germany's Lufthansa is an exception, with cold-chain capacity in 35 markets.
- Others, including Korean Air and United Airlines, are scrambling to prepare now.
- "Things can only begin to return to normal when a vaccine is widely available around the world. We’ll be ready to do our part," United CEO Scott Kirby posted on Instagram this week.
- The pandemic crushed global air travel, with passenger traffic down 65% from a year ago.
- U.S.-based airlines have piled up $36 billion in pre-tax losses through September — and they're still losing money at the rate of $180 million per day, according to Airlines for America.
- 55,000 jobs have been lost so far, with an expected 90,000 job losses by the end of the year.
- The industry is urging Congress to renew the payroll support program for airline employees that expired Oct. 1 so they'll be prepared to jump into action when a vaccine is ready.
#2
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While a vaccine is great news, we need media to quit doing the if it bleeds it leads.
They've got the average person thinking 10 times as many people have died from the virus (this is based on actual data). People were surveyed and they answered with their percieved count, same thing with the morality rate, the percieved rate was 9%, when in reality for anyone under 70 it's less than 0.1%. Those older than 70 are looking at maybe a 3% mortality rate.
As we've collected data, the reality is that we're not dealing with Spanish flu 2.0 or even the Hong Kong flu.
The economic damage is much worse than the ramifications of just getting on with life. I understand a need to stop and gather data, but continuing on an emotionally driven fear that ignores facts is outrageous.
They've got the average person thinking 10 times as many people have died from the virus (this is based on actual data). People were surveyed and they answered with their percieved count, same thing with the morality rate, the percieved rate was 9%, when in reality for anyone under 70 it's less than 0.1%. Those older than 70 are looking at maybe a 3% mortality rate.
As we've collected data, the reality is that we're not dealing with Spanish flu 2.0 or even the Hong Kong flu.
The economic damage is much worse than the ramifications of just getting on with life. I understand a need to stop and gather data, but continuing on an emotionally driven fear that ignores facts is outrageous.
#4
I'd believe 80%, especially after people start getting excluded from important activities (like jobs, school, etc).
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