Canada offers $75 million through WHO to low income countries to access COVID vaccine

COVAX Announces additional deals to access promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates; plans global rollout starting Q1 2021

18 December 2020 Joint News Release Reading time: 16 min (4305 words)

  • COVAX now has agreements in place to access nearly two billion doses of several promising vaccine candidates, and laid the groundwork for further doses to be secured through contributions from donors
  • These agreements mean that all COVAX’s 190 participating and eligible economies will be able to access doses to protect vulnerable groups in the first half of 2021. At least 1.3 billion donor-funded doses will be made available to 92 economies eligible for the Gavi COVAX AMC, targeting up to 20% population coverage by the end of the year.
  • Funding raised in 2020 and early pledges toward 2021 targets, alongside these agreements, offer clearest pathway yet to ending the acute phase of the pandemic globally by the end of 2021

Geneva/Oslo, 18 December 2020 – COVAX, the global initiative to ensure rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, regardless of income level, today announced that it had arrangements in place to access nearly two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, on behalf of 190 participating economies. For the vast majority of these deals, COVAX has guaranteed access to a portion of the first wave of production, followed by volume scales as further supply becomes available. The arrangements announced today will enable all participating economies to have access to doses in the first half of 2021, with first deliveries anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2021 – contingent upon regulatory approvals and countries’ readiness for delivery.

Given these are arrangements for 2 billion doses of vaccine candidates which are still under development, COVAX will continue developing its portfolio: this will be critical to achieve its goal of securing access to 2 billion doses of safe and effective, approved vaccines that are suitable for all participants’ contexts, and available by the end of 2021. However, today’s announcements offer the clearest pathway yet to end the acute phase of the pandemic by protecting the most vulnerable populations around the world. This includes delivering at least 1.3 billion donor-funded doses of approved vaccines in 2021 to the 92 low- and middle-income economies eligible for the COVAX AMC.

The new deals announced today include the signing of an advance purchase agreement with AstraZeneca for 170 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford candidate, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Johnson & Johnson for 500 million doses of the Janssen candidate, which is currently being investigated as a single dose vaccine.. These deals are in addition to existing agreements COVAX has with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for 200 million doses – with options for up to 900 million doses more – of either the AstraZeneca/Oxford or Novavax candidates, as well as a statement of intent for 200 million doses of the Sanofi/GSK vaccine candidate.

In addition to this, COVAX also has – through R&D partnership agreements – first right of refusal in 2021 to access potentially more than one billion doses (based on current estimates from the manufacturing processes under development) that will be produced, subject to technical success and regulatory approval, by candidates in the COVAX R&D Portfolio.

“This commitment is evidence that the world learned an important lesson from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Our research and development efforts have begun to pay off. We now have safe and effective vaccines that can protect against COVID-19 and a clear pathway to securing 2 billion doses for the populations at greatest risk all around the world,” said Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).  “Securing the right of first refusal of successful vaccine production as part of R&D arrangements has helped guarantee equitable access to vaccines, a founding principle of CEPI.   The challenge of delivering the vaccines that have demonstrated success, of completing the development of other promising vaccine candidates to further increase supply, and of ending the acute phase of the pandemic, lies ahead of us.”

Alongside boosting its pathway to two billion doses of approved vaccines through direct agreements with manufacturers, the COVAX Facility has also opened another potential source of vaccines. Published today, the Principles for Dose-Sharing provide a framework for higher-income economies to make additional volumes secured via bilateral deals available through the Facility primarily to AMC participants, on an equitable basis. These principles outline that such doses must be safe and effective, available as early as possible and should be available in substantive volumes as early as possible in 2021 to enable rapid and flexible deployment by the Facility – supporting the overall goal of equitable access.

First deliveries in Q1 2021

Today’s announcements on deals and dose-sharing mean COVAX can plan for the first deliveries of vaccines in the first quarter of 2021, with the first tranche of doses – enough to protect health and social care workers – delivered in the first half of 2021 to all participating economies who have requested doses in this timeframe. This would be followed by further delivery of doses to all participants in the second half of the year – targeting supply of doses equalling up to 20% of participants’ populations (or a lower amount if requested by the participant) by the end of the year. Additional doses to reach higher coverage levels will then be available in 2022. All deliveries are contingent upon several factors, such as regulatory approvals and country readiness.

“The arrival of vaccines is giving all of us a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO). “But we will only truly end the pandemic if we end it everywhere at the same time, which means it’s essential to vaccinate some people in all countries, rather than all people in some countries. And we must remember that vaccines will complement, but not replace, the many other tools we have in our toolbox to stop transmission and save lives. We must continue to use all of them.”

The COVAX Facility currently has 190 participating economies. This includes 98 higher-income economies and 92 low- and middle-income economies eligible to have their participation in the Facility supported via the financing mechanism known as the Gavi COVAX AMC. Of the 92 economies eligible to be supported by the COVAX AMC, 86 have now submitted detailed vaccine requests, offering the clearest picture yet on actual global demand for COVID-19 vaccines.

In addition to gathering detailed information on participating economies’ vaccine requests, COVAX, through Gavi, UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank, and other partners has been working closely with all countries in the Facility, particularly AMC-eligible participants, to help plan and prepare for the widespread roll out of vaccines. Conditions that determine country readiness include regulatory preparedness as well as the availability of infrastructure, appropriate legal frameworks, training, and capacity, among other factors.

“Securing access to doses of a new vaccine for both higher-income and lower-income countries, at roughly the same time and during a pandemic, is a feat the world has never achieved before – let alone at such unprecedented speed and scale,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which leads on procurement and delivery for COVAX. “COVAX has now built a platform that offers the world the prospect, for the first time, of being able to defeat the pandemic on a global basis, but the work is not done: it’s critical that both governments and industry continue to support our efforts to achieve this goal”.

Early pledges towards 2021 fundraising targets

To achieve this ambitious goal, COVAX currently estimates it needs to raise an additional US$ 6.8 billion in 2021 – US$ 800 million for research and development, at least US$ 4.6 billion for the COVAX AMC and US$ 1.4 billion for delivery support.

Support for the COVAX AMC will be critical to ensuring ability to pay is not a barrier to access. Thanks to the generous support of sovereign, private sector, and philanthropic donors, the AMC has met its urgent 2020 fundraising target of US$ 2 billion, but at least US$ 4.6 billion more is needed in 2021 to procure doses of successful candidates as they come through the portfolio. 

The last two weeks have seen a number of pledges made to Gavi for the COVAX AMC, bringing the overall amount raised to US$ 2.4 billion:

  • Norway has signed a new commitment of NOK 1 billion to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), to be paid from 2021 to 2030. This funding will support the Gavi COVAX AMC and comes on top of earlier commitments of NOK 164.1 million in direct funding and $6.25 million in funding transferred from the PCV AMC to support the Gavi COVAX AMC.
  • Canada pledged CAD 75 million in funding to support the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in lower income economies as part of the Gavi COVAX AMC. This includes a CAD 5 million investment in the development of a mechanism to equitably reallocate vaccine doses through the COVAX Facility, either by donation or exchange.
  • Kuwait has confirmed a pledge of US$ 10 million to the Gavi COVAX AMC.
  • Denmark has announced, subject to parliamentary approval, a commitment of DKK 50 million to Gavi COVAX AMC.
  • New Zealand has pledged NZ$ 10 million to the Gavi COVAX AMC, in addition to NZ$ 7 million pledged earlier this year for the AMC.
  • Netherlands has signed and paid a commitment of EUR 5 million to the Gavi COVAX AMC
  • Singapore has pledged US$ 5 million to the Gavi COVAX AMC
  • The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) / Gamers Without Borders have confirmed a pledge of US$ 1.3 million to the Gavi COVAX AMC
  • Estonia has signed a commitment of EUR 70,000 to the Gavi COVAX AMC
  • In addition to these pledges, Team Europe confirmed financial support of EUR 500 million, through EUR 400 million European Investment Bank loan and EUR100 million grant to Gavi, in support of equitable access through COVAX.

The goal of COVAX is to deliver two billion doses of safe, effective vaccines that have passed regulatory approval and/or WHO prequalification by the end of 2021. These vaccines will be offered equally to all participating countries, proportional to their populations, initially prioritising healthcare workers then expanding to cover vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions. Further doses will then be made available based on country need, vulnerability and COVID-19 threat. The COVAX Facility will also maintain a buffer of doses for emergency and humanitarian use.

Quotes from partners

Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, Government of Canada said: “We know that as long as one country is at risk, we are all at risk. The COVAX Facility is the key to ending this pandemic and will only work if we all come together. Now is the time to make our commitment to equitable access a reality, so that everyone, everywhere has access to a life-saving vaccine.”

Dr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, Minister of Health for Ghana said: The nearly 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses announced today by COVAX is a welcome first step, but our journey is not yet over. As we’ve learned with routine immunisation vaccines don’t save lives, vaccination does. This means we need the health infrastructure in place – from supply chain and logistics to well- trained health workers – to ensure the effective and streamlined distribution of vaccines. For this we call on governments, manufacturers and the private sector to make urgent and necessary investments in COVAX so that no one is left behind; because ultimately no one is safe until everyone is safe.

Dag-Inge Ulstein, Norway’s Minister of International Development and Co-chair of the ACT-A Facilitation Council, said: “The good news is that many countries, foundations and some private companies have already provided support to this important collective effort. The bad news is that more is needed. We need to look beyond the health sector and the international development sector if we are to find the political and financial resources required to combat the pandemic and its many different impacts.”

Wendy Morton, Minister for Global Health at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK, which also hosted the Global Vaccine Summit in June, said: “The UK has played the leading role in championing global access to coronavirus vaccines, including by being the largest donor to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment. No one is safe until we are all safe. Along with our international partners, the UK is working hard to ensure vaccines get to everyone who needs them.”

Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said: “Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa CDC has established several trusted partnerships across the globe. The COVAX partnership is one of such very critical alliances that will allow Africa to secure early access to COVID-19 vaccine needed to start vaccinating our populations across the continent.”

Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF said: “This is an unprecedented undertaking — addressing a global pandemic while ensuring we do not leave the world’s poorest behind. UNICEF is bringing the full weight of our experience as the world’s largest single procurer of vaccines to help secure and deliver COVID-19 vaccines, and help countries prepare to receive and administer them.”

Dr Ngozi-Okonjo Iweala, co-chair of the COVAX Coordination Meeting and Gavi Board Chair said: “Nine months ago, it was hard to imagine that we would have more than one promising vaccine candidate and be in a position to make them available to both high-income countries and lower-income countries simultaneously. The global community has rallied, and we now have a platform, COVAX, that will do this. It’s time to stop questioning it and give it the support it needs to bring the pandemic to an end as swiftly as possible.” 

Jane Halton, co-chair of the COVAX Coordination Meeting and Chair of CEPI said: “Science will give us the tools to fight this pandemic, but equitable access will allow us to beat it. Today marks a significant moment towards our goal of fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for those most at risk around the world. We now have a clear pathway to our goal of delivering 2 billion doses of vaccine in 2021 – enabled by COVAX R&D investments and deals with manufacturers – which can bring an end to the acute phase of the pandemic globally. In addition, governments can now demonstrate their continued commitment to this goal by contributing doses to COVAX of vaccines secured through bilateral deals. Equitable access to vaccines is in all of our interests, and we’re now a significant step closer to making this a reality.”

Mesfin Teklu Tessema, civil society representative of the COVAX Coordination Meeting and Senior Director, Head of Health Unit, International Rescue Committee said: “The COVAX Facility is our best hope to ending this pandemic as quickly as possible with equity as its grounding force. This announcement today is an important milestone and proof that doses are forthcoming to those most in need everywhere.”

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India (SII) said: “We are delighted to announce that we have signed for a 100mn doses of Novavax and another 100mn doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines with COVAX, with an option of extending it by 900mn doses. The advance purchase commitments under COVAX initiative is encouraging as it will further bolster our fight and ensure equitable access at the most affordable price from Serum Institute of India.”

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “Today’s Agreement is a significant milestone for global access to the AZD1222 vaccine. Our collaboration with COVAX is testament to AstraZeneca’s commitment to broad, equitable access at no profit during the pandemic period. We now look forward to progressing our work with COVAX partners to ensure that as many people as possible around the world can access a safe, effective vaccine – wherever they live.”

Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson said: “Since we initiated development of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Johnson & Johnson has remained committed to ensuring access to vaccines on a not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use. Equitable global access, inclusive of lower income countries, is critical to helping end the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Thomas B. Cueni, Director General, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IFPMA) said: The reason why we can mark today as a milestone for COVAX securing 2 billion doses of promising vaccines is because the vaccine makers have pulled out all the stops and have delivered beyond all expectations.  So let’s indeed mark this important milestone in ensuring fair and equitable access to vaccines which we have committed to from the outset of the pandemic. But let us also remember, that we would not be where we are if science and the innovation ecosystem that allows the biopharmaceutical to develop and manufacture life saving treatments had not risen to the challenge, so that there are different types of vaccines that will be manufactured in historic quantities. Looking to 2021, it is essential that all COVAX partners and governments focus on getting things done and secure the funds need.

Notes to editors

The full list of deals that have so far been secured by COVAX on behalf of the Facility is as follows:

  • 170 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford candidate, via an advance purchase agreement between Gavi and AstraZeneca, and enabled by a partnership agreement with CEPI to fund scale-out of manufacturing
  • 200 million doses (and options for up to 900 million more) of the AstraZeneca/Oxford or Novavax candidates, via an agreement between Gavi, the Serum Institute of India, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  • 500 million doses of the Janssen candidate, via a memorandum of understanding with Johnson & Johnson
  • 200 million doses of the Sanofi/GSK vaccine candidate, via a statement of intent between Gavi, Sanofi and GSK
  • First right of refusal for a potential combined total of over 1 billion doses in 2021 (based on current estimates from the manufacturing processes under development) of promising vaccine candidates, via R&D partnership agreements with CEPI – that will be produced, subject to technical success and regulatory approval, by candidates in the COVAX R&D Portfolio.

As part of the COVAX R&D portfolio, CEPI has invested in 10 vaccine candidates. 9 of these candidates are still in development, and 7 are in clinical trials.

  • AstraZeneca/ University of Oxford (Phase 3)
  • Clover Biopharmaceuticals, China (Phase 1)
  • CureVac, Germany (Phase 2B/3)
  • Inovio, USA (Phase 2)
  • Institut Pasteur/Merck/Themis, France/USA/Austria (Phase 1)
  • Moderna, USA (Phase 3)
  • Novavax, USA (Phase 3)
  • SK bioscience, South Korea (Preclinical)
  • University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (Preclinical)
  • University of Queensland/ CSL, Australia (Phase 1, programme discontinued)

CEPI is also evaluating additional candidates for support, including ‘next generation’ vaccine candidates to provide additional options for the future.

The latest list of participants in the COVAX Facility (both self-financing and AMC-eligible) is available here, and the latest pledging table of donor contributions to the COVAX AMC is available here.

The official list of WHO-certified Stringent Regulatory Authorities is available here.

About COVAX

COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is co-led by CEPI, Gavi and WHO – working in partnership with developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, UNICEF, the World Bank, and others. It is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both higher-income and lower-income countries.

CEPI is leading on the COVAX vaccine research and development portfolio, investing in R&D across a variety of promising candidates, with the goal to support development of three safe and effective vaccines which can be made available to countries participating in the COVAX Facility. As part of this work, CEPI has secured first right of refusal to potentially over one billion doses for the COVAX Facility to a number of candidates, and made strategic investments in vaccine manufacturing, which includes reserving capacity to manufacture doses of COVAX vaccines at a network of facilities, and securing glass vials to hold 2 billion doses of vaccine. CEPI is also investing in the ‘next generation’ of vaccine candidates, which will give the world additional options to control COVID-19 in the future. 

Gavi is leading on procurement and delivery for COVAX, coordinating the design and implementation of the COVAX Facility and the COVAX AMC and working with Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery. The COVAX Facility is the global pooled procurement mechanism for COVID-19 vaccines through which COVAX will ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines for all 190 participating economies, using an allocation framework formulated by WHO. The COVAX Facility will do this by pooling buying power from participating economies and providing volume guarantees across a range of promising vaccine candidates. The Gavi COVAX AMC is the financing mechanism that will support the participation of 92 low- and middle-income countries in the Facility, enabling access to donor-funded doses of safe and effective vaccines. UNICEF and the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) will be acting as procurement coordinators for the COVAX Facility, helping deliver vaccines to all participants.

WHO has multiple roles within the COVAX: among other things it supports countries as they prepare to receive and administer vaccines and does so in partnership with UNICEF. It provides normative guidance on vaccine policy, regulation, safety, R&D, allocation, and country readiness and delivery. Its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization develops evidence-based immunization policy recommendations. Its Emergency Use Listing (EUL)/prequalification programmes ensure harmonized review and authorization across member states. It provides global coordination and member state support on vaccine safety monitoring. It developed the target product profiles for COVID-19 vaccines and provides R&D technical coordination. Along with COVAX partners, it is developing a no-fault compensation scheme for indemnification and liability issues. COVAX is part of the Act accelerator which WHO launched with partners in 2020.

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 822 million children – and prevented more than 14 million deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 developing countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningitis and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation and reaching the unvaccinated children still being left behind, employing innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organizations that fund Gavi’s work here.

About CEPI

CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations, launched at Davos in 2017, to develop vaccines to stop future epidemics. CEPI has moved with great urgency and in coordination with WHO in response to the emergence of COVID-19. CEPI has initiated ten partnerships to develop vaccines against the novel coronavirus. The programmes are leveraging rapid response platforms already supported by CEPI as well as new partnerships.

Before the emergence of COVID-19, CEPI’s priority diseases included Ebola virus, Lassa virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, Nipah virus, Rift Valley Fever and Chikungunya virus. CEPI also invested in platform technologies that can be used for rapid vaccine and immunoprophylactic development against unknown pathogens (Disease X).  

About WHO

The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.

For updates on COVID-19 and public health advice to protect yourself from coronavirus, visit www.who.int and follow WHO on Twitter,  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn,  TikTok,  Pinterest,  Snapchat,  YouTube

About ACT-Accelerator

The Access to COVID-19 Tools ACT-Accelerator, is a new, ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. It was set up in response to a call from G20 leaders in March and launched by the WHO, European Commission, France and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in April 2020.

The ACT-Accelerator is not a decision-making body or a new organisation, but works to speed up collaborative efforts among existing organisations to end the pandemic. It is a framework for collaboration that has been designed to bring key players around the table with the goal of ending the pandemic as quickly as possible through the accelerated development, equitable allocation, and scaled up delivery of tests, treatments and vaccines, thereby protecting health systems and restoring societies and economies in the near term. It draws on the experience of leading global health organisations which are tackling the world’s toughest health challenges, and who, by working together, are able to unlock new and more ambitious results against COVID-19. Its members share a commitment to ensure all people have access to all the tools needed to defeat COVID-19 and to work with unprecedented levels of partnership to achieve it.

The ACT-Accelerator has four areas of work: diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines and the health system connector. Cross-cutting all of these is the workstream on Access & Allocation.

Kimchi Controlling Obesity

I remember watching a series on obesity in the United States. A Korean doctor travelled back to Korea, her birthplace, and noted the Koreans were huge eaters but obesity was rare. She credited it to the great amount of kimchi they ate. Looks like she was right!

Endocrinol Metab (Seoul). 2020 Jun; 35(2): 425–434.Published online 2020 Jun 30. doi: 10.3803/EnM.2020.35.2.425PMCID: PMC7386112PMID: 32615727

Effect of Lactobacillus sakei, a Probiotic Derived from Kimchi, on Body Fat in Koreans with Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Study

Soo Lim,1Ji Hye Moon,1Chol Min Shin,1Dahye Jeong,2 and Bongjoon Kim3Author informationArticle notesCopyright and License informationDisclaimerThis article has been cited by other articles in PMC.Go to:

Abstract

Background

The increased prevalence of obesity has led to increases in the prevalence of chronic diseases worldwide. There is interest whether probiotics have an effect on obesity, but the effectiveness and safety of only a few probiotics for the treatment of obesity have been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether ingestion of Lactobacillus sakei (CJLS03) derived from kimchi causes weight loss in people with obesity.

Methods

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial involved 114 adults with a body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2 who were assigned randomly to a CJLS03 or placebo group. The groups received two allocations of either 5×109 colony-forming units of CJLS03/allocation or the equivalent vehicle for 12 weeks. Demographic and biochemical parameters, and body composition including fat and muscle mass were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks. Changes in body fat, weight, and waist circumference were compared between the two treatment groups. Adverse events were monitored during study period.

Results

Body fat mass decreased by 0.2 kg in the CJLS03 group and increased by 0.6 kg in the placebo group (0.8 kg difference, P=0.018). After the 12 weeks, waist circumference was 0.8 cm smaller in the CJLS03 group than in the placebo group (P=0.013). BMI and body weight did not change after the 12 weeks. Adverse events were mild and did not differ between the two groups.

Conclusion

These data suggest that L. sakei (CJLS03) might help people with obesity reduce body fat mass without serious side effects (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03248414).Keywords: Lactobacillus sakei, Probiotics, Obesity, Body fatGo to:

University of Toronto Finding on Gum Disease linked to cancer, heart disease and certain inflammatory conditions

U of T Dentistry researchers find first evidence that neutrophil immune cell activity is the missing link connecting periodontal disease with heart disease, cancer, and other inflammatory conditions

The link between periodontal (gum) disease and other inflammatory conditions such as heart disease and diabetes has long been established, but the mechanism behind that association has, until now, remained a mystery. This month, a team of scientists and clinicians led by the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry say they’ve found the reason why — and it’s related to the body’s own hyperactive immune response. The findings were published in the Journal of Dental Research.

Hyperactive state

Science has already established that state of your oral health is an important indicator of overall health. “There are statistically significant correlations between periodontitis (oral inflammatory disease) and systemic diseases ranging from diabetes to cardiovascular diseases,” says Howard Tenenbaum, professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry, and chief dentist at Sinai Health Systems in Toronto, who is one of the authors of the study.

To find what links those conditions, the researchers focused on the behaviours of cells primarily activated by gum disease — neutrophils, which are cells of the innate immune system. Through in vivo models, the researchers found that the immune system releases an abundance of these neutrophils to tackle the bacterial infections responsible for periodontitis, more commonly known as gum disease.

We believe this is the mechanism by which oral hygiene can impact vulnerability to unrelated secondary health challenges

Activated to fight an oral infection, a systemic effect was noted: once periodontal inflammation was present, an overabundance of neutrophils circulated, ‘primed’ for attack. The hyper-vigilant immune system then responds with an excess of force to any secondary infection.

“It’s almost as if these white blood cells are in second gear when should be in first,” says Michael Glogauer, professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry and the study’s senior author.

That’s when the body becomes susceptible to damage from secondary inflammatory conditions. With the immune system already primed by the neutrophils for attack, a secondary event causes those immune cells to destroy affected tissues and organs.

“The [neutrophils] are much more likely to release cytokines much more quickly, leading to negative outcomes,” adds Glogauer, who is also dentist-in-chief at the University Health Network and head of dental oncology at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

Produced initially in in vivo models, the findings were confirmed through a controlled clinical experiment.

Oral health key to overall health

The study’s findings underscore the importance of oral health as a vital indicator of potential complications for other inflammatory conditions, as well as disease model outcomes.

“We believe this is the mechanism by which oral hygiene can impact vulnerability to unrelated secondary health challenges,” says lead author Noah Fine, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry. “Neutrophil (immune) priming throughout the body can connect these seemingly distinct conditions,” he says.

The study also may have important ramifications for an inflammatory disease at the top of everyone’s mind these days: COVID-19.

“There is evidence out there that patients with periodontal disease may be much more likely to have negative outcomes with COVID-19,” explains Glogauer. The current study could provide some clues as to why: “Neutrophils are the cells that are at prime risk of causing cytokine storms. That’s the exact cell we show is primed with people with periodontal disease,” he explains.

The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Research into the relationship between neutrophils and inflammation is ongoing.

Province of Ontario Announces Provincial Lockdown

NEWS RELEASE

Ontario Announces Provincewide Shutdown to Stop Spread of COVID-19 and Save Lives

Government Providing Grants of up to $20,000 to Small Businesses Impacted by New Public Health Measures

December 21, 2020

Office of the Premier

Table of Contents

  1. Content
  2. Quick Facts
  3. Additional Resources
  4. Related Topics

TORONTO — As COVID-19 cases continue to rise at an alarming rate, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts, is imposing a Provincewide Shutdown. Additional restrictions will be put into place and reinforce that Ontarians should stay at home as much as possible to minimize transmission of the virus and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. The Provincewide Shutdown will go into effect as of Saturday, December 26, 2020, at 12:01 a.m.

Details were provided today by Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, and Dr. Naveed Mohammad, President and CEO, William Osler Health System.

“The number of daily cases continue to rise putting our hospitals and long-term care homes at risk,” said Premier Ford. “We need to stop the spread of this deadly virus. That’s why, on the advice of Dr. Williams and other health experts, we are taking the difficult but necessary decision to shutdown the province and ask people to stay home. Nothing is more important right now than the health and safety of all Ontarians.”

In response to these exceptional circumstances, the Provincewide Shutdown would put in place time-limited public health and workplace safety measures similar to those in other jurisdictions. It would help stop the trend of high COVID-19 transmission in communities, preserve health system capacity, safeguard vulnerable populations and those who care for them, and save lives. Measures include, but are not limited to:

  • Restricting indoor organized public events and social gatherings, except with members of the same household (the people you live with). Individuals who live alone may consider having exclusive close contact with one other household.
  • Prohibiting in-person shopping in most retail settings – curbside pickup and delivery can continue. Discount and big box retailers selling groceries will be limited to 25 per cent capacity for in-store shopping. Supermarkets, grocery stores and similar stores that primarily sell food, as well as pharmacies, will continue to operate at 50 per cent capacity for in-store shopping.
  • Restricting indoor access to shopping malls – patrons may only go to a designated indoor pickup area (by appointment only), essential retail stores that are permitted to be open (e.g. pharmacy, grocery store), or, subject to physical distancing and face covering requirements, to the food court for takeout purchases. Shopping malls may also establish outdoor designated pickup areas.
  • Prohibiting indoor and outdoor dining. Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments will be permitted to operate by take out, drive-through, and delivery only.

On the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, all Ontarians are advised to stay home as much as possible with trips outside the home limited to necessities such as food, medication, medical appointments, or supporting vulnerable community members. Employers in all industries should make every effort to allow employees to work from home.

The current COVID-19 Response Framework will be paused when the Provincewide Shutdown comes into effect. The impacts of these time-limited measures will be evaluated throughout the 14 days in Northern Ontario and 28 days in Southern Ontario to determine if it is safe to lift any restrictions or if they need to be extended.The Chief Medical Officer of Health will assess and apply lessons learned thus far to the COVID-19 Response Framework to ensure appropriate and effective measures are in place to protect the health of Ontarians and enable economic recovery after the Provincewide Shutdown ends. This will include an assessment of how a revised approach for the safe reopening of retail may be operationalized, according to the latest available evidence.

“This was not an easy decision before the holidays, but we have reached a tipping point,” said Minister Elliott. “We continue to see sharp increases in hospitalizations and occupancy in intensive care units is reaching concerning levels. Urgent action must be taken to prevent our health care system from becoming overwhelmed. By implementing a Provincewide Shutdown, we can work to stop the virus in its tracks, safeguard hospital capacity, and save lives.”

The government is also providing $12.5 million to implement a High Priority Communities Strategy to contain the virus in high-risk communities. The strategy will take a tailored, community-based approach to fund community agencies in 15 priority communities in the York, Peel, Durham, Ottawa, and Toronto regions. The funding will also allow for the hiring of community ambassadors to make people aware of available services and assistance, for coordination of increased testing opportunities and for the arrangement of wraparound supports for those who are COVID-positive. Additional funding of $42 million will also be available to establish isolation centres. 

The province will work with our local municipal partners to establish new isolation centres to help those who may need to isolate following testing.

“We continue to see the number of cases in the province grow and the trends in public health indicators worsen. Additional measures are needed provincewide in order to interrupt this concerning growth,” said Dr. Williams. “We must work together to enable everyone to follow these new and time-limited restrictions and protect our health system and our communities.”

The government is working to limit the transmission of COVID-19 in workplaces by supporting essential businesses in doing whatever is necessary to keep workers safe. The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development is leading a multi-ministry COVID-19 Safety Team. The team will partner with local authorities to carry out additional enforcement blitzes in sectors where they are needed most.

New School Protocols

While transmission in schools remains low, all publicly funded and private elementary and secondary schools are to move to teacher-led remote learning when students return from the winter break on January 4, 2021. This action is being taken in support of the Government’s broader efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Schools located in the following Public Health Unit regions can resume in-person instruction on January 11, 2021 for both elementary and secondary students:

  • The District of Algoma Health Unit
  • North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit
  • Northwestern Health Unit
  • Porcupine Health Unit
  • Sudbury and District Health Unit
  • Thunder Bay District Health Unit
  • Timiskaming Health Unit

For schools in all other Public Health Unit regions, elementary school students are planned to be able to return to in-person learning on January 11, 2021, and secondary school students will continue learning remotely until January 25, 2021, at which point they may resume in-person learning. During this period, child care centres, authorized recreational and skill building programs and home-based child care services will remain open. From January 4-8, 2021, when elementary students move to remote learning, before and after school programs will be closed and emergency child care for health care and frontline workers will be provided. As part of the government’s efforts to protect the most vulnerable, boards will be required to make provisions for continued in-person support for students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated through remote learning for whom remote learning is challenging.

“While our schools are not a source of rising community transmission, we can play an important part of the solution to save lives from COVID-19,” said Minister Lecce. “During this period, students will pivot to teacher-led online learning, with child care provided for our frontline workers. We are taking proactive and preventative action to protect schools following the holiday break to ensure kids can continue in-class learning — something we believe is so important — for the remainder of the year.”

The New Ontario Small Business Support Grant

The government recognizes that small businesses impacted by these necessary public health measures will require additional support so they can continue serving their communities and employing people in Ontario once the COVID-19 pandemic is over. That is why the government is announcing the new Ontario Small Business Support Grant, which will provide a minimum of $10,000 and up to $20,000 to eligible small business owners to help navigate this challenging period.

“Ontario’s business owners have shown remarkable resolve and ingenuity throughout the pandemic. They know better than anyone what they need to come through this very difficult time, so they can continue to serve and employ people in their communities,” said Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance. “The new Ontario Small Business Support Grant will provide significant financial support to eligible small business owners in addition to the other supports made available to our small business community.”

Small businesses required to close or restrict services under the Provincewide Shutdown will be able to apply for this one-time grant. Each small business will be able to use the support in whatever way makes the most sense for their individual business. For example, some businesses will need support paying employee wages or rent, while others will need support maintaining their inventory.

Eligible small businesses include those that:

  • Are required to close or significantly restrict services subject to the Provincewide Shutdown effective 12:01 a.m. on December 26, 2020;
  • Have less than 100 employees at the enterprise level; and
  • Have experienced a minimum of 20 per cent revenue decline in April 2020 compared to April 2019.

Starting at $10,000 for all eligible businesses, the grant will provide businesses with dollar for dollar funding to a maximum of $20,000 to help cover decreased revenue expected as a result of the Provincewide Shutdown. The business must demonstrate they experienced a revenue decline of at least 20 per cent when comparing monthly revenue in April 2019 and April 2020. This time period was selected because it reflects the impact of the public health measures in spring 2020, and as such provides a representation of the possible impact of these latest measures on small businesses.

Essential businesses that are allowed to remain open will not be eligible for this grant. More information about the Ontario Small Business Support Grant is available here. Further details, including how to apply, will be announced in January 2021.

Businesses that are impacted by the Provincewide Shutdown will also be eligible for the property tax and energy cost rebates. In November, the government launched a program to provide rebates to offset fixed costs such as property tax and energy bills for businesses that are required to shut down or significantly restrict services due to provincial public health measures. These Ontario Small Business Support Grant rebates will continue to be available for businesses impacted by the Provincewide Shutdown and earlier restrictions. Business can apply for the rebates here.

Quick Facts

  • Currently, hospitalizations for COVID-19 have increased by 74 per cent over the last four weeks and are more than 15 times higher than they were at the beginning of September. Intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy for COVID-19 has more than doubled over the last four weeks and is 20 times higher than at the beginning of September.
  • Ontario currently has 915 COVID-19 patients requiring acute care, 265 patients in ICU, with 152 on a ventilator.
  • Based on the latest modelling data, cases across the province are continuing to grow and the number of people requiring an intensive care bed is projected to rise well above 300 people within the next 10 days.
  • Some jurisdictions around the world, including those in Canada have implemented similar time-limited measures to respond to a dramatic resurgence in cases. Based on their experiences, measures of four to six weeks are expected to interrupt transmission of COVID-19 in Ontario.
  • Municipalities and local medical officers of health may have additional restrictions or targeted requirements in their region.
  • If you have questions about what will be open or impacts to your business or employment, call the Stop the Spread Business Information Line at 1-888-444-3659.
  • Get tested if you have symptoms compatible with COVID-19, or if you have been advised of exposure by your local public health unit or through the COVID Alert App. Visit Ontario.ca/covidtest to find the nearest testing location.
  • The Ontario Small Business Support Grant is part of the Province’s more than $13.5 billion in support for people and jobs outlined in the 2020 Budget, Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover. It is also in addition to $4.8 billion to address critical areas to support a strong long-term recovery that helps workers, employers and communities get back on their feet, while building the foundation for recovery and growth.
  • To find the right supports, visit COVID-19: Support for People, which has information about the many available and free mental health services and supports.
  • To stay safe you can download the COVID Alert App free from the Apple and Google Play app stores.
  • To date, as part of the province’s COVID-19 immunization program, over 3,000 frontline health care workers have been vaccinated.
  • Schools continue to be safe, and according to data reported by school boards, as of Friday, December 18: approximately 99.64 per cent of students in Ontario have not reported a case of COVID-19; approximately 92 per cent of schools across the province have had either no cases or one case reported within the last 14 days; and approximately 80 per cent of schools do not have an case of COVID-19.

Additional Resources

Life at Up Up and Away Investment Management International: Chapter 20 Where have all the old people gone?

Chapter 20

So where have all the old people gone?

If I had decided to eat out for lunch when working at Up Up and Away Canada in Toronto I frequently walked over to the food court at First Canadian Place because it had so much natural light. I am no fan of bunkers with bright fluorescent lighting which one finds so often in downtown Toronto. If you have been to the Scotiabank food court in Toronto you’ll know what I mean.

Over the past few years I noted I was just about the oldest person out of the thousand or so people that were eating there. In your mid to late fifties you really aren’t that old but eating at this food court was suddenly making me feel old.

Could it be that the older people, like Sally Self, were playing the game of looking busy and devoted hence eating at one’s desk was a necessity to perpetuate that image? Were the wise old people so desperate to save their job that they decided to be chained to their desk at lunch despite productivity studies showing a one-hour lunch off premises improves productivity. Image as opposed to reality! Sometimes this is important at largecorp. On the other hand it was probably the case that largecorp targets those in their mid fifties and greater as prime downsizing targets so there are just no old folks left in the office towers.

In fact, at Up Up and Away Canada in Toronto I was beginning to feel old to the extent I was one of 4 out of a thousand or so employees that had reached the age of 60. Based on my trips to Up Up and Away America in New York I noticed the lack of old folks there too except of course for the Senior Management Team and board of directors who wanted their hand in the cookie jar of executive compensation for the longest period possible. For these geezers it was out of the game by stroke, cancer or heart attack for them! However even then I recall a member of Up Up and Away’s Canadian board of directors that despite a severe stroke he was labouring to recover from he so very slowly returned to the board. The extra $6,000 per board meeting must have hastened his recovery! Who cared if he was setting himself up for another stroke! A man who should be packing it in yet instead he was inadvertently begging for a premature death! Up Up and Away Canadian SMT blessed mega terminations of healthy employees but keeping a crippled and mentally challenged stroke victim on its board was fine? Why? Because he was one of their own.

I began to detect a pattern in Up Up and Away employee terminations, and other corporate terminations for that matter, where the older ranks (far younger than 65) were particularly subject to the cull. These were people often with deep operational and practical knowledge that could get the job done in far less time than a newly hired employee could so from an efficiency standpoint culling the older employees did not make sense.

What did make sense was that older workers had higher salaries. Their health was not as robust as the younger employees. Since there were so many terminations the remaining older employees had far too much responsibility heaped on their shoulders and more were making disability claims based on workplace stress. Labour is but a commodity and older workers in direct dollar and measurable cost are more expensive.

And get terminated in your 50’s good luck in finding another job. Like society at large there is racism, sexism and there certainly is ageism. Largecorp chews you up and spits you out and occasionally hires a fresh set of recruits as soon as the post downsizing “hiring freeze” ends.

I find it ironic that there is no legal retirement age although most Canadians set it at 65 while our federal government has raised Canada Pension Plan entitlement to 67 yet the real retirement age and the end of the road age at largecorp is somewhere between 57-60 for the average employee. And just how many can afford being thrust into retirement?

Now if you are lucky to make it until 65 in the workplace and don’t retire and expect to get a severance package I have found that largecorp can make life difficult for you. My poor friend, Bill Mudsle, had reached 65 and suddenly all the staff that had been reporting to him were now reporting to another person. His office was taken from him and he was placed in a cubicle and he no longer had regularly scheduled meetings with the President. The reasons for these harassment tactics were always logically presented to Mudsle by Up Up and Away Canada. Eventually it became apparent it was not worth the humiliation of remaining nor of suing Up Up and Away Canada for constructive dismissal. He left. Can one honestly say Mudsle retired or was he constructively dismissed?

The treatment of Mudsle was disgusting. And no farewell party was organized by Up Up and Away Canada. His fellow employees organized cake and coffee at their own expense and a smaller group of his friends took him and his wife out for a farewell dinner. Oh but how the trumpets blared when a member of the SMT retired!

I knew that largecorp can be greedy, brutal and heartless but a lack of a formal Up Up and Away Canada send-off for Mudsle was downright mean. Mudsle told me at this farewell dinner he felt like he had been stabbed by a long icy cold knife.

This event gave me the resolve never to go down to largecorp’s sinister ambitions without a fight. If Up Up and Away Canada planned to take me out it would be time to make them pay. Perhaps a pre-emptive strike was in order?

COVID-19 Civil Unrest in Montreal

Thousands protest in front of Premier Legault’s Montreal office

  • By Chelsey St-Pierre and Beryl Wajsman The Suburban
  • 3 hrs ago
  •  0

1 of 3

Photo by Gina Conforti

Photo by Gina Conforti

Photo by Gina Conforti

Thousands of protesters – estimates put the number at close to 5,000 – gathered Sunday in front of premier Legault’s head office in Montreal.

The group leading the protest, Action Coordination, advocates that the lock-down measures have caused more damage to public health than the damage the government intends to avoid.

Many families with children attended as it was also advertised as a holiday gathering. There was a large police presence on site. The majority of protesters were not wearing masks and were warned on several occasions by officers using loudspeakers to respect sanitary regulations and distancing or police would use enforcement procedures authorized by the emergency health regulations.

Multiple arrests were made on site. According to an eyewitness, one arrest included a mother accompanied by her three children. Protesters marched east on Sherbrooke, yelling out “Liberté” and “un peuple uni ne sera pas vaincu”(a people united shall not be defeated.) There were drums and pots and pans being used as noise makers.

Onlookers living in proximity watched from their windows as the crowd marched by, some offering encouragement and others yelling out angry words.

Breaking news story – Updates to follow

The New Mutated COVID-19 Virus: Is the Gambit Finally Up?

You no doubt have heard about the new mutated COVID-19 virus in the United Kingdom which Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom said yesterday may be 70% more transmissible than the current COVID-19 virus.

Imagine what this could mean if it does so come to pass that it is that highly transmissible. Hospitals creaking at the seams as we are told by the media and the politico-medico COVID elite may collapse. It is my belief that COVID-19 is less deadly than we are led to believe but it is contagious and if it becomes 70% more contagious before mass vaccinations can develop heard immunity we are in serious trouble.

Yes the borders are being closed to anyone returning from the United Kingdom but in a matter of days I would suspect it will be in Canada.

How much longer can a shut down last? How much longer will government money last. What is the solution? At least with the Titanic there were lifeboats. So are we down to a “final solution” of everyone for themselves?

If this mutated virus is in fact 70% more contagious, we are in deep you know what.

PM of United Kingdom Indicates New Strain of COVID-19 is a Rapid Spreader!

Speech

Prime Minister’s statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 19 December 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a statement at the coronavirus press conference.Published 19 December 2020From:Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MPDelivered on:19 December 2020 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Prime Minister at coronavirus briefing

Good afternoon,

I am sorry to report that the situation has deteriorated since I last spoke to you three days ago.

Yesterday afternoon, I was briefed on the latest data showing the virus spreading more rapidly in London, the South East and the East of England than would be expected given the tough restrictions which are already in place.

I also received an explanation for why the virus is spreading more rapidly in these areas. It appears this spread is now being driven by the new variant of the virus, which we first learned about earlier this week.

Our advisory group on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats – NERVTAG – has spent the last few days analysing the new variant.

There is no evidence the variant causes more severe illness or higher mortality, but it does appear to be passed on significantly more easily.

NERVTAG’s early analysis suggests the new variant could increase R by 0.4 or greater. Although there is considerable uncertainty, it may be up to 70% more transmissible than the old variant.

This is early data. It is subject to review. It is the best we have at the moment, and we have to act on information as we have it because this is now spreading very fast.

The U.K. has by far the best genomic sequencing ability in the world, which means we are better able to identify new strains like this than any other country.

The Chief Medical Officer last night submitted our findings so far to the World Health Organisation and we will continue to be totally transparent with our global partners.

There is still much we don’t know. While we are fairly certain the variant is transmitted more quickly, there is no evidence to suggest that it is more lethal or causes more severe illness. Equally there is no evidence to suggest the vaccine will be any less effective against the new variant.

Our experts will continue their work to improve our understanding of the variant.

So we are learning more about this variant as we go.

But we know enough already to be sure that we must act now.

I met ministers on the Covid Operations Committee last night and again first thing this morning, and Cabinet met at lunchtime to agree the following actions.

First, we will introduce new restrictions in the most affected areas – specifically those parts of London, the South East and the East of England which are currently in tier 3.

These areas will enter a new tier 4, which will be broadly equivalent to the national restrictions which were in place in England in November.

That means:

Residents in those areas must stay at home, apart from limited exemptions set out in law. Non-essential retail, indoor gyms and leisure facilities, and personal care services must close. People must work from home if they can, but may travel to work if this is not possible, for example in the construction and manufacturing sectors. People should not enter or leave tier 4 areas, and tier 4 residents must not stay overnight away from home. Individuals can only meet one person from another household in an outdoor public space.

Unlike the November national restrictions, communal worship can continue to take place in tier 4 areas.

These measures will take effect from tomorrow morning.

All tiers will continue to be regularly reviewed in line with the approach previously set out, with the next formal review point taking place on 30 December.

Second, we are issuing new advice on travel.

Although the new variant is concentrated in tier 4 areas, it is nonetheless present at lower levels around the country.

We are asking everyone, in all tiers, to stay local.

People should carefully consider whether they need to travel abroad and follow the rules in their tier.

Those in tier 4 areas will not be permitted to travel abroad apart from limited exceptions, such as for work purposes.

Third, we must, I am afraid, look again at Christmas.

As Prime Minister, it is my duty to take the difficult decisions, to do what is right to protect the people of this country.

Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, and the potential risk it poses, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned.

In England, those living in tier 4 areas should not mix with anyone outside their own household at Christmas, though support bubbles will remain in place for those at particular risk of loneliness or isolation.

Across the rest of the country, the Christmas rules allowing up to three households to meet will now be limited to Christmas Day only, rather than the five days as previously set out.

As before, there will be no relaxation on 31 December, so people must not break the rules at New Year.

I know how much emotion people invest in this time of year, and how important it is for grandparents to see their grandchildren, and for families to be together.

So I know how disappointing this will be, but we have said throughout this pandemic that we must and we will be guided by the science.

When the science changes, we must change our response.

When the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our method of defence.

As your Prime Minister, I sincerely believe there is no alternative open to me. Without action, the evidence suggests infections would soar, hospitals would become overwhelmed and many thousands more would lose their lives.

I want to stress we are not alone in this fight – many of our European friends and neighbours are being forced to take similar action.

We are working closely with the devolved administrations to protect people in every part of the UK.

Of course there is now hope – real hope – that we will soon be rid of this virus.

That prospect is growing with every day that passes and every vaccine dose administered.

The UK was the first country in the western world to start using a clinically approve vaccine.

So please, if the NHS contacts you then get your vaccine – and join the 350,000 people across the UK who have already had their first dose.

Yes, Christmas this year will be very different, but we must be realistic.

We are sacrificing our chance to see loved ones this Christmas, so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so we can see them at future Christmases.

As sure as night follows day, we will beat back this virus.

We will defeat it.

And we will reclaim our lives.Published 19 December 2020

Life at Up Up and Away Investment Management International: Chapter 19 The over 60 white man club and long live global inclusion and the hypocrisy of HR

Chapter 19

The Over 60 White Man Club and long live global inclusion and the hypocrisy of HR

I have mentioned in a previous chapter some of the strange productivity schemes invented or pirated by the CRAP Human Resources Department to increase productivity.

Up Up and Away management in New York was burbling like a baby over a new programme it had developed or rather pirated as it sounded like some mutation of the affirmative action campaign in the United States in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

The programme went by the name of “Global Inclusion and Celebration of Differences”. The idea was to make everyone feel appreciated and wanted despite ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or race. Differences were to be celebrated in a public and visible fashion. The intended result was to be a diversified workforce that respected groups other than their own groups. The idea was to celebrate differences. This rather erroneously assumed segregation existed! The result especially after the “MeToo” movement and Black Lives Matter was that WASP dominance was on the way to extinction except of course for the Senior Management Team and board of directors. As my HR contact jokingly stated, “We no longer hire white males. You gotta be a person of colour, have a physical infirmity, be in the LGBTQ community or a woman to be hired.” I wondered if this was a joke.

Accordingly, there was the Black Business Association, the Kansas City Bible Study Group, the Muslim Business Group, the Asian Employees Group and of course the LGBT Group. I rather lost track of all the diverse groups. One member of the Senior Management Team was to act as “management sponsor” of each group.

Most employees were totally dispirited by the vicious and continual rounds of termination and were not enthusiastic about being manipulated so that some SMT sponsor could claim glory for the management of the group it acted as executive sponsor for.

The reality of this Global Inclusion and Celebration of Differences was a greater fragmentation of the employee base with employees sticking to their group and thinking it superior to the other groups. Diversity in a defensive and destructive sense was the result the Human Resources Department brilliant minds reaped.

I shouldn’t be too hard on the poor Human Resources Department here. Nor should I accord any concern by Up Up and Away New York management about any concern for whether its employees were LGBT, Muslim, Black or Chinese. Their only goal was to secure cheap labour and to satisfy clients that were looking for a service provider that Up Up and Away was progressive towards its diverse employee base. What a joke! One had only to look to the board of directors of Up Up and Away in New York to see it was comprised of older white men with a token black, oriental and female. Even that amount of tokenism was lacking in the Canadian SMT at Up Up and Away. The SMT of New York and Canada were united by their greed so really there was no need to “celebrate” any diversity amongst themselves. Money is a great unifier!

No, the real reason for this promotion of diversity was a powerful group of mostly US governmental type agencies and largecorps demanding that its service providers have a diversified workforce that was not discriminated against. So to the uneducated concerning Up Up and Away it was an attempt to celebrate employee (and not management) diversity. For the educated about largecorp and to the eager MBA graduates toiling for largecorps it was a calculated show to retain and increase a client base.

Up Up and Away had only one goal and that was to increase profit and if it meant putting on a show for existing and potential clients so a Las Vegas show was in order! A Cirque de Soleil SMT produced show.

The increasing ranks of unmotivated and cynical employees viewed this with a good sense of humour. Why would Up Up and Away give a shit about employees when it decimated them in rounds of downsizing?

The Global Inclusion and Celebration of Differences programme was a dismal failure despite a legion of newbie brownnosers that tried to shine brilliantly by establishing these groups. Although the whole programme might have and should have been destroyed by a “Newark (or Detroit) Race Riot State of Mind” it died a slow and deserved death over the period of three years.

I recall that the Up Up and Away Human Resources Department required each employee to attend two Global Inclusion and Celebration of Differences events as part of the employee’s performance appraisal goals. Their desperation to make the programme a “success” was clear to most employees.

For an interlude let me tell you I attended an LGBT group event. The LGBT group was sponsored by a homophobic member of the Up Up and Away Canada’s SMT. It had an evening event with a drag queen performer. There was mortification on the poor SMT sponsor’s face. It was quite clear he had no place at such debaucheries. I rather enjoyed the anti-corporate mood of the evening. There are funny moments at largecorps!

Then for a moment it struck me. I was a minority at Up Up and Away Canada. An old white man in his 60’s with only three others in my category. I was sorely tempted to form a true minority group within Up Up and Away’s Canadian operations: “The Over 60 White Man Club”.

I conferred with my three other colleagues on this point and I think the result was that to form such a group would amount to employment termination. Yet being surrounded by a 65% Chinese workforce that had its own Asian inclusion group any trumpeting of anything white was totally and incredibly politically incorrect but had a brash and truthful reality to it. No racism involved. We just wanted to highlight our identity just like all the other groups! For us aged white men it was global disclusion!

Now one of my three colleagues were terminated at age 65 so our group at Up Up and Away in Canada would have been me and two men one of whom was a Up Up and Away dutiful slave but because he had absolutely nothing else in his life than a miserable existence with Up Up and Away  he was unwilling to sacrifice his less than fulfilling Up Up and Away Canada life for a life of nothingness in retirement so our club never got off the ground. The other old man wanted nothing to do with the group as he had a bad gambling addiction and was afraid of losing his paycheque.

At least 4 of us old white men experienced the contradictions and racism inherent in the Global Inclusion and Celebration of Differences programme. God help you if you were a white man “regular low to mid level” employee.

Oh, by the way one manager had said in a meeting what was important was that “All Lives Matter”. He was branded a racist and terminated

Life at Up Up and Away Investment Management International: Chapter 18 An eager beaver fool

Chapter 18

The eager beaver fool

When I joined Up Up and Away Canada it was new to the Canadian marketplace as an investment manager. When you join a new player in the market your enthusiasm can be extremely high particularly when you start winning business in a significant and impressive way.

Up Up and Away Canada required a client to have an asset base of $600,000,000 but its initial wins were accounts in the billions. The local investment management firms in Toronto were getting blasted off their feet by Up Up and Away Canada. As Up Up and Away in New York had many clients with subsidiaries in Canada those subsidiaries were flocking to Up Up and Away Canada. It was easy money!

So why was Up Up and Away Canada kicking ass in the market? Primarily because it had a small, highly motivated and driven Canadian employee base willing to go the extra mile and be part of a winning and growing corporation. This contrasted with the Canadian investment management firms that were rather clubby and old boyish and took savage competition as anti-Canadian. They realized rather late that Up Up and Away Canada was a powerful, aggressive and competitive force. In a matter of years Up Up and Away Canada had established itself as a major player in the market. The Toronto old boys club were caught with their pants down! Their mismanagement in failing to realize the threat of Up Up and Away Canada in the Canadian marketplace resulted in them losing many accounts and then terminating hundreds of jobs.

When you work for a gangbuster firm new in the market and you had a charismatic and down to earth CEO that gave a damn about employees and did not hesitate to promote and praise employees you give it your best.

I will admit I was caught up in the euphoria for 5 or so years staying late often arriving home in the early morning. I was negotiating big time high value contracts and getting a pat on the back and a promotion or two and was participating in the incentive plan which was of course chicken shit in comparison to what the Canadian and New York Senior Management Team was raking in. I was enjoying myself. I felt I was contributing, so I busted my butt.

I recall initially how small Up Up and Away Canada was. We all knew each other and celebrated our successes. We had regular quarterly update meetings with a free lunch thrown in. We would celebrate wins. We would celebrate promotions. There were separate adult and children’s Christmas parties. There were golf tournaments with clients. Money and success were flowing. Then the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008 suddenly changed everything.

By 2008 Up Up and Away Canada in Toronto had expanded to Montreal and Vancouver and was becoming a Canadian largecorp. Up Up and Away in New York had decided to outsource to Up Up and Away Canada a whole host of administrative functions due to the cheap Canadian dollar. India was not quite in fashion then as an outsourcing destination. Unfortunately after a few heady years Up Up and Away’s Canadian CEO had been terminated. His generosity and spirit were a bit alien to the tough New York boys particularly as Canadian operations had somewhat peaked and Up Up and Away Canada had little room for growth after capturing so much of the marketplace.

The mass terminations started a few months after the Lehman Brothers collapse. In one particularly spooky moment I was talking to my Up Up and Away American friend, Anne Kolodny, who had a solid Up Up and Away American Human Resources Department contact. That contact had advised her a big termination event had been planned in New York and Philadelphia for the next day. Offices were being booked for hundreds of New York and Philadelphia terminations. We said we would touch base the next day. Anne was terminated before we could have our conversation. I was devastated. A long-term friend and brilliant lawyer gone in the bat of an eyelash. I suppose in your late 50’s you have a bull’s eye on your forehead.

Morale at Up Up and Away started to plunge. I gave a moment’s reflection about my performance which was always solidly rated yet my boss Sally Self had never acknowledged or thanked me. Not only that I had filled in for her maternity leave and for those of colleagues ( and three disability leaves) without so much as ever receiving thanks for that hugely stressful feat. Can you imagine playing outfield on the baseball diamond on the parent’s association baseball championship for my son’s school with a Blackberry stuck to my ear trying to close out a deal in Scotland while filling in for a maternity leave?

My attitude began to change quickly. I felt abused and manipulated let alone massively overworked. I decided to be 9-5. And like when I was working with CRAP it really didn’t make a difference. Perhaps it was because our new hire, Shalla Makmood, announced she was pregnant several weeks after we hired her. Sally and Shalla were both young mothers and that sort of left me with no common connection to Self and Shalla really played that connection up. If Shalla was 9-5 I was going to play that game. What a fool I had been to fritter away my time for 5 years on late night deals. I felt I had cheated my children out of a father. No more. Fuck off Up Up and Away!.