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U.S. company profits even bigger than Wall Street’s lofty targets

NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Much stronger-than-expected profit reports from U.S. companies in recent weeks have ratcheted up already high Wall Street forecasts on how second-quarter earnings growth will look versus last year.

Earnings are now expected to have climbed about 90% in the second quarter versus analysts’ forecasts of 65.4% at the start of July, according to IBES data from Refinitiv, with results in so far from roughly 300 of the S&P 500 companies as of Monday morning.

Nearly 89% of the reports are beating analysts’ second-quarter profit estimates – the highest percentage on record, based on Refinitiv data going back to 1994. The  gangbuster second quarter is expected to mark a peak for recent U.S. earnings growth as companies recover from the depths of last year’s pandemic-induced profit collapse. “Except for a few disappointments here and there, everybody has had solid earnings. It has been a tremendous earnings season, but it was supposed to be,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “It will be interesting when you start getting deeper into third and fourth quarters. The market might be anticipating a bit of a trip-up.” Third-quarter earnings are estimated to climb 29.6% from a year-ago quarter. Fourth-quarter earnings are seen gaining 21.2%, based on Refinitiv data. In aggregate, companies are reporting earnings 16.6% above expectations, compared with an average of 20.1% for the prior four quarters and an average of 3.9% going back to 1994, based on Refinitiv data. Companies that have contributed the most to the big gains in profit growth include Apple (AAPL.O), Wells Fargo (WFC.N), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N). Financial companies make up half of the top 10 contributors to growth so far this season, Refinitiv data shows. “Surprises have been positive, large and broad-based across sectors and industry groups,” but “returns on results” have been mixed, UBS strategists including Keith Parker wrote in a note Monday. The S&P 500 (.SPX) is roughly flat since the unofficial start of the earnings season on July 13. Among companies left to report on the quarter are many of the big U.S. retailers including Walmart (WMT.N). Nick Note: the comparisons were easy. Since last year their was a complete lock down. Come the the 4th quarter earnings will plunge, because thats when i expect the US to be in lock down………

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UK to Offer Vaccine Booster for 32 Million Next Month… Sweden plans to offer majority COVID booster shots in 2022

https://youtu.be/1TYZizyBQz0

Aug 1 (Reuters) – Britain will offer COVID-19 booster vaccines to 32 million Britons starting early next month with up to 2,000 pharmacies set to deliver the programme, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The campaign could start as soon as Sept. 6, which would see the rollout completed by early December if it goes to plan, the report added.

Sweden plans to offer majority COVID booster shots

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – The majority of Swedes will be offered a booster shot against COVID in 2022, while high risk groups could get a third shot during autumn of this year, the country’s health authority said on Tuesday. The authority did not give an exact figure for how many people would get a third shot next year, but said that a large part of the population would be offered another jab. Groups seen as high-risk, such as the elderly or people with underlying health conditions, will continue to be prioritised as booster vaccines are rolled-out, the authority added. “The assessment is that it is not possible to eradicate the virus and therefore vaccination work should be long-term and focused on reducing serious illness and death,” state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said in a statement. The authority said it expected Sweden’s entire adult population will have received two shots of the vaccine by autumn, and that there will be a good supply of vaccine over the coming years. Nick Note: In 6 to 12 months immunity drops dramatically  like the YEARLT flue vaccine. The covid vaccine drop to 30% effectiveness IN 6 TO 12 MONTHS…. INTERESTING ENOUGH ITS THE SAME RATE OF DECAY AS THE FLUE YEARLY JAB. You strategy is simple……. Get the 3rd booster shot as soon as you can and next year we will have a vaccine targeting the 3 circulating mutation especially the dominant  Delta variant….. In the mean time mask up, vitamin up, and test up…… Testing i mean massive testing and severe isolation is what saved Chine…..

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Oil prices slip, rebound runs out of steam on demand worries

  • U.S. oil prices reverse course after early rebound
  • Coronavirus curbs, slowing factory activity weigh

SINGAPORE, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Crude oil prices reversed course after an early bounce on Tuesday, as concerns over coronavirus curbs combined with slowing factory activity in key markets weighed on sentiment. Brent crude oil futures shed 26 cents, or 0.4%, to $72.63 a barrel, as of 0645 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 16 cents, or 0.2%, at $71.10 a barrel. Both markets dropped more than 3% on Monday.ANZ analysts in a note highlighted resurgent economic risks to major oil consumer China from the coronavirus pandemic. “Cases of the highly contagious Delta variant have emerged in 14 of 32 provinces. This could see further mobility restrictions introduced,” ANZ analysts wrote. They also flagged slowing manufacturing activity as a key concern, to both China and the United States. “China’s economic activity continued to ease in July, with the official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index falling to 50.4 from 50.9 in June,” ANZ said. “Manufacturing activity also slowed in the U.S., with the ISM index falling to 59.5” – the lowest reading since January – from 60.6 in June.  Nick Note: the Delta mutation will soon end this little party…..

Asian stocks were mostly negative on Tuesday as the Delta coronavirus variant spread in key markets and Chinese officials took aim at video game producers, once more rattling investor confidence in the mainland’s markets.

Meanwhile, Iran will respond promptly to any threat against its security, the foreign ministry said on Monday, after the United States, Israel and Britain blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman. L1N2P90M5

Elsewhere, U.S. crude and product inventories likely declined last week with both distillates and gasoline stockpiles predicted to have fallen for a third straight week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.

Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Jacqueline Wong

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Wuhan to test entire population for COVID and lock them down

Authorities in the Chinese city of Wuhan will begin testing its entire population, after just  6 positive coronavirus cases were detected there

Wuhan has recorded seven locally transmitted cases – the first local infections in more than a year. The city of 11 million people shot into the spotlight after the coronavirus was first detected there in 2019. China is currently seeing one of its biggest outbreaks in months, with 300 cases detected in 10 days. Some 15 provinces across the country have been affected, which has led to the government rolling out mass testing measures and lockdown restrictions. Authorities have attributed the spread of the virus to the highly contagious Delta variant and the domestic tourism season. The announcement in Wuhan came as China reported 90 new virus cases on Tuesday. The National Health Commission said 61 of these were locally transmitted – compared with 55 local cases a day earlier. China had been largely successful in controlling the virus within its borders. However, this new spread, which was first detected among workers at a busy airport in Nanjing, has sparked concern. Authorities have tested the 9.2 million residents of Nanjing three times and imposed lockdown on hundreds of thousands of people. But over the weekend the spotlight turned to popular tourist destination Zhangjiajie in Hunan province, where many of the latest cases have emerged. Travellers from Nanjing were thought to have visited the city recently. Health officials have zeroed in on a theatre in Zhangjiajie, and are now trying to track down about 5,000 people who attended performances and then travelled back to their home cities. “Zhangjiajie has now become the new ground zero for China’s epidemic spread,” Zhong Nanshan, China’s leading respiratory disease expert, told reporters.The new outbreak has also reached the capital Beijing, with the city reporting several locally transmitted infections. Nick Note: China has the fewest infections and death. When you consider the fact it has over a billion people mostly vaccinated (except for party members and VIP’s) its a real accomplishment… What is China’s secret? Besides lots of green tea. Pretty simple it is constantly testing EVERYONE! Rapid tests DOOR TO DOOR and positive tests are taken very seriously. The entire city of 11 million people in Wuhan are in SEVERE lock down after only 6 positive tests. By way of example the US has 22,000 positive tests a day. And the American solution is fuck fests, protests and little more. Something to be said for a totalitarian state…. I long for the good ole days…..

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US Senator Graham tests positive for coronavirus… was fully vaccinated

WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham announced on Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated, has flu-like symptoms and will be self-quarantining for 10 days. “I am very glad I was vaccinated because without vaccination I am certain I would not feel as well as I do now. My symptoms would be far worse,” Graham, 66, wrote on Twitter. The South Carolina Republican, a leading conservative voice in the Senate, said he began experiencing flu-like symptoms on Saturday and sought medical attention on Monday morning. He was later informed by a congressional physician that he had tested positive. “I feel like I have a sinus infection and at present time I have mild symptoms,” Graham, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, wrote in a pair of tweets. “I will be quarantining for ten days.” His announcement comes at a crucial time for the closely divided Senate, where Democratic leaders hope to advance President Joe Biden’s agenda in coming weeks by pushing through a roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. Graham is among a group of 17 Senate Republicans who have backed the bipartisan infrastructure legislation in procedural votes. The measure needs Republican votes to achieve the 60-vote threshold required for most legislation in the 100-seat chamber. The Senate is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, who control the chamber only because of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote. It was not clear how much contact Graham has had recently with other members of the Senate. A spokesman for Senator Joe Manchin, a leading Democrat on infrastructure, could not confirm whether Graham attended a recent private gathering hosted by Manchin, but added: “Senator Manchin is fully vaccinated and following the CDC guidelines for those exposed to a COVID positive individual.” Graham’s office did not respond to questions about the gathering. Graham did not say whether he had tested positive for the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for a recent surge in infections in the United States, particularly Southern states with relatively low vaccination rates. Forty-six percent of South Carolina’s population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, well below the national average of 58%, according to the Reuters COVID-19 Vaccination Tracker. Nick Note: Key words fully vaccinated……….. Please note he vaccine was over 6 months ago… Booster shot anyone? How about testing everyone you come in contact with? 15 bucks 15 minuets…….. Pretty cheap insurance……

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CDC Says Vaccinated Can Be Super-Spreaders (Are Vaccines Failing?)

Via the words of the CDC’s own director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the official narrative on vaccines and covid has just self-destructed. While in March of this year, Walenksy had publicly promised that vaccinated people could not spread the virus and infect others.

This week the CDC publicly stated that vaccines are failing, and that vaccinated people may now carry higher viral loads than unvaccinated people, contributing to the spread of covid.

Even Yahoo News, which typically shills for Big Pharma, could not sugarcoat the devastating narrative shift, reporting:

The CDC updated its guidelines on Tuesday to recommend masks indoors, even for vaccinated people. The Delta variant makes it easier for vaccinated people to transmit the virus, the CDC said. Vaccinated and unvaccinated people infected with Delta may have similar viral loads.

The CDC is currently hiding these data from the public, by the way, most likely because they know that once the data are revealed, any remaining shred of their pro-vaccine narrative will spontaneously collapse.

CDC “Confession” Just Obliterated All The Promises Made To The Vaccinated… Now They Are Slowly Realizing They’re The Doomed Super-Spreaders

In making these public statements, the CDC just admitted that the entire promise that vaccinated people were immune to covid and couldn’t spread it to others just unraveled. Immediately, the CDC demanded that the entire nation revert to neanderthal mask mandates, even for those who have been “fully vaccinated.”

But It’s Even Worse: CDC Director Just Admitted The Vaccines Will Soon Be Obsolete

If you can imagine it, the situation is actually far worse than what’s been covered here so far. In her public confessions this week, CDC director Walensky also admitted that covid is “just a few mutations away” from rendering all existing vaccines completely obsolete. She added:

The largest concern that I think we in public health and science are worried about is that virus and the potential mutations. We have a very transmissible virus, which has the potential to evade our vaccines in terms of how it protects us from severe disease and death…

we obviously need  “booster shots,” vaccine companies are now  openly stating that the mutated Delta strains means people will need booster shots to be protected

The “high wave of morbidity and mortality,” it seems, has only just begun.

Dr. Robert Malone Warns Of “Worst Case Scenario” And Cites First Evidence Showing Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE) Now Emerging

Over the next 12 months or so, we are likely going to see a wave of post-vaccine deaths that mirrors the wave of people obtaining vaccines earlier this year. Even Dr. Robert Malone, inventor of the mRNA vaccine technology, warns that the CDC’s admission is essentially a confirmation that Antibody Dependent Enhancement effects have begun.

Pfizer protection is waning at six months. Those who received Pfizer, that are now in the waning phase, seem to be getting infected. This exactly what you would anticipate is the window of greatest susceptibility to antibody dependent enhancement, in this long tapering phase as the vaccine response declines. Nick Note: Everyone needs to take a deep breath. Vaccines really really work. Hysterics aside like the flue vaccine the covid19 vaccine needs a booster shot… configured to the mutations every 6 to 12 months. We accept that for the flue vaccines why would covid19 be any different. these are both viruses that constantly mutate. A vaccination card is useless. We need to test everyone who enters our airspace. Its the protocol for the wealthy and key people.. White House staff and secret service agents are tested daily. I can tell you staff that come in contact with principals are constantly tested… Until we get a booster shot with the RNA of the Delta variant you need to up your game….. Is a test to much to ask?  Everyone entering executive suits, airplanes and cruise ships are subject to tests… Thank GOD we have 10 minuets tests we can do at home…. You better get your test kits NOW supplies are running out……..

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Delta strain worries could slow recovery – Fed’s Kashkari

(Bloomberg) — Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the spread of the delta variant of Covid-19 could keep some Americans from looking for work, potentially harming the U.S. recovery. “I was very optimistic the fall would be a strong labor market with many of those Americans coming back to work. That’s still my base case scenario,” he said Sunday during an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “But if people are nervous about the delta variant, that could slow some of that labor market recovery and therefore be a drag on our economic recovery.” Fed officials took a step last week toward eventually scaling back their pandemic support for the U.S. economy. They held interest rates near zero and repeated a pledge made in December to maintain $120 billion in monthly asset purchases until “substantial further progress” was made on employment and inflation. But they also said that the economy had made progress toward these goals, and that policy makers would continue to assess progress at upcoming meetings. Economists took that as a clear signal they were leaning towards scaling back the bond buying later this year or early next, provided surging infection rates from the Delta variant of Covid-19 don’t stall the economy recovery. Kashkari, not a voter this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, said they were not there yet. “We’re about a third of the way back from where the hole was in December, so we’ve made progress but we are still in a deep hole,” Kashkari said. “We have 7 to 9 million Americans who are still out of work that we need to get back into the job market.” His comments dovetailed with remarks on Friday evening from Fed Governor Lael Brainard, who said “employment has some distance to go” to meet that test, noting that millions of Americans still remain out of work.In contrast, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told reporters earlier in the day that he wanted the central bank to decide in September to begin reducing its asset purchases. Nick Note: The recovery is over. We will still get good reports… the ones looking backwards. BUT as we get into fall it will be apparent to all we are in the biggest wave yet of the plague. They will not have to lock down. People hospitalized do not show up for work. And as they beg for a vaccines because they canot breath they will get very cooperative. And the FOX news commentators all vaccinated and tested reguarelly will change their anti vax marketing campaign. Its like Trump he can scream and yell he is presiden the the MR Pillow guy can spin Trup will be back in August… but none of this will happen. Reality has a way of biteing people in the ass. Mask up, vitamine up, get a booster shot when you can and test everyone who shares you air space….. Remember vaccinated people are super spreaders. So to my horror a vaccine certificate does not protest you… a simple 10 minuits test is the best protection you can get

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UK finance minister presses for travel rules easing

LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) – Britain’s Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has pressed for an easing of travel restrictions to offer respite to the tourism sector amid concerns that the country is not reaping the benefit of its vaccination programme, the Sunday Times reported. Sunak had written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning of the impact that Britain’s strict border controls were having ahead a meeting of ministers on Thursday to consider changes, the newspaper said, citing a source familiar with the letter.The Treasury declined to comment. England last month lifted the requirement for fully vaccinated Britons returning from medium-risk countries to have to quarantine. Visitors from the EU and United States with the same status will also be exempt from Monday.  However, travellers still have to take expensive tests before departure and shortly after arrival. Separately, the bosses of Britain’s biggest airlines and travel companies urged Transport Minister Grant Shapps to add more countries to the “green list” that have fewer restrictions. They said green status should increasingly become a default, given that nearly 90% of British adults had been given one vaccine and more than 70% had two, and domestic restrictions had eased. “On this basis there is no reason why, and it is essential, that much of Europe including the key volume markets, the U.S., Caribbean and other major markets, cannot turn green next week in time for the remainder of the summer peak,” bosses of Virgin Atlantic, easyJet, British Airways, Jet2.com, Loganair, Ryanair and TUI UK & Ireland said in a letter shared with media. They said a continued requirement for expensive COVID-19 tests would have a huge impact on aviation. “We have seen no evidence that this regime is necessary for fully vaccinated travellers or those from Green countries, or that effective, cheaper rapid tests cannot be used from higher risk destinations,” they said. Nick Note: Get it…….. all for the money. Its the mercantile interest of the travel industry… And that is why the Delta mutation has spread far and wide. This past week the worlds largest cruise ship the Mardi Gras set sail on her  maiden voyage. Ballhooed as the largest newest and most innovative ship,  Carnival President Christine Duffy and Mardi Gras Captain Giuseppe Giusa led a “Back to Fun” ribbon-cutting ceremony officially welcoming guests on board. I watched the launch and the fools rushing on board. And thought to myself this is going to end badly. Lets wait and see how this turns out. I would like to remind you this was done in the biggest surge yet in new infections. And as the world is under siege of the most infectious virus ever….. Why would you do it… Would not responsible management just wait?

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CDC leak, summary and full report

An internal report presented to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates the Delta coronavirus variant is far more transmissible than older lineages, may cause more severe disease, and that when it causes breakthrough infections, may be as easily transmitted as when it infects unvaccinated people.

What the document shows:

  • The slideshow dated Thursday and first obtained by The Washington Post, appears to provide some data backing CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s controversial decision on Tuesday to change the agency’s guidance on mask use.
  • It says the Delta variant is about as transmissible as chickenpox, with each infected person, on average, infecting eight or nine others. The original lineage was about as transmissible as the common cold, with each infected person passing the virus to about two other people on average.
  • And if vaccinated people get infected anyway, they have as much virus in their bodies as unvaccinated people. But vaccinated people are safer, the document indicates. It says vaccines reduce the risk of severe disease or death 10-fold and reduce the risk of infection three-fold.
  • The CDC, the document advises, should “acknowledge the war has changed.” It recommends vaccine mandates and universal mask requirements.

How the CDC reacted:

  • Walensky confirmed to CNN that the slideshow was presented to her at a noon briefing on Thursday. “I think people need to understand that we’re not crying wolf here. This is serious,” Walensky told CNN Thursday night. “It’s one of the most transmissible viruses we know about. Measles, chicken pox, this – they’re all up there,” she said.
  • Walensky noted that the R0 for the Delta variant – a measure of its transmissibility – is estimated to be 5-9, meaning each infected person can be expected to infect 5-9 other people. “When you think about diseases that have an R0 of 8 or 9 – there aren’t that many.”
  • Asked about the contents of the slide deck, Walensky said, “There weren’t any surprises. It was the synthesis of the data all in one place that was sobering.”

What comes next:

  • The CDC is scheduled to publish additional data Friday that will back Walensky’s controversial decision to change guidance for fully vaccinated people. She said Tuesday the CDC was recommending that even fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in places where transmission of the virus is sustained or high. The data behind an internal US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document that suggests fully vaccinated people might spread the Delta variant at the same rate as unvaccinated people is, according to the Washington Post, based on a Covid-19 cluster that emerged from July 4 weekend festivities in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Alex Morse, Provincetown’s town manager, told CNN’s “New Day” that there are 112 active cases right now in the town, but the overall cluster number is more than 880 since July 1.

Vaccination alone won’t stop the rise of new variants and in fact could push the evolution of strains that evade their protection, researchers warned Friday.  They said people need to wear masks and take other steps to prevent spread until almost everyone in a population has been vaccinated. “When most people are vaccinated, the vaccine-resistant strain has an advantage over the original strain,” Simon Rella of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, who worked on the study, told reporters. “This means the vaccine resistant strain spreads through the population faster at a time when most people are vaccinated.” The findings suggest that policymakers should resist the temptation to lift restrictions to celebrate or reward vaccination efforts. This is likely to be especially true with a more transmissible variant such as the Delta variant, said Fyodor Kondrashov, also of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria. “Generally, the more people are infected, the more the chances for vaccine resistance to emerge. So the more Delta is infectious, the more reason for concern,” Kondrashov told reporters. “By having a situation where you vaccinate everybody, a vaccine resistant mutant actually gains a selective advantage.” People should not complain, he said. “The individual who already vaccinated and putting on a mask should not think this is pointless but should think that there is a vaccine resistant strain running around,” he said. Nick Note: Remember the lag time between infections and deaths… It will take another month to “prove” it. i am sure the death rate even among vaccinated people will soar….

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The world is at risk of losing hard-won gains in fighting COVID-19

GENEVA, July 30 (Reuters) – The world is at risk of losing hard-won gains in fighting COVID-19 as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads, but WHO-approved vaccines remain effective, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described the Delta variant of the coronavirus as being as transmissible as chickenpox and cautioned it could cause severe disease, the Washington Post said, citing an internal CDC document.

COVID-19 infections have increased by 80% over the past four weeks in most regions of the world, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Deaths in Africa – where only 1.5% of the population is vaccinated – rose by 80% over the same period. “Hard-won gains are in jeopardy or being lost, and health systems in many countries are being overwhelmed,” Tedros told a news conference. The Delta variant has been detected in 132 countries, becoming the dominant global strain, according to the WHO. “The vaccines that are currently approved by the WHO all provide significant protection against severe disease and hospitalisation from all the variants, including the Delta variant,” said WHO’s top emergency expert, Mike Ryan. “We are fighting the same virus but a virus that has become faster and better adapted to transmitting amongst us humans, that’s the change,” he said. Maria van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, said the Delta variant was the most easily spread so far, about 50% more transmissible than ancestral strains of SARS-CoV-2 that first emerged in China in late 2019. Japan said on Friday it would expand states of emergency to three prefectures near Olympic host city Tokyo and the western prefecture of Osaka, as COVID-19 cases spike in the capital and around the country, overshadowing the Summer Games.  Ryan noted that Tokyo had recorded more than 3,000 cases in the past 24 hours, among some 10,000 new infections in Japan. “The Olympics is a part of that overall context and the risk management that is place around the Olympics is extremely comprehensive,” he said. Nick Note: Its bad and much worse then they are reporting. I am following things very closely. By mid September we will know for sure. I believe this next wave will be the worse one yet. And once we get the next vaccine with 3 stem proteins sequenced and RNA installed for the vaccinated people this will be over. You got to hang on to the beginning of next year…