Canada approves 66% efficient Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine

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Health Canada approved J&J’s viral vector vaccine on 5 March. It is the only single-dose vaccine to be approved in Canada so far. Other vaccines available are from Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Moderna. J&J’s vaccine is 66% effective at reducing moderate illness and 85% effective at preventing serious symptoms. Because the vaccine can be stored at 2C-8C, it should be easier to transport and access. Canada is set to receive 10 million doses by September.[CTV] By Miranda Zhao

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1300 Dutch Clubbers Party in the Name of Science

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In one of the more exciting Covid-19 studies so far, Dutch research initiative Fieldlab invited over a thousand would-be revelers to party in the Amsterdam Ziggo Dome on 6 March. The study was intended to help the Dutch government make decisions about potentially re-opening the economy. The subjects were divided into five “bubbles”of 250 people, with requirements ranging from always wearing face masks and social distancing, to standing in designated spots the whole night. A smaller sixth “bubble” of 50 people was under no restrictions. Researchers noted that most people, regardless of instructions, took their masks off not long after the music started playing.

[Guardian] [By Kevin Wang] 

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Toronto Raccoon Attacks Up 62% in 2020

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A recent report from the City of Toronto highlighted another consequence of the 2020 lockdowns: a 62% increase in raccoon attacks on residents, as stay-at-home citizens and “trash pandas” run into each other more and more. These interactions include such memorable experiences as trash can altercations, hearing rustling sounds in the walls—raccoons are nocturnal, and often sleep in or near houses during the day—and people trying to feed or pet wild raccoons. Toronto Public Health recommends staying away from, and not feeding, wild animals, properly disposing of waste, and supervising pets when outside.

[Guardian] [By Kevin Wang]

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French Student Confesses to Lying About Beheaded History Teacher Samuel Paty

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A turn of events has occurred in history teacher Samuel Paty’s beheading case in October 2020. Paty had left the school one Friday afternoon, on his way home to his 5-year-old son, when he was brutally beheaded by a man. The man had paid two adolescent students to identify Paty and had then confronted him. Paty had been teaching a history class that day as usual, when he decided to show caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. He advised his students that those who felt offended should leave the classroom. This being said, 2 days later, a 13-year-old Muslim student told her father that Paty had asked all Muslim students to leave, and that when she complained she was suspended. Her father had then complained about this injustice via social media as well as to the school, which may be a direct casual link to the murder. However, now, the girl has confessed that she was not even present in that class, and that she had made up the story to explain her suspension for truancy.[NationalPost][By Iris Ma]

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Roblox goes public and is already worth more than $45 billion

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On Wednesday, March 10th, shares of the popular video game platform, Roblox debuted on Wall Street. The price of the stock started at $45 but it instantly surged almost 55% to $69.50 by the time it was released to the New York Stock Exchange. Roblox had been a private company for the past decade but as soon as it went public, it is being classified as a rapidly growing business already valued at $45 billion. Roblox has around 36 million daily active users in 2021. Roblox had nearly $925 million in revenue last year, 82% more than 2019. The company now expects sales to rise about another 60% this year. After going public, Roblox joins the growing list of “unicorn companies” that have soared after going public such as Bumble, Airbnb and DoorDash. A gaming software firm called Unity also went public last year in September and its stock has nearly 2x since then. Due to Roblox’s lucrative business model, it has caught the eye of many investors and it will be interesting to see where the stock goes from here. [CNN] By Anirudh Goel

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Piece of digital art sells for $69 million

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On 11 March, a digital artwork sold for $69 346 250 in the first sale by a major auction house of art that does not exist in physical form. The work, titled Everydays – The First 5000 Days is by artist Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple. Christie’s, the auction house that sold the artwork, said that the sale made Beeple one of the top three most valuable living artists. The work is in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) which means that it is authenticated by a digital ledger known as blockchain. There have been many people clamouring for these NFTs, and Beeple believes that NFTs could represent the future of ownership. [CBC News][By Emily Ma]

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More than $3B paid to 38,000 victims of residential school abuse

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Residential schools caused young Indigenous children to be forcibly removed from their families, and many of the children were abused in what has been described as cultural genocide. On Thursday 11 March, a report released by the committee overseeing the independent assessment process. The report outlines the efforts to rectify the damage inflicted on generations of Indigenous children and states that 3.23 billion dollars in compensation was given to 38 276 claimants. Apart from compensation, the report also outlined how some lawyers used the claims process as a way to take advantage of their clients, one allegedly taking one million dollars from claimants. Though the compensation process is done, the report mentions the need to continue to help survivors in their “healing journey”. [CBC News][By Emily Ma]