Day: November 11, 2022

Pharma’s Vaccine Tech Hoarding Kills, says AHF

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)– AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) condemned today as criminal big pharma’s meddling in the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS waiver proposal negotiations, which would have allowed more countries to produce COVID-19 vaccines.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221111005443/en/

Advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) hold a protest in front of the Moderna headquarters on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, in Cambridge, Mass., calling on the company to share critical know-how so that vaccines can be produced in the developing world. (Photo: Business Wire)

According to POLITICO, “Between January 2020 and September 2022, 13 pharmaceutical lobby groups and companies held nearly 100 meetings with the most senior [European] Commission officials. In the U.K., there were more than 360 meetings between January 2020 and March 2022 — equivalent to nearly one every two days.” Conversely, civil society groups advocating for vaccine equity only met with EC officials about 60 times and had only 20 U.K. meetings. From 2020 to 2021, big pharma and the largest lobbying groups spent over €30.7 million to lobby the EU during the pandemic.

“We knew the pharmaceutical industry – namely the big three COVID-19 vaccine makers, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna – had a stranglehold on politicians globally, but this investigation reveals just how far they’ll go to put profits over people’s lives. The only word to describe it is ‘disgusting,’” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “We, along with other vaccine equity advocates, condemn big pharma for their manipulative tactics to force countries to choose between lifesaving medicines or their economies taking a financial hit by drug companies threatening to withdraw investments. It’s despicable behavior, and we urge governments to address this conduct immediately as a threat to national and global health security – particularly during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.”

AHF has advocated for vaccine equity since the start of the pandemic, including holding multiple protests at the headquarters of Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J. Numerous AHF country teams also delivered letters to the embassies of rich countries in an effort to garner support for the WTO’s TRIPS waiver proposal.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Kyriacos Koushos said he will begin separate contacts with the social partners next week to explore the ground over a possible agreement on the Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

Next week Koushos will hold separate meetings with trade unions and employers following the inconclusive meeting last Monday, as both parties insisted on their divergent views. Trade Unions demanded that CoLA should be fully restored while employers said wage indexation it should be abolished altogether.

“Starting from Monday next week I will meet with the social partners,” he said on Friday speaking to the press following a meeting with ILO representative.

Koushos added that by the end of the week he will wrap up separate meetings, so he could the week after hold joint contacts with the trade unions and employer’s associations “to attain the needed information so that I could call for a new meeting of the social partners to ascertain whether I could make the interventions I would like to do so to have a conclusion.”

Following last week’s meeting Koushos set a timeframe until the coming Christmas, stating that either the social partners will reach a consensus or a stalemate will be announced.

Cyprus froze CoLA during the financial crisis while a 2017 transitional agreement providing that COLA would be provided once a year provided the economy shows growth in the second and third quarters of the previous year. Under the agreement the CoLA indexation would be incorporated into basic salaries and consists of 50% of the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index. The agreement was also extended until the end of 2021. Before the 2013 crisis CoLA was calculated every six months.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The third supplementary budget for 2022, amounting to €345.1 million, was discussed on Friday in the Finance Committee of Parliament. It includes additional funds to subsidise the increased price of electricity and to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.

According to the introductory report of the Ministry of Finance, €30 million is intended to subsidise the increased price of electricity. Additionally, the coverage of the increased operational costs of various services and departments, due to the increase in energy prices, amounting to €5 million, as well as measures to support agricultural and livestock products, amounting to €4.4 million, are included.

Another €26.3 million concerns the purchase of water for the operation of desalination, while another €11.8 million concerns a sponsorship to the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation.

A fund of €10 million is provided for the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees and an additional fund of €0.8 million for the accommodation of minor unaccompanied children, seeking asylum.

Increased government sponsorship to the University of Cyprus, amounting to €4.7 million, is also included, along with the purchase of medicines and vaccines amounting to €3.8 million.

The supplementary budget also provides for an increase in the General Government Contribution to the General Health System of €150 million and in the General Government Contribution to the Social Insurance Fund of €93.5 million, which concern transactions within the general government, without burdening the fiscal balance.

“Therefore, the fiscal impact of the supplementary budget is limited to €101.5 million, or 0.4% of the GDP,” according to the report.

Previously, two additional supplementary budgets had been submitted, the first amounting to €102 million and the second €172 million.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Total government employment in Cyprus rose by 0.5% year on year in October reaching 53,271 persons compared to 53,008 persons in October last year.

According to data released by the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat), permanent staff decreased by 770 persons or 2.9%, from 26,325 to 25,555 persons, while casual staff rose by 955 persons or 5.2% year on year, amounting to 19,280 persons in October 2022 from 18,325 persons in October last year.

All personnel categories have registered annual growth with the with the exception of Security Forces staff which declined by 2.0%.

The highest increase is observed in Educational Service staff (2,7%) driven by the increase of casual staff (12,3%).

Compared to September 2022, Security Services staff and hourly paid workers recorded a decrease of 0.4%, whereas an increase was recorded in Civil and Educational Service staff.

The highest increase is observed in Educational Service staff with 5.1% and is attributed to the increase of casual staff which rose by 14%, Cystat added.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Cypriot economy is expected to slow down towards the end of 2022 after growing steadily during the first half of the year, according to the chapter on Cyprus from the European Commission’s Autumn 2022 Economic Forecast which was presented on Friday by Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni.

The country’s public finances are expected to remain sound, but an overall slowdown of the economy is expected due the continuing effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the increase in energy prices.

The predictions include the reduction unemployment to 7.2% in 2022. Unemployment is expected to remain stable in 2023 and fall to 6.9% in 2024.

Inflation is expected to increase from 2.3% in 2021 to 8% in 2022, and slow down to 4.2% in 2023 and 2.5% in 2024.

The chapter on Cyprus

Following solid growth in the first half of 2022, economic activity is expected to slow down considerably towards the end of the year due to global headwinds and persistent inflationary pressures. Public finances are projected to remain sound, but the headline surplus is set to grow at a slower pace than before.

Strong GDP growth in 2022

According to the forecast, real GDP increased by 6.3% in the first half of 2022, compared to the same period of 2021, driven mainly by domestic demand. Buoyant private consumption growth was supported by increased employment and savings accumulated during the pandemic.

It is added that investment increased supported by the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). However, construction investment was negatively affected by the high prices of material and tightening financing conditions.

The tourism sector performed well with arrivals and revenues from tourism reaching almost 80%, and 90% of the pre-pandemic levels, respectively in the first three quarter of the year.

Exports of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) and of financial and transport services continued to expand in the first half of 2022.

Headwinds to weigh on growth

Starting from the last quarter of 2022, growth is expected to significantly decelerate due to the global economic slowdown, rising interest rates and upward price pressures, in particular for energy.

Low purchasing power in Cyprus’ trading partners is set to weigh on exports of services, notably tourism, it is noted.

Moreover, weakening consumer and business confidence in Cyprus and increasing interest rates are negatively affecting private consumption and household investments. This is expected to intensify in 2023.

Targeted government measures to mitigate the impact of high energy prices and the partial indexation of wages to be implemented in January 2023 are expected to support purchasing power. The wage indexation concerns around 50% of employees covered by collective agreements, limiting somewhat the negative impact on private consumption.

Furthermore, the implementation of the Cypriot RRP is expected to support investment over the forecast horizon. Overall, real GDP is forecast to grow by 5.6% in 2022 and to decelerate to 1% in 2023, before slightly picking up in 2024 1.9%.

Significant uncertainty and downside risks to the growth outlook remain, as the tourism sector and other export-oriented services sectors are particularly vulnerable to external shocks.

Unemployment is set to decline, but slowly

The unemployment rate is projected to reach 7.2% in 2022 slightly down from 7.5% in 2021, the forecast says. Employment and vacancies were on the rise in the first half of 2022, whereas the slowdown of economic activity is set to put brakes on the labour market positive performance later this year.

In 2023, the unemployment rate is forecast to remain stable, before declining to 6.9% in 2024.

Inflation to moderate in 2023

Headline inflation is expected to increase to 8% in 2022, up from 2.3% in 2021. This, its is noted, is mainly due to the exceptionally high oil prices, as Cyprus depends heavily on oil products.

The prices of non-energy industrial products and food have also increased as a result of supply chain disruptions and the secondary impact from higher energy prices.

In 2023, oil prices are projected to moderate, but the partial indexation of wages is set to have some upward second-round effects on core inflation. Overall, inflation is projected to decelerate to 4.2% in 2023 and to 2.5% in 2024.

Public finances continue to be sound

Moreover, according to the forecast, the fiscal performance has been stronger than expected over 2021 and 2022, supported by the economic rebound. In 2022, the government headline balance is forecast to turn into surplus, reaching 1.1% of GDP.

It is added that government revenues are set to grow strongly in 2022 by 10.2%, supported by high inflation. This is only marginally offset by an increase in public spending of 3.1%. Public expenditure growth remains low due to the phasing out of the COVID-19 related support measures granted to corporations and employees.

The costs of measures to mitigate the impact of high energy prices, mainly the reduction of indirect taxation and subsidies on energy bills, are estimated at 0.7% of GDP in 2022.

For 2023, government revenues are projected to increase at a slower pace, reflecting the slowdown in economic activity. Nevertheless, the budget surplus is forecast to reach around 1.1% of GDP in 2023, and 1.6% in 2024.

The broadly unchanged budget surplus in 2023 in spite of the economic slowdown is driven by the projected reduction of the cost of measures to mitigate the impact of high energy prices to 0.1% of GDP, as many of them are set to expire by the end of 2022.

The debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to decrease over the coming years on the back of expected nominal GDP growth (including due to the high GDP deflator) and primary surpluses. It is set to reach 89.6% by the end of 2022, and further decline to 84.0% and 77.7% in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Friday that there is information that in addition to reinforcing its outposts in the buffer zone, Turkey has commando forces ready to intervene, adding that almost every week there is an incident in the buffer zone by the Turkish army.

Speaking before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance, during the discussion on the Ministry’s 2023 budget, Kasoulides pointed out that with even the slightest thing, when a farmer goes to cultivate his land inside the buffer zone, Turkish soldiers create an incident.

He also said that there had been a mobilisation in the village of Astromeritis “after a farmer was harassed, completely unjustifiably, for twenty of our tractors to enter the buffer zone. Fortunately, they didn’t get in in the end but if they did we would have seen commando forces, Land Rovers and other things they had there to go and deal with such a situation. That’s why we have to be very careful,” he underlined.

Turkey, he said, is currently launching a massive, multi-front attack against the Republic of Cyprus and added that “we are going through a period of transition, the last months of the current government and the next few months until the new government. Turkey chose to take advantage of this period”. He also recalled that after that there will be elections in Greece followed by elections in Turkey.

Referring to the illegal Turkish drilling, Kasoulides noted that the information was that they would proceed to plot 6 or plot 4. The Foreign Minister said that representations were made as well as diplomatic efforts by foreign countries and the UN to prevent it. He noted that the Turkish drilling vessel Abdul Hamid Khan returned after drilling in territorial waters not disputed by Cyprus and in Turkish occupied Famagusta, known as Varosha, at least at the moment, the things that were announced will not be carried out.

“We have never abandoned the line of imposing sanctions against Turkey. But we want these sanctions to be effective. So, I would first consult with partners, who may veto and not let anything go forward, and then file a request for sanctions,” he added.

In relation to an announcement by the Turkish President that there will be ‘good news’ until the 15th of the month for the opening of offices of the illegal regime in the Turkish occupied areas in European countries, he said that Cyprus made representations together with other states and noted that there is an effort for equal international status of the occupied territories. Noting that there are already offices of the pseudostate in many European countries based on private law, as organisations or companies, he said that these offices are not accepted on the diplomatic list nor do they have diplomatic privileges, nor are they invited or connected to the Foreign Ministries of the countries.

Regarding the efforts of the pseudostate for a separate status of forces agreement (SOFA) with the UN Secretariat, he stressed that everyone accepts that SOFA is with sovereign states and no such agreement is going to be concluded.

“But they are succumbing to a Turkish blackmail that if no agreement is reached they will prevent UNFICYP from operating from the occupied territories. We are not going to accept any solution that implies acceptance of the presence of UNFICYP beyond Security Council Resolution 186,” he stressed.

Regarding the problem with the illegal immigration to Cyprus, Kasoulides said that he has requested to hold meetings with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, Congo and Cameroon with the aim of concluding repatriation agreements.

As regards the Ministry’s budget for 2023, he said that it constitutes 1% of the state budget and is the smallest of all other Ministries of the Republic. The total budget of the Ministry for 2023 amounts to 102,923,584 euros. He also said that in 2023 they plan to reopen embassies in Nairobi and Jakarta as well as new embassies in Buenos Aires and Bahrain. They also intend to re-open the Embassy in Mexico possibly in 2024. Concluding, he said that the goal is also to open an embassy in Addis Ababa, the seat of the African Union.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.

Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Kjartan Björnsson, Deputy Director & Head of Unit Cyprus Settlement support at European Commission has said the second meeting with the bicommunal working group on halloumi/hellim took place in a very productive atmosphere.

In a message on Twitter, he said he was grateful for the second meeting which was held in a very productive atmosphere.

He also pledged that EU reforms, through the EU Aid Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community will continue to support all efforts toward the reunification of the island.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.

Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Minister of Health, Michael Hadjipantela, singed a Memorandum of Understanding with the President of Kids Save Lives, Anastasios Stefanakis, on Friday, at the Embassy of Cyprus in Greece.

In a press release the Ministry said that “joining forces with the Greek humanitarian civil society organization Kids Save Lives, the Ministry of Health’s collaborations in the health sector are strengthened and a common solidarity front is created for the immediate shielding, safety, protection and rescue of every human life at risk from heart attack, drowning or any other cause.”

The Memorandum of Understanding aims, as noted, to prevent, raise awareness and inform the public about the First Aid institution and to develop a Community First Responder System (First Responder Network), in order to respond in a timely manner to life-threatening incidents until the arrival of specialised assistance.

It also aims to develop a Network of Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) in the Republic of Cyprus, which will be maintained and registered by spatial arrangement in the National AED Map of KIDS SAVE LIVES, and the promotion of the free use of the iSAVElives Application created and developed by the organisation for the immediate activation of Community First Responders in life-threatening emergencies, in order to reduce the response time (https: //kidssavelives. gr/isavelives/).

The MoU also aims at the timely response to life-threatening incidents and the increase of their survival rate through the administrative coordination of the Ministry of Health, the Scientific Support of the Cardiology Clinic of Nicosia General Hospital and the Technical Support of the Resuscitation Department.

Finally, its aim is to develop valuable partnerships, educational programs, activities and competitions to raise awareness and inform children, adolescents, citizens and health professionals about the importance of immediate First Aid and the timely use of AEDs in cardiac arrest victims.

The Health Minister said after signing the memorandum that this is “an important contribution that will help many of our fellow citizens to have a better life, and when there is a cardiac arrest, to be able to live their lives normally.”

He added that “we expect this application to be implemented immediately in the next 50 days in Cyprus.”

Addressing the President of Kids Save Lives, Hadjipantela said that “I expect you in Cyprus in early 2023 to present this pioneering application in our country.”

On his part, Stefanakis, said that “Greece and Cyprus are together again in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health of Cyprus and the Greek humanitarian civil society organisation Kids Save Lives – Children save lives, for public health and saving a life.”

He noted that “in real emergencies our enemy is time and that is why we need to think smart and in an innovative way.”

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The further deepening of the cooperation between Cyprus and Greece was discussed Thursday during a meeting Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela had in Athens with his Greek counterpart Thanos Plevris.

A press release says that during the meeting the two men discussed the possibility of addition of Cypriot patients in the National Register of potential organ recipients for heart, lung and liver transplants.

For the implementation of this agreement, a cooperation memorandum will be signed within the next months between the two sides, the press release says.

The Minister of Health also held a meeting with the President of the National Public Health Organization Theoklis Zaoutis.

They assessed the actions taken so far in the context of the deepening of the two-year bilateral cooperation memorandum signed in matters of surveillance and control of infectious diseases, with particular emphasis on antimicrobial resistance and hospital-acquired infections.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Health Ministry announced on Friday that between November 4 and November 10, six deaths occurred due to COVID 19. Three more deaths occurred in 2021 and another one occurred the week before, but were reported later to the Ministry. A total of 72,556 tests were carried out and 3,625 new cases were detected. The positivity rate (PR) now stands at 5%.

Two males aged 86, three males aged 84, 83, and 68 and an 85-year-old female passed away this week. The other four deaths that had occurred before concerned three males aged 92, 91 and 84, and a female aged 77.

The total deaths since the pandemic broke out rose to 1,210.

Sixty-nine patients are getting treatment in hospitals and 9 are in serious condition (2 are intubated and 7 are in an ACU).

Moreover 3 patients who are no longer infectious are intubated in an ICU.

The PCR tests were 2,297, 186 cases were reported (PR 8.1%), while the rapid tests were 70,259 and 3,439 came back positive (PR 4.89%).

On private initiative a total of 1,837 PCR tests were conducted and 116 cases were detected (PR 6.31%). The rapid tests were 44,123 and 3,186 came back positive (PR 7.22%).

A total of 26,136 rapid tests were conducted via the Ministry’s programs and 253 cases were reported. In testing units 13,833 tests were carried out and 138 cases were reported (PR 1%).

In elementary schools 1,306 rapid tests were conducted and 4 came out positive (PR 0.31%). In high schools 1,327 tests were done and 2 cases were reported (PR 0.15%).

In the army 203 tests were done and 6 came back positive (PR 2.96%).

In nursing homes 63 cases were recorded in a total of 5,162 rapid tests (PR 1.22%) while in closed units 40 tests were positive from a total of 4,305 (PR 0.93%).

Source: Cyprus News Agency