Category: Tech

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has expressed concerns that British drugmaker may have provided incomplete data of vaccine’s efficiency.

The speculations increased when several patients developed blood clots after jabs of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. There are rumours that AstraZeneca may have given outdated information from the trials, resulting in an inaccurate view of the efficacy of the vaccine.

“We urge the company to work with the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) to review the efficacy data and ensure accuracy by presenting updated as quickly as possible,” said the NIAID, in a statement.

However, AstraZeneca defended the safety of the vaccine shots. The firm stated that the “safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in Phase III of the clinical trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine has been generally well-tolerated.”

Meanwhile, several European and Scandinavian states like Denmark, Norway and Iceland temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine after fears of developing post-jab blood clots. Later, they resumed AstraZeneca vaccinations after The European Medicines Agency (EMA) rebutted the assumption by stating that there “no chances of developing blood clots after using AstraZeneca vaccination.”

In September 2020, AstraZeneca had suspended global trials of its experimental coronavirus vaccine after an unexplained illness in a participant in Britain.

The vaccine had been described by the World Health Organization as probably the world’s leading candidate and the furthest developed.

The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year is expected to swing closest on Monday, giving astronomers a rare chance for a good look at a space rock that formed at the dawn of our solar system.

While in astronomical terms this marks a close encounter with the asteroid — called 2001 FO32 — Nasa says there is no threat of a collision with “our planet now or for centuries to come”.

The nearest it will get will be two million kilometres away, according to the US space agency.

That is roughly 5.25 times the distance of the Earth from the Moon, but still close enough for 2001 FO32 to be classified as a “potentially hazardous asteroid”.

“We know the orbital path of 2001 FO32 around the Sun very accurately,” said Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies.

Nasa says 2001 FO32 would pass by at about 124,000 kilometres per hour, much faster than the speed at which most asteroids encounter Earth.

The asteroid is estimated to be about 900 metres in diameter and was discovered 20 years ago.

Astronomers are hoping to get a better understanding of the asteroid’s size and a rough idea of its composition by studying light reflecting off its surface.

Smartphone manufacturing companies Samsung and Oppo are likely to start assembling mobile phones in Pakistan soon after the removal of sales tax, worth more than $200 USD, on locally assembled phones.

According to reports, Samsung and Oppo are keen to enter the local market, but they are waiting for the implementation of a policy that will remove sales tax on locally assembled mobiles.

The Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020 was approved by the Economic Corridor Committee (ECC) in May 2020. The decision was subsequently approved by the Cabinet on June 2, 2020.

Companies like Vivo, Airlink Communications, Invovi Telecom are new investors in the Pakistani market, and they have already started local assembly trial productions of mobile phones in February 2021.

Together, these companies can produce over one million handsets per month. Besides, Karachi-base company Tecno has increased local mobile assembly form 150,000 to 650,000 cellphone units per month due to the increase in demand.

With experienced companies like G-Five and Q Mobile already operating in the Pakistani market, the entry of new players and capacity enhancement by existing companies will allow Pakistan to meet a major portion of the local demand, which was around 3.6 million per month in 2020.

In foreseeable future, the mobile production industry will likely become larger than the automotive industry of Pakistan.

To further boost the electronics sector, work has already been started on preparing the appropriate framework for local assembly of tablets and mobile accessories to make this the fastest growing sector in terms of employment and exports.