Cost Of Coronavirus Vaccine Pegged As High As $39 A Dose, Unclear How Many Doses Needed To Be Effective

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps a vaccine price list and the projected costs for the coronavirus vaccine are on the low end

Six vaccine candidates currently are in phase 3 clinical trials

Experts worry the development timeline has been compressed too far

Once the Food and Drug Administration approves widespread distribution of coronavirus vaccines, the shots will cost anywhere from $4 to $39 a dose, contracts between the U.S. government and various drugmakers indicated Wednesday.

“We will be responsible on price,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said on an earnings call, the Wall Street Journal reported. Moderna, which has never brought a drug to market, is in clinical trials with an mRNA vaccine developed with the help of the National Institutes of Health and already has received about $950 million in U.S. funding.

Currently, there are six vaccine candidates in phase 3 clinical trials out of more than 165 under investigation. The Trump administration has said it expects to have one or more approved before the end of the year despite concerns among experts that the compressed timeline could pose problems.

The U.S. government has signed billion-dollar contracts with Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Novavax and Sanofi/GSK for hundreds of millions of doses should any of their candidates prove safe and effective against coronavirus. None has yet been cleared by the FDA.

Pfizer and Moderna are hoping for emergency use approval within weeks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps a vaccine price list. The most costly is the HPV vaccine at $228 a dose for adults. An influenza shot costs $16 to $26 in the private sector.

In the past, vaccine development has taken years, but the Trump administration initiated Operation Warp Speed in a bid to compress the timeline to less than a year. Phases of clinical trials have been running concurrently rather than consecutively to speed things along.

“There’s a real danger in approving a vaccine that doesn’t work well enough,” Natalie Dean, an assistant professor of biostatistics at the University of Florida in Gainesville, told NBC News. “We have to do it right the first time. The public trust is very important in the long term, and people need to be confident that it’s an adequately effective product.”

She said she doubts a vaccine will be available by the end of the year.

The FDA has said it needs to be sure any potential vaccine will be at least 50% effective to gain approval, meaning it would have to prevent infections in half the people who receive it. Trials so far have involved only small groups of test subjects. The first 30,000-person trials began last week.

It was still unclear whether people will need more than one dose of any vaccine to protect against COVID-19 or how long protection from coronavirus will last.

An AP-NORC survey indicated more than half of people either don’t plan to get the vaccine or are unsure whether they will get it once it becomes available. More than 80% of the public would have to be immune for herd immunity to kick in.

It was still unclear whether people will need more than one dose of any vaccine to protect against COVID-19 or how long protection from coronavirus will last.

https://www.ibtimes.com/cost-coronavirus-vaccine-pegged-high-39-dose-unclear-how-many-doses-needed-be-3023288

Pentagon chief says Beirut blast likely an ACCIDENT, as Trump doubles down on possible ATTACK claims

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the mammoth explosion that rocked Beirut was likely an accident, pouring cold water on a theory floated by the president, who claimed the Pentagon assessed that a “bomb” had set off the blast.

“[We’re] still getting information on what happened,” Esper told the Aspen Security Conference on Wednesday, but added “most believe it was an accident as reported, and beyond that I have nothing further to report on that. It’s obviously a tragedy.”

Hours after the massive explosion tore through a port in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, killing at least 135 people and wounding more than 4,000, US President Donald Trump told reporters that he had met with “some of our great generals,” saying they felt the blast was “an attack, it was a bomb of some kind.”

Trump declined to elaborate on that assessment, and cited no evidence, but on Wednesday doubled down on his doubts.

How can you say accident? Somebody left some terrible explosive type devices and things around… perhaps it was that. Perhaps it was an attack.

“I don't think anybody can say right now. We're looking into it very strongly. Right now, you have some people think it was an attack and some people that think it wasn't. In any event, it was a terrible event,” Trump told a press conference.

Despite widespread speculation and rumors about a potential attack, which were only fueled by the president’s remarks, Lebanese authorities have brushed aside any suggestion of foul play and maintain the blast was accidental, resulting from the improper storage of some 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate at a port warehouse. A probe into the exact cause of the blast is ongoing, and authorities have placed a series of port officials under house arrest as they look into those responsible for the vast store of dangerous chemicals.

https://www.rt.com/usa/497217-pentagon-beirut-blast-accident/

HUGE BLAZE breaks out at food market in Ajman, UAE

Firefighters and civil defense crews are battling a major fire at a fruit and veg market in the United Arab Emirates’ city of Ajman on Wednesday. No injuries have been reported, and the cause of the blaze is still unknown.

Only a day after a massive explosion devastated Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, killing more than 100 people, the United Arab Emirates' Ajman is now dealing with this massive fire. Eyewitnesses posted footage of the alarming scale of the blaze on social media.

The fire broke out around 6pm local time, according to Gulf News. First responders were alerted to the blaze by Rajab Elsawi, who owns a meat store across from the market.

"There are dozens of shops in that souq,” the retailer said.

The cause of the fire is still not known, but the market has reportedly been closed for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The National reported several workers in nearby shops tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers, but were unable to stop the spread.

A nearby hospital was evacuated due to its proximity to the fire, according to local media.

https://www.rt.com/news/497198-ajman-market-fire-uae/

'Nature of War is Changing': Israeli Ex-Spy Chief Justifies Exorbitant Mossad Budget Amid IDF Cuts

After spending decades bracing for massive military assaults from nearby states, Israel is now more focused on detecting low-grade assaults and terrorist threats in a timely manner, which explains a shift in financing, the former official alleged.

The Israeli Mossad significantly exceeding its 1.5 billion NIS ($440 million) budget, as the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are struggling to keep their weapons programmes running, is not as unreasonable as it might seem at the first glance, former Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor alleged in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.

The former official elaborated that since the inception of the IDF, and the Mossad as its "auxiliary" force, "old style wars" have gone away and "the nature of war is changing" right now.

Meridor explained that the IDF used to need constant force build-up in the form of tanks and other traditional warfare equipment. This required huge budgets to sustain, but right now, when, according to the former official, Israel "faces no tank threat", there are few reasons to keep the military's funding at previous levels.

At the same time, he argued, Mossad has started to emerge as a standalone intelligence agency rather than a body overshadowed by the IDF. The former minister linked this to the fact that nowadays Israel needs to address threats from more distant places, such as Iran, and to track down and eliminate weapons experts and terror financiers. Meridor went on to stress the importance of receiving early warnings about imminent threats, such as emerging low-grade conflicts, which intelligence agencies like Mossad are good at.

These changes in the nature of conflict and threats to Israel's security only justify the increase in Mossad's budget and the lack of boost in funding of the IDF, Meridor summed up. According to the Israeli State Comptroller report, this increase exceeded the long-term budget limit of the intelligence agency by 1.1 billion NIS ($323 million). Mossad's Yossi Cohen admitted the fact that his agency had broken the funding ceiling and added that he was "pondering the dilemma of the need to do more", while demanding more from the budget than it's willing to give.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202008051080077552-nature-of-war-is-changing-israeli-ex-spy-chief-justifies-exorbitant-mossad-budget-amid-idf-cuts/

Three teens arrested for allegedly trespassing onto Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club with an AK-47

Police say they were lucky they weren't shot by the Secret Service

Three teens were arrested for allegedly trespassing onto the Mar-a-Lago Club owned by President Donald Trump, and they were carrying an AK-47 according to police.

The startling incident occurred on Friday in Palm Beach, Florida.

Palm Beach Police spokesman Michael Ogrodnick said that the teens were seen by police in a parked silver Hyundai around midnight on Friday.

When a police officer approached the car, they quickly drove away and the officer gave chase, reported WPTV.

The teens then jumped out of the car when they saw another police car in front of them, and ran towards Mar-a-Lago according to the police account. Police surrounded the club and employed a helicopter and a police dog to search for them.

They were eventually apprehended and discovered to be only fifteen years old each.

Mar-a-Lago security found a backpack carrying a Mini Draco 7.62 caliber AK-47 with a 14-round magazine. Ogrodnick said that when the teens were asked where they got the gun, one responded that they had found it.

The teen trio were charged with armed trespassing, armed burglary, and resisting arrest without violence.

The police spokesman said it was accidental that the teens ended up at the president's club, and that they did not know where they had run into.

He added that they were lucky the president or his family weren't at the club, or they likely would have been shot by the Secret Service. Mar-a-Lago is closed for the summer season.

Police did not release the identities of the underaged suspects. They were held at the the Juvenile Assessment Center in West Palm Beach.

Not the first time

Mar-a-Lago has been the scene of odd bizarre trespassing incidents prior to the three teens.

In April 2019, a former brothel owner named Cindy Yang was caught trespassing on the property, reportedly while in possession of two Chinese passports and malware.

In January, a Connecticut woman named Hannah Roemhild was arrested after allegedly ramming security checkpoints near the resort as officers gave chase. Her lawyer said that she had mental health issues and had been off of her medications at the time.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/teens-trespass-maralago-ak47-arrest

Disgraceful

Mother fined $1,652 for breaking Melbourne's COVID-19 restrictions screams as she's tackled to the ground and handcuffed by three cops while her daughter begs 'get off my mum, she's in pain'

Shocking footage shows a mother's dramatic arrest for breaking lockdown rules

She was pinned down at Hoppers Crossing in Melbourne's south on Saturday

Woman was allegedly pinched by the officers, leaving her with large bruises

In the dramatic video, her daughter is heard screaming that she's 'in pain'

Shocking footage has emerged showing a mother being pinned to the ground by three police officers for allegedly breaking COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

The dramatic incident, which left the mum with horrific bruises under her arms, took place in Hoppers Crossing in Melbourne's south-west on Saturday.

The confronting footage, filmed by her daughter, shows the blonde woman screaming as the officers hold her face-down on the footpath and handcuff her arms behind her back.

Her terrified daughter is heard begging the officers to get off her mum, shouting 'she's in pain, she said she's in pain'.

In a Facebook post, written by a friend, it was alleged the police officers deliberately pinched her mother during the arrest, leaving her battered and bruised.

More

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8597617/Confronting-moment-woman-tackled-ground-handcuffed-police-screams-terror.html

Poll asks whether you’d be more willing to take anti-Covid vaccine if recommended by…Oprah, LeBron, or Tom Brady

A new poll to measure people’s trust in a potential Covid-19 vaccine asked respondents whether they would be more likely to take it if select celebrities and sports stars gave it their stamp of approval.

“If each of the following people or groups encouraged Americans to receive the coronavirus vaccine, would you be more or less likely to get vaccinated or would it not have an impact on your decision?” the Politico/Morning Consult poll – which was conducted among a national sample of 1,991 people – asked.

Some names listed seemed suitable as they are either medical professionals, like Dr Anthony Fauci, or public leaders, like President Donald Trump, but also included were media mogul Oprah Winfrey, NBA star LeBron James, and NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

The responses to those names should come as little surprise, as people will likely need more than a celebrity endorsement to trust in a vaccine to a world-changing virus. Some, however, were willing to admit that they trust the aforementioned stars enough that they could be swayed.

Winfrey fared the best of the bunch, with 10 percent saying a recommendation from her would make them more likely to get the vaccine. Another 16 percent actually said it would make them less likely, though, and the remaining 61 percent said it would not affect them either way.

For James and Brady, eight and seven percent respectively said their recommendation would make them more likely – while 15 and 13 percent said it would make them less inclined.

Those results actually get worse when broken down by political affiliation. Those who support Trump are much less likely to take a vaccine promoted by celebrities, with almost a third saying they would skip the vaccine if it was recommended by Oprah, 26 percent saying the same about James, and 19 percent about Brady.

https://www.rt.com/usa/497211-coronavirus-vaccine-poll-oprah/

Ex-NYT reporter publishes new anti-lockdown book, calls out ‘90% of media’ on parroting same lines on Covid responses

Alex Berenson’s latest chapter in a series of books about Covid-19, the first of which was briefly censored by Amazon, questions both the media’s coverage of the pandemic and the effectiveness of lockdowns.

“I think it's really important, at a time when 90 percent of media… is saying the same thing, with very little pushback or smart questioning, to get different perspectives,” Berenson told Fox News about the self-published ‘Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns: Part 2: Update and Examination of Lockdowns as a Strategy.’

“Even if you disagree with me completely, it’s always good to know what other people are thinking,” he added.

The first part in the reporter’s series of Covid-19 books was censored by Amazon for allegedly spreading misinformation about the pandemic. The e-commerce company refused to publish the work, which questioned the hysteria around coronavirus, but ultimately folded after many blasted the company, including SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who accused the company of being a “monopoly.”

https://www.rt.com/usa/497205-alex-berenson-covid-lockdown-book/

Trump Tweets Powerful, Must-See Video on Obamagate

President Donald Trump tweeted an incredibly effective and powerful video on Obamagate Wednesday evening that is one of the best I’ve seen this campaign season.

The video begins with Barack Obama declaring, “Trump will not be president,” before dissolving into a montage of events leading up the Obamagate scandal, including the text message exchange between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, with Strzok promising Page that Trump won’t become president. “We’ll stop it.”

Then we see Hillary Clinton announcing “there will be no question about the outcome of this election.”

Rather than give away the entire video, I recommend you just watch it.

What makes this video so powerful, in my opinion, is the footage of Hillary Clinton and then Barack Obama talking about the “peaceful transfer” of power, including video of Barack Obama telling President-elect Trump that he wants to do everything he can to help him succeed, even though he was literally spying on his campaign and presidential transition at the time. Eventually, we see Joe Biden declaring that he knows “nothing” about the efforts to unmask Michael Flynn, before we see a screenshot of the unclassified documents showing Biden made an unmasking request.

Everyone needs to see this extraordinary video montage.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2020/08/05/watch-trump-tweets-powerful-must-see-video-on-obamagate-n758089

>>10194853

Searched and couldn't find any footage of ammo-nitrate causing a perfect ball of light and mushroom cloud

Tactical nuke????

Israel Bombed Beirut

A confidential highly-informed Israeli source has told me that Israel caused the massive explosion at the Beirut port earlier today which killed over 100 and injured thousands. The bombing also virtually leveled the port itself and caused massive damage throughout the city.

Israel targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot at the port and planned to destroy it with an explosive device. Tragically, Israeli intelligence did not perform due diligence on its target. Thus they did not know (or if they did know, they didn’t care) that there were 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a next-door warehouse. The explosion at the arms depot ignited the fertilizer, causing the catastrophe that resulted.

It is, of course, unconscionable that Israeli agents did not determine everything about their target including what was in its immediate vicinity. The tragedy Israel has wreaked is a war crime of immense magnitude.

The ICC has already been investigating Israel for war crimes in Gaza since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge. Now, I imagine it will expand the scope to incorporate today’s criminally negligent massacre.

Though Israel has regularly attacked Hezbollah and Iranian weapons depots and convoys in Syria, it rarely undertakes such brazen attacks inside Lebanon. This attack in the country’s capital marks an even greater escalation. The sheer recklessness of this operation is astonishing.

Not surprising, though. A plan of this sort can only be contemplated amidst internal political dysfunction. Bibi is on the ropes and desperate to change the subject. When his intelligence officers brought the plan to him he likely rubbed his hands with glee and said: “Go to it!” Israeli intelligence was naturally out to please the boss and probably cut corners in order to make the attack happen. When no one is at the wheel saying “Stop!” the boat hits an iceberg and sinks. That’s possibly what happened here.

The Israeli bombing brings to mind similar bombings orchestrated by its agents in Beirut in the period before and after its 1982 invasion. Ronen Bergman’s book on Mossad assassinations and Remy Brulin have documented multiple Israeli bombings during this period which wreaked widespread death and destruction on the city’s civilian population.

In this case, the damage done was accidental. But that will be little comfort to the thousands of Beirutis whose lives have become a living hell as a result of this Israeli crime.

As an aside, former Likud MK Moshe Feiglin tweeted a quotation from the Bible about the disaster: “There never have been such great days in Israel as the 15th of Av [the day of the bombing] and Yom Kippur.”

https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2020/08/04/breaking-israel-bombed-beirut/