COVID

OK Boomers, You Can Probably Get a Booster Shot

Seniors already get extra perks. Soon they could get an extra prick. 

An FDA advisory panel recommended giving a third shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine to Americans 65 and older, as well as others who may be especially at risk from the disease.

BUT, the committee overwhelmingly voted against Pfizer booster shots for the general public by a count of 16–2. That decision throws a wrench in the Biden administration’s plans to roll out boosters to US adults beginning next week.

Important note: The FDA advisory committee ≠ the FDA. But the FDA often follows through on the committee’s recommendations, and it’s expected to hand down its own ruling ASAP. Then, the CDC will figure out the specifics of the rollout plan when it meets next week.

On boosters, experts disagree to disagree

Key public health officials have been bickering about boosters like a couple who can't agree on the house temperature.

Last month, President Biden said the booster shot rollout would begin Sept. 20, but some health experts (including two senior FDA officials) pushed back, saying there wasn’t enough data yet to show a third shot was necessary.

Other loud voices have urged the US to add a third shot to the standard vaccine regimen—voices like the vaccine makers themselves. Both Moderna and Pfizer released data this week that showed their vaccines’ effectiveness diminishes over time. 

• “There is a clear erosion of vaccine protection over time against Covid-19, and emerging data indicates a loss of protection against hospitalization,” Pfizer’s William Gruber told the committee. 

Booster boosters also point to data from Israel, a country that has given booster shots to nearly 3 million people in the past several months. Health officials there credit boosters with preventing a hospitalization crisis during the country’s recent wave.

Looking ahead...we’re going to do this all over again on the questions of whether boosters should be used for Moderna’s and J&J’s vaccines.

SUPPLY CHAIN

One-day Shipping, Give or Take 70 Days

Global supply chain update: Still broken. The queue of container ships waiting to enter Los Angeles’s and Long Beach’s neighboring ports hit an all-time high of 65 vessels this past week, and they’ll wait an average of 8.7 days to deliver their cargo.

The average transit time from China to the US is now 71 days, compared to 40 days in 2019...and you thought driving from Silver Lake to Malibu was rough.

Why it matters: These California ports are the busiest in the US, and they accept the majority of imports from Asia. A snag outside their docks signals an economy-wide slowdown in getting goods → consumers.

18 months on, Covid is still nightmare fuel for logistics

• Shampoo: Covid-19 worker restrictions in Malaysia have caused the price of palm oil, a key ingredient in everything from biofuel to shampoo, to skyrocket as much as 70%.
• Coffee: Travel restrictions in Vietnam are making coffee beans more expensive for companies like Folgers and Peet’s.

Looking ahead...Santa’s elves stationed at Target, Best Buy, and other retailers are scrambling for extra inventory in an effort to keep their shelves stocked for the holiday season.

REAL ESTATE

A Chinese Real Estate Giant Is About to Burst

Evergrande, a giant Chinese real estate development group and not Ariana’s new container ship, is thiiiis (imagine our fingers super close together) close to collapsing. The company is currently $300 billion in debt and has warned investors that it might not be able to get out of this one without defaulting.

After news spread of the company’s mounting debt, investors showed up at the company’s Shenzhen headquarters beginning late last week demanding money they’re owed from the firm. With 200k employees and 1,300+ developments across China, Evergrande is also facing protests from homebuyers and employees who fear that the housing market will collapse as a result.

Zoom out: In Evergrande’s implosion, some are seeing echoes of US bank Lehman Brothers’s bankruptcy 13 years ago. That company’s collapse affected economies around the world and contributed to the 2007–2008 global financial crisis. So there’s some concern that Evergrande’s condition could rattle markets elsewhere...though that hasn’t happened yet.

Other analysts say the comparisons to Lehman Brothers are overblown and that the Chinese government will probably, begrudgingly, step in to prevent Evergrande from triggering a broader meltdown.

SPONSORED BY CARIUMA

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GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

Quote: “Don’t bother copying us. We will win.”

Fitness wearable company Whoop, recently valued at $3.6 billion, left a message for Amazon on every 4.0 circuit board. 

Stat: Iron prices fell 20% this week for their worst weekly drop since the financial crisis in 2008. What happened? Once again, it’s all about China. The government is placing curbs on steel production, so a lot less iron ore is needed. 

Read: Why we need to start thinking about concrete. (Ed Conway)

ART

Spotify Isn't the Only Thing That Can Be Wrapped

Paris’s Arc de Triomphe has been transformed into an epic art installation inspired by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, now-deceased artists known for their larger-than-life pieces (like The Gates in NYC’s Central Park).

The famous arch commissioned by Napoleon has been wrapped in 270,000 square feet of sliver-blue fabric, held in place by nearly two miles of red rope. The idea is 60 years in the making—Christo first dreamed it up when he was living in a nearby apartment in 1961.

• The project, which cost $16.5 million, is being paid for through the sale of Christo’s drawings, scale models, and other works. 

Visit it while you can...the installation will be open for only 16 days.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• France is recalling its ambassadors from the US and Australia, taking its rage over being left out of a nuclear submarine pact to the next level.
• Sears is closing its last store in its home state of Illinois.
• Nona Gaprindashvili, a pioneering female chess grandmaster, is suing Netflix over a scene in The Queen’s Gambit in which an announcer said she never faced men (she did, and beat many). Gaprindashvili is seeking millions in damages.
• The Intuit Dome will be the new home of the LA Clippers, after the fintech company bought the naming rights to the team’s yet-to-be-built stadium in Inglewood, CA.

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BREW'S BETS

Top Sidekick links: Sometimes we ask the writers at Sidekick for the most popular links in their recommendations newsletter, and then we share them with you. This week’s picks: 1) This stretch routine in the morning 2) 26 underrated movies and 3) a flow chart to help you decide which buzzy book to read this fall. If you want even more great ideas 2x a week, hit subscribe.

Weekend Conversation Starters:

• Is this an underrated food-wine pairing?
• Would you watch 13 horror movies for $1,300? 
• The world’s most expensive animals

GAMES

Brew Crossword

Order of operations: Pour yourself a coffee, throw on Beethoven's 7th, and conquer today's crossword.

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