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Uranium Stock Surge Accelerates After 2nd Covid Case At World’s Highest-Grade Uranium Mine

Uranium Stock Surge Accelerates After 2nd Covid Case At World’s Highest-Grade Uranium Mine

Tyler Durden

Mon, 12/07/2020 – 15:41

On Friday we discussed the surge in Uranium stocks, asking if "this is the beginning of the next ESG…

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Uranium Stock Surge Accelerates After 2nd Covid Case At World's Highest-Grade Uranium Mine Tyler Durden Mon, 12/07/2020 - 15:41

On Friday we discussed the surge in Uranium stocks, asking if "this is the beginning of the next ESG craze." As a reminder, Friday's sharp move higher took place after House and Senate lawmakers revealed a compromise version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act. According to S&P Global, the bill effectively provides for the military to continue a policy under Joe Biden that classifies the domestic supplies of certain minerals such as uranium, graphite and lithium as vital to national security. This sent most uranium companies sharply higher, with names such as Cameco rising 9.7%, Uranium Energy +10%, Energy Fuels +17%, North Short GLobal Uranium Mining +6%.

On Monday, this dramatic move higher accelerated further, with most names rising double digits if fading modestly in afternoon trading as shown below:

While there was no incremental catalyst behind today's move besides traders digesting our note from Friday, Cameco, which controls the world’s largest high-grade uranium reserves and low-cost operations and is one of the largest global providers of the uranium fuel, reported yesterday that an individual at its Cigar Lake uranium mine in Saskatchewan has tested positive for COVID-19. This individual has been in isolation since December 4, according to Kitco.

This was the second confirmed COVID-19 case at Cigar Lake which is the world's highest-grade uranium mine and is located in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Since commissioning in 2014, the site has produced a total of 82.9 million pounds (100% basis).  Commercial operation began in May 2015.

Cameco, which soared as much as 15% today, is working with the Northern Population Health Unit and will follow their guidance with contact tracing already started.

The reaction appears to be a kneejerk response to a similar development this spring: on April 14, 2020, uranium stocks surged after Cameco suspended operations at Cigar Lake due to Covid-19, resulting in a five month shutdown and supply concerns.

Cigar Lake uranium mine, Canada. Image credit: Cameco.

Cameco restarted the Cigar Lake mine in September 2020 after the temporary suspension as a precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, as we discussed on Friday, and as judging by the recent surge in uranium stocks, it is a growing a possibility that the rabid ESG crowd will start rotating into the Uranium sector which as one look at the Global X Uranium ETF shows, has lots of potential upside. As Bear Traps report author Larry McDonald wrote, "if the mad-mob trading FCEL and other ESG names gets ahold of uranium... Watch out" adding that "we find it more than bizarre that every commodity is ripping and uranium miners are dead in the water. Seasonally and politically, upside CCJ vol looks extremely cheap."

Below we repost McDonald's Uranium bull case:

 

* * *

When are people going to figure out how GREEN Cameco CCJ equity is?!

CCJ Seasonal Returns

Notice how when energy commodities were still rising (2011-2014) CCJ's December and January returns were very strong. Meanwhile, every commodity stock is the metal space is up 40% in the past month, futures are ripping too yet CCJ and UXA1 are at April levels. CCJ calls are cheap, seasonality looks good, and with all these hot stocks jumping around (FCEL traded 1/2 of its market cap today) I think its only a matter of time before the mad mob finds Uranium equities... Buy the March $11 calls, put them in the drawer.

PM on CCJ Cameco Corp

Agree with your thesis. The space is so small and it makes so much sense. However, it would really be nice to see the spot U price catch a sustainable bid here. I am looking for a turn of the year trade in U, if not sooner. We need to see some utility to ink a relatively good sized contract to get things moving. That would be big. I am also looking for financial players to get more serious about throwing weight around in this sector. A group with decent capital at a multi-strat HF or a medium sized fund could allocate a few hundred mill and create their own reality in this sector, IMO. The order of operations would be to buy up positions in call option like U miners, then buy the U trusts trading at discounts and then hit the spot market hard. I think you would make money on all legs of that if you committed a few hundred mill to it.

Looking at moves in some U stocks recently I wonder if this operation could be starting...

It seemed like the whole U mining sector in Australia was up 13% on Tuesday (several names up that much). We are seeing stuff like UUUU today. And even LEU (+9.6%) which is a name I need to understand better and could have a very interesting role to play in a resurgent US nuclear sector.

I am very excited about the potential here. With NXE and PDN.au my bit positions I am definitely liking the action, but I know we have to see U move eventually. And CCJ probably has to move too as the only "investable" name in the space if you exclude KAP.li

It seems to me CCJ could be $12 in a hurry if it just catches a bid like many in the sector have.

But it's hard to argue that the better trade isn't Uranium Participation Corp for people that can make do with the liquidity. The 17% discount to NAV is just a big deal, especially if you believe, as I do that it will be at a premium during this cycle. Risk reward is just excellent there. You are buying a discount to NAV based on a spot discount to forward, at a commodity price which is unsustainably low, at a time when the whole commodity deck has been priced higher, when even Elon Musk is flagging the need for nuclear power.

A commodity that hasn't moved right as the world wakes up to inflation with an actual clean energy angle to it. This could well be THE trade for 2021, IMO. I know it's been slow to develop, but it just looks better than ever.

Industry Expert on the Uranium Fundamentals - BULLISH CCJ Equity

The consensus seems to be that Biden will be far more bullish for uranium than Trump has ever been in his 4 years. Biden’s $2T Infrastructure plan embraces the current nuclear reactor industry and creates a new ARPA Agency for Climate that has put the development and deployment of advanced nuclear reactors as a priority, seeking to build them cheaper and faster through technical innovation. Biden’s push for clean energy will also serve to reduce competition from coal powered plants that will be phased out sooner, and carbon-emitting gas plants as well given power grids will become more carbon sensitive, rewarding carbon-free nuclear and hydro for their climate change mitigation. Today the bipartisan US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act designed to boost the US nuclear industry, establish a strategic Uranium Reserve, support enhancing the US nuclear fuel cycle and encourage US reactor exports worldwide. All signs are pointing towards a US nuclear renaissance if Biden Administration is to achieve its Net Zero emissions goals, as all evidence shows that intermittent renewables, solar and wind, are not able to provide the continuous 24/7 baseload carbon-free electricity needed by industry and the transition to electric transportation from cars to buses to truck transport. California has been the poster child for the failure of renewables to deliver on their early promise.  The outlook for US nuclear has never been better in the past few decades as Democrats now flip to be nuclear advocates, and with pro-nuclear Kerry nominated as Biden’s Climate Envoy, that renaissance could spread throughout the west as US rejoins Paris Climate Accord.

Both US and Russia are also now looking to leverage their nuclear power generation capacity to produce clean hydrogen fuel, adding more value to reactors in the clean energy transition while creating a new revenue stream that will support maintaining the US fleet where already a number of utilities have applied to extend reactor operating lives to 80 years from the previous limit of 60.

On the supply side, 2020 has seen a record uranium supply deficit due to previous mine shutdowns, flexing down by Kazakhstan, and 5-month mining suspensions at Cameco’s Cigar Lake and all of Kazakhstan’s ISR uranium mines.  Total mined supply this year will come in under 120M lbs, a level not seen since 2008. The 5-month cessation of ISR wellfield development, during what is usually Kazakhstan’s peak seasonal period for drilling and expanding wells to maintain production levels, is only now beginning to impact uranium production, and there is a high expectation that 2021 will see that supply destruction continue into Q2.  For the first time ever both Cameco and Kazatomprom have depleted their held inventory, forcing both to be active buyers in the Spot market in order to fulfill their contract delivery commitments.  With COVID-19 case numbers continuing to spike higher in Northern Saskatchewan, chances of another temporary shutdown of Cigar Lake are increasing daily.  Spot U3O8 price has responded, jumping above $34/lb in March/April then backing off to level off near $30/lb at present to create a new floor at 25% above its March low.

Further fueling the bullish outlook for uranium was the decision by BHP to scrap its Olympic Dam mine expansion plan.  Uranium is an 8M lbs/yr by-product of that mine, which BHP simply sells primarily to traders in the Spot market.  The expansion plan was expected to add another 7-8M lbs/yr supply to Spot market.  ERA’s Ranger Mine in Australia closes permanently next month, and Orano’s COMINAK mine in Niger, West Africa, will close permanently in March of next year.  Together they will reduce 2021 supply by somewhere around 7M lbs/yr.   The only major new mine actively trying to get into production is Berkeley Energia’s Salamanca mine in Spain.  It had received all but 1 of the dozens of permits needed to begin construction before being potentially shelved due to a policy change in government.  Brazil has just begun building a small new open pit mine which is expected to produce just over 500,000 lbs per year starting in 2022. All other mine projects remain on hold, as are all mine restarts as operators wait for uranium prices to move significantly higher into the $40-$50/lb range.

On the nuclear demand side, nuclear utilities have seen almost all of the political and trade overhangs removed that have been keeping them on the sidelines since the Section 232 Uranium Petition was served in January 2018.  They withdrew their RFP’s nearly 3 years ago, preferring to delay contracting until a long list of uncertainties were dealt with. The Section 232 morphed into the Nuclear Fuel Working Group but many of the recommendations were not actioned. Uncertainty over the Iran nuclear waivers became a major issue but that too has been resolved. The most significant uranium trade issue this year was negotiating an extension to the Russian Suspension Agreement, which Commerce and Rosatom eventually concluded successfully. The RSA was extended to at least 2040 with limits on Russian uranium imports being reduced from 20% to 15% of US nuclear fuel requirements by 2040. The last remaining political overhang is the US election outcome, as nuclear utilities do not want to enter into long term contracts until certain that they will get the support they need to keep them running under a new administration.

While COVID-19 has had a severe impact on uranium supply, it has had an opposite effect on demand.  Continuous baseload power has been in high demand throughout the pandemic, and many nations are targeting COVID recovery infrastructure funds to rebuild their power grids with carbon-free energy to achieve their net zero emissions goals.  In just the past few months there has been a strong shift to expand nuclear power generating capacity in China, India, and most recently in Britain where PM Boris Johnson is pushing for construction of a new 3200MW Sizewell-C power plant, and the 16 x 440MW UKSMR advanced reactors that the Rolls-Royce consortium is planning to build across the UK, hoping to expand into the global market.  Advanced reactor projects have found new legs in Canada and the US.  In all there are now 72 new advanced reactor designs under development in 18 countries. Many had thought that COVID-19 would hurt the nuclear industry by reducing demand, but the outlook now seems to be that it has instead fueled a new global nuclear renaissance, just as global uranium supply is in a record deficit. Demand this year is in the order of 187M lbs (vs 120M lbs of primary mined supply) and TradeTech expects demand to rise to 220M lbs over the next 10 years.  Where the supply will come from to bring the market back into balance is the big unknown.  All the major new mines are many years away from construction, and those looking to restart, like Paladin’s Langer Heinrich and Cameco’s McArthur River, are also 2 years or more away.  Kazatomprom has extended their production flex-down through to the end of 2022.  In the 11 years I’ve been following the uranium sector, never have the fundamentals been so strong for a major uranium price recovery like what was seen in 2004-2007. “If” is no longer the question… only “When” remains open.

COVID-19 has been sidelining nuclear fuel buyers as well, given the folks who have been engaged in a record number of reactor refuelings in 2020, under the added pressure of operating through a pandemic, are the same folks tasked with negotiating for new long term contracts with producers.  Term contracting has been very slow as utilities choose to draw down inventories, buying small quantities on Spot, deferring contracting into next year.  With Cameco, Kazatomprom and some utilities buying pounds in a depleted Spot market, the Spot price has found its floor near $30.  Once COVID begins to wane we are expecting to see a strong re-stocking cycle where utilities will over-buy to replace their cushions and acquire the new fuel needed in 2-3 years’ time. As the waiting game continues we are seeing new interest emerging in the uranium space, with some significant gains in quite a few developers and explorers over the past few weeks. I expect that to continue in what is usually a strong seasonal period from now until April/May.

That’s a synopsis of where things stand today with respect to the Uranium bull case. A major move in uranium and related equities seems closer than ever… things move slowly in this sector… until they don’t.

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Red Candle In The Wind

Red Candle In The Wind

By Benjamin PIcton of Rabobank

February non-farm payrolls superficially exceeded market expectations on Friday by…

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Red Candle In The Wind

By Benjamin PIcton of Rabobank

February non-farm payrolls superficially exceeded market expectations on Friday by printing at 275,000 against a consensus call of 200,000. We say superficially, because the downward revisions to prior months totalled 167,000 for December and January, taking the total change in employed persons well below the implied forecast, and helping the unemployment rate to pop two-ticks to 3.9%. The U6 underemployment rate also rose from 7.2% to 7.3%, while average hourly earnings growth fell to 0.2% m-o-m and average weekly hours worked languished at 34.3, equalling pre-pandemic lows.

Undeterred by the devil in the detail, the algos sprang into action once exchanges opened. Market darling NVIDIA hit a new intraday high of $974 before (presumably) the humans took over and sold the stock down more than 10% to close at $875.28. If our suspicions are correct that it was the AIs buying before the humans started selling (no doubt triggering trailing stops on the way down), the irony is not lost on us.

The 1-day chart for NVIDIA now makes for interesting viewing, because the red candle posted on Friday presents quite a strong bearish engulfing signal. Volume traded on the day was almost double the 15-day simple moving average, and similar price action is observable on the 1-day charts for both Intel and AMD. Regular readers will be aware that we have expressed incredulity in the past about the durability the AI thematic melt-up, so it will be interesting to see whether Friday’s sell off is just a profit-taking blip, or a genuine trend reversal.

AI equities aside, this week ought to be important for markets because the BTFP program expires today. That means that the Fed will no longer be loaning cash to the banking system in exchange for collateral pledged at-par. The KBW Regional Banking index has so far taken this in its stride and is trading 30% above the lows established during the mini banking crisis of this time last year, but the Fed’s liquidity facility was effectively an exercise in can-kicking that makes regional banks a sector of the market worth paying attention to in the weeks ahead. Even here in Sydney, regulators are warning of external risks posed to the banking sector from scheduled refinancing of commercial real estate loans following sharp falls in valuations.

Markets are sending signals in other sectors, too. Gold closed at a new record-high of $2178/oz on Friday after trading above $2200/oz briefly. Gold has been going ballistic since the Friday before last, posting gains even on days where 2-year Treasury yields have risen. Gold bugs are buying as real yields fall from the October highs and inflation breakevens creep higher. This is particularly interesting as gold ETFs have been recording net outflows; suggesting that price gains aren’t being driven by a retail pile-in. Are gold buyers now betting on a stagflationary outcome where the Fed cuts without inflation being anchored at the 2% target? The price action around the US CPI release tomorrow ought to be illuminating.

Leaving the day-to-day movements to one side, we are also seeing further signs of structural change at the macro level. The UK budget last week included a provision for the creation of a British ISA. That is, an Individual Savings Account that provides tax breaks to savers who invest their money in the stock of British companies. This follows moves last year to encourage pension funds to head up the risk curve by allocating 5% of their capital to unlisted investments.

As a Hail Mary option for a government cruising toward an electoral drubbing it’s a curious choice, but it’s worth highlighting as cash-strapped governments increasingly see private savings pools as a funding solution for their spending priorities.

Of course, the UK is not alone in making creeping moves towards financial repression. In contrast to announcements today of increased trade liberalisation, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has in the recent past flagged his interest in tapping private pension savings to fund state spending priorities, including defence, public housing and renewable energy projects. Both the UK and Australia appear intent on finding ways to open up the lungs of their economies, but government wants more say in directing private capital flows for state goals.

So, how far is the blurring of the lines between free markets and state planning likely to go? Given the immense and varied budgetary (and security) pressures that governments are facing, could we see a re-up of WWII-era Victory bonds, where private investors are encouraged to do their patriotic duty by directly financing government at negative real rates?

That would really light a fire under the gold market.

Tyler Durden Mon, 03/11/2024 - 19:00

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Trump “Clearly Hasn’t Learned From His COVID-Era Mistakes”, RFK Jr. Says

Trump "Clearly Hasn’t Learned From His COVID-Era Mistakes", RFK Jr. Says

Authored by Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

President…

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Trump "Clearly Hasn't Learned From His COVID-Era Mistakes", RFK Jr. Says

Authored by Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

President Joe Biden claimed that COVID vaccines are now helping cancer patients during his State of the Union address on March 7, but it was a response on Truth Social from former President Donald Trump that drew the ire of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. holds a voter rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Feb. 10, 2024. (Mitch Ranger for The Epoch Times)

During the address, President Biden said: “The pandemic no longer controls our lives. The vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to help beat cancer, turning setback into comeback. That’s what America does.”

President Trump wrote: “The Pandemic no longer controls our lives. The VACCINES that saved us from COVID are now being used to help beat cancer—turning setback into comeback. YOU’RE WELCOME JOE. NINE-MONTH APPROVAL TIME VS. 12 YEARS THAT IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU.”

An outspoken critic of President Trump’s COVID response, and the Operation Warp Speed program that escalated the availability of COVID vaccines, Mr. Kennedy said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “Donald Trump clearly hasn’t learned from his COVID-era mistakes.”

“He fails to recognize how ineffective his warp speed vaccine is as the ninth shot is being recommended to seniors. Even more troubling is the documented harm being caused by the shot to so many innocent children and adults who are suffering myocarditis, pericarditis, and brain inflammation,” Mr. Kennedy remarked.

“This has been confirmed by a CDC-funded study of 99 million people. Instead of bragging about its speedy approval, we should be honestly and transparently debating the abundant evidence that this vaccine may have caused more harm than good.

“I look forward to debating both Trump and Biden on Sept. 16 in San Marcos, Texas.”

Mr. Kennedy announced in April 2023 that he would challenge President Biden for the 2024 Democratic Party presidential nomination before declaring his run as an independent last October, claiming that the Democrat National Committee was “rigging the primary.”

Since the early stages of his campaign, Mr. Kennedy has generated more support than pundits expected from conservatives, moderates, and independents resulting in speculation that he could take votes away from President Trump.

Many Republicans continue to seek a reckoning over the government-imposed pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates.

President Trump’s defense of Operation Warp Speed, the program he rolled out in May 2020 to spur the development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines amid the pandemic, remains a sticking point for some of his supporters.

Vice President Mike Pence (L) and President Donald Trump deliver an update on Operation Warp Speed in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Nov. 13, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Operation Warp Speed featured a partnership between the government, the military, and the private sector, with the government paying for millions of vaccine doses to be produced.

President Trump released a statement in March 2021 saying: “I hope everyone remembers when they’re getting the COVID-19 Vaccine, that if I wasn’t President, you wouldn’t be getting that beautiful ‘shot’ for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all. I hope everyone remembers!”

President Trump said about the COVID-19 vaccine in an interview on Fox News in March 2021: “It works incredibly well. Ninety-five percent, maybe even more than that. I would recommend it, and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don’t want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly.

“But again, we have our freedoms and we have to live by that and I agree with that also. But it’s a great vaccine, it’s a safe vaccine, and it’s something that works.”

On many occasions, President Trump has said that he is not in favor of vaccine mandates.

An environmental attorney, Mr. Kennedy founded Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit that aims to end childhood health epidemics by promoting vaccine safeguards, among other initiatives.

Last year, Mr. Kennedy told podcaster Joe Rogan that ivermectin was suppressed by the FDA so that the COVID-19 vaccines could be granted emergency use authorization.

He has criticized Big Pharma, vaccine safety, and government mandates for years.

Since launching his presidential campaign, Mr. Kennedy has made his stances on the COVID-19 vaccines, and vaccines in general, a frequent talking point.

“I would argue that the science is very clear right now that they [vaccines] caused a lot more problems than they averted,” Mr. Kennedy said on Piers Morgan Uncensored last April.

“And if you look at the countries that did not vaccinate, they had the lowest death rates, they had the lowest COVID and infection rates.”

Additional data show a “direct correlation” between excess deaths and high vaccination rates in developed countries, he said.

President Trump and Mr. Kennedy have similar views on topics like protecting the U.S.-Mexico border and ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

COVID-19 is the topic where Mr. Kennedy and President Trump seem to differ the most.

Former President Donald Trump intended to “drain the swamp” when he took office in 2017, but he was “intimidated by bureaucrats” at federal agencies and did not accomplish that objective, Mr. Kennedy said on Feb. 5.

Speaking at a voter rally in Tucson, where he collected signatures to get on the Arizona ballot, the independent presidential candidate said President Trump was “earnest” when he vowed to “drain the swamp,” but it was “business as usual” during his term.

John Bolton, who President Trump appointed as a national security adviser, is “the template for a swamp creature,” Mr. Kennedy said.

Scott Gottlieb, who President Trump named to run the FDA, “was Pfizer’s business partner” and eventually returned to Pfizer, Mr. Kennedy said.

Mr. Kennedy said that President Trump had more lobbyists running federal agencies than any president in U.S. history.

“You can’t reform them when you’ve got the swamp creatures running them, and I’m not going to do that. I’m going to do something different,” Mr. Kennedy said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump “did not ask the questions that he should have,” he believes.

President Trump “knew that lockdowns were wrong” and then “agreed to lockdowns,” Mr. Kennedy said.

He also “knew that hydroxychloroquine worked, he said it,” Mr. Kennedy explained, adding that he was eventually “rolled over” by Dr. Anthony Fauci and his advisers.

President Donald Trump greets the crowd before he leaves at the Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit in Washington on Dec. 8, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

MaryJo Perry, a longtime advocate for vaccine choice and a Trump supporter, thinks votes will be at a premium come Election Day, particularly because the independent and third-party field is becoming more competitive.

Ms. Perry, president of Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights, believes advocates for medical freedom could determine who is ultimately president.

She believes that Mr. Kennedy is “pulling votes from Trump” because of the former president’s stance on the vaccines.

“People care about medical freedom. It’s an important issue here in Mississippi, and across the country,” Ms. Perry told The Epoch Times.

“Trump should admit he was wrong about Operation Warp Speed and that COVID vaccines have been dangerous. That would make a difference among people he has offended.”

President Trump won’t lose enough votes to Mr. Kennedy about Operation Warp Speed and COVID vaccines to have a significant impact on the election, Ohio Republican strategist Wes Farno told The Epoch Times.

President Trump won in Ohio by eight percentage points in both 2016 and 2020. The Ohio Republican Party endorsed President Trump for the nomination in 2024.

“The positives of a Trump presidency far outweigh the negatives,” Mr. Farno said. “People are more concerned about their wallet and the economy.

“They are asking themselves if they were better off during President Trump’s term compared to since President Biden took office. The answer to that question is obvious because many Americans are struggling to afford groceries, gas, mortgages, and rent payments.

“America needs President Trump.”

Multiple national polls back Mr. Farno’s view.

As of March 6, the RealClearPolitics average of polls indicates that President Trump has 41.8 percent support in a five-way race that includes President Biden (38.4 percent), Mr. Kennedy (12.7 percent), independent Cornel West (2.6 percent), and Green Party nominee Jill Stein (1.7 percent).

A Pew Research Center study conducted among 10,133 U.S. adults from Feb. 7 to Feb. 11 showed that Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents (42 percent) are more likely than Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (15 percent) to say they have received an updated COVID vaccine.

The poll also reported that just 28 percent of adults say they have received the updated COVID inoculation.

The peer-reviewed multinational study of more than 99 million vaccinated people that Mr. Kennedy referenced in his X post on March 7 was published in the Vaccine journal on Feb. 12.

It aimed to evaluate the risk of 13 adverse events of special interest (AESI) following COVID-19 vaccination. The AESIs spanned three categories—neurological, hematologic (blood), and cardiovascular.

The study reviewed data collected from more than 99 million vaccinated people from eight nations—Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, New Zealand, and Scotland—looking at risks up to 42 days after getting the shots.

Three vaccines—Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines as well as AstraZeneca’s viral vector jab—were examined in the study.

Researchers found higher-than-expected cases that they deemed met the threshold to be potential safety signals for multiple AESIs, including for Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), myocarditis, and pericarditis.

A safety signal refers to information that could suggest a potential risk or harm that may be associated with a medical product.

The study identified higher incidences of neurological, cardiovascular, and blood disorder complications than what the researchers expected.

President Trump’s role in Operation Warp Speed, and his continued praise of the COVID vaccine, remains a concern for some voters, including those who still support him.

Krista Cobb is a 40-year-old mother in western Ohio. She voted for President Trump in 2020 and said she would cast her vote for him this November, but she was stunned when she saw his response to President Biden about the COVID-19 vaccine during the State of the Union address.

I love President Trump and support his policies, but at this point, he has to know they [advisers and health officials] lied about the shot,” Ms. Cobb told The Epoch Times.

“If he continues to promote it, especially after all of the hearings they’ve had about it in Congress, the side effects, and cover-ups on Capitol Hill, at what point does he become the same as the people who have lied?” Ms. Cobb added.

“I think he should distance himself from talk about Operation Warp Speed and even admit that he was wrong—that the vaccines have not had the impact he was told they would have. If he did that, people would respect him even more.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 03/11/2024 - 17:00

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There will soon be one million seats on this popular Amtrak route

“More people are taking the train than ever before,” says Amtrak’s Executive Vice President.

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While the size of the United States makes it hard for it to compete with the inter-city train access available in places like Japan and many European countries, Amtrak trains are a very popular transportation option in certain pockets of the country — so much so that the country’s national railway company is expanding its Northeast Corridor by more than one million seats.

Related: This is what it's like to take a 19-hour train from New York to Chicago

Running from Boston all the way south to Washington, D.C., the route is one of the most popular as it passes through the most densely populated part of the country and serves as a commuter train for those who need to go between East Coast cities such as New York and Philadelphia for business.

Veronika Bondarenko captured this photo of New York’s Moynihan Train Hall. 

Veronika Bondarenko

Amtrak launches new routes, promises travelers ‘additional travel options’

Earlier this month, Amtrak announced that it was adding four additional Northeastern routes to its schedule — two more routes between New York’s Penn Station and Union Station in Washington, D.C. on the weekend, a new early-morning weekday route between New York and Philadelphia’s William H. Gray III 30th Street Station and a weekend route between Philadelphia and Boston’s South Station.

More Travel:

According to Amtrak, these additions will increase Northeast Corridor’s service by 20% on the weekdays and 10% on the weekends for a total of one million additional seats when counted by how many will ride the corridor over the year.

“More people are taking the train than ever before and we’re proud to offer our customers additional travel options when they ride with us on the Northeast Regional,” Amtrak Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Eliot Hamlisch said in a statement on the new routes. “The Northeast Regional gets you where you want to go comfortably, conveniently and sustainably as you breeze past traffic on I-95 for a more enjoyable travel experience.”

Here are some of the other Amtrak changes you can expect to see

Amtrak also said that, in the 2023 financial year, the Northeast Corridor had nearly 9.2 million riders — 8% more than it had pre-pandemic and a 29% increase from 2022. The higher demand, particularly during both off-peak hours and the time when many business travelers use to get to work, is pushing Amtrak to invest into this corridor in particular.

To reach more customers, Amtrak has also made several changes to both its routes and pricing system. In the fall of 2023, it introduced a type of new “Night Owl Fare” — if traveling during very late or very early hours, one can go between cities like New York and Philadelphia or Philadelphia and Washington. D.C. for $5 to $15.

As travel on the same routes during peak hours can reach as much as $300, this was a deliberate move to reach those who have the flexibility of time and might have otherwise preferred more affordable methods of transportation such as the bus. After seeing strong uptake, Amtrak added this type of fare to more Boston routes.

The largest distances, such as the ones between Boston and New York or New York and Washington, are available at the lowest rate for $20.

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