#i HAVE been tapped for a vaccine trial that will pay VERY well but that would involve infecting me with...shigella

[arctic-hands]

I wish I didn't have to be "otherwise healthy" to be in scientific trials and such. Like I get they need consistent variables, but also these drugs will go to treat people with health issues and very few chronically ill people have JUST ONE chronically illness so at some point in the trial they should be looking for people like me

[sophies-earbuds]

Inside (an irondad fic)

Word count: 2768

Summary: During a work day in the lab, Peter tells Tony about the night the Vulture was arrested.

Ao3

“Hey, Pete, can you hand me that screwdriver over there?”

Peter reaches for the small tool on the desk, which is about four feet out of Tony’s reach due to his habit of rolling tools out of the way once he’s done with them, even though he’s going to need them again just a few seconds later. Apparently, having an intern is the best thing to happen to Tony’s workshop since sliced bread.

“Yeah, as long as you don’t fling it across the room again,” Peter teases sarcastically, handing the screwdriver to his mentor, who flashes him a pointed look that doesn’t come across as anything but fond to Peter.

“You’ll come to learn that some habits are unbreakable, kid. But as long as I have you in the lab, I think I’ll be just fine,” Tony tells him, to which Peter rolls his eyes, hating when Tony pulls the whole ‘I’m an old adult and you’re a learning teenager’ spiel.

“So, what do you do when I’m not here, just sit around until someone comes along to hand you the tool you just flung away?” Peter asks, leaning his cheek on his hand, watching Tony mess around with a pair of decked out sunglasses he’s making for Peter, which he hopes will help dial back his heightened senses while he isn’t in his suit. At the moment, he’s trying to add a chip that will connect the glasses to Karen, paired with discreet earpieces Peter can wear all the time, sort of like reverse hearing aids that will also double as a bluetooth for the glasses and his phone. He has to admit, it’s incredibly cool. He’s mostly there just to oversee and learn about nanotechnology, and to test run some of the tech to fit his accommodations.

“Pretty much, Underoos.”

As Tony keeps on with his work on the glasses, Peter pulls out his chemistry work from his bag, opening up his notebook to the page of his newest web fluid compound, and set to work theorising new ways to make the fluid last longer, so he’d stop losing his backpacks as the webs dissolve. Hiding them in a more discreet manner is definitely not an option in Peter’s mind, because where’s the fun in that? He’s got no time to put down his backpack before going out on patrol after school.

“Working on some new web fluid?” Tony asks, glancing over at Peter’s notes. He’s suddenly very conscious about the way he decorates his notes with doodles and bubble letter headings, filling in corners and blank spaces with zentangle patterns he’d learned back in a short middle school art course.

“Yeah, I wanna make sure that the criminals I web up won’t be able to escape with a blade, or that it won’t dissolve so quickly…,” he trails off, focusing again on filling in a few annotations, marking out what will and won’t work.

“So… you want to create a web shield?” Tony asks with the quirk of an eyebrow in his direction.

Peter thinks for a moment, considering the idea. “Not what I was going for, but that’s definitely going on my to-do list,” he says, flipping a page to scribble down a hasty note about durable and retractable web shields.

“We can start on it tomorrow morning. You’re staying the night, right? You cleared it with May?”

Peter rolls his eyes, smiling at how overprotective Tony is with him sometimes. “Yeah, I called her earlier, said we were supposed to have a late night in the lab. I think she was more relieved, though, said something about making plans with some friends. I’m glad she can get a night without having to worry about me dying or something.”

“Yeah, because you’re so safe here, with all of the untested tech and literal weapon robots,” Tony says sarcastically, messing with a microchip prototype under a magnifying glass, testing out the waters with the mini Karen file, thus proving his point.

“Mr. Stark, I think we both know I’m safer with you than I am by myself,” Peter tells him reluctantly. Usually, he won’t admit so easily that what he does is dangerous, mostly because he doesn’t like to worry the helicopter adults in his life, but he knows it’s the truth.

“That, and maybe you’ll finally get some sleep.”

Rolling his eyes, Peter goes back to stare at his notes, wondering what he’s missing in his compound, and eventually decides he can’t pay attention to it, so he instead watches what Tony is doing.

So far, the glasses are pretty much skinned so Tony can fit all of the tech inside of them, ensuring that nobody will be able to figure out their actual purpose. Being discreet is key in highschool, even without weird spider powers.

“Run out of ideas?” Tony asks, not looking away from his project.

“Only for now. I’ll probably think of something while on a snack break later,” Peter tells him, spinning from side to side on his stool, unable to sit still for even a moment.

“Speaking of, I picked up those chips you said you liked,” Tony mumbles through a screwdriver he has clenched between his teeth, making his words almost unintelligible.

“Seriously? Thanks, Mr. Stark. May refuses to buy them anymore. Says I inhale them like oxygen,” Peter laughs, already thinking about their next break so he can rip into a bag. It’s not like it’ll help with sustenance or anything, since his metabolism is freakishly fast from the spider bite, but it’ll still taste good.

“Perhaps I should confiscate them, if that’s the case.”

Starting to pout deliberately, Peter looks up at Tony, his cheeks being squished by his hands as he siccs the puppy eyes on his mentor. It always works with Ned, so why not Tony?

“Kid, I’m immune to the eyes. And I was kidding, I’m not that much of a buzzkill.” Peter can practically hear the eyeroll in his voice, and grinned again, sitting up straighter on his stool and letting go of his cheeks. “That doesn’t mean I don’t have to prevent you from going into heart failure, though. I’m still responsible for you.”

“Mr. Stark, my body was literally modified to prevent that from happening itself,” Peter explains, waving around his arms exasperatedly. Tony gives him a pointed look.

“Yeah, well, you can still form medical ailments like the human you are. Don’t want you ending up with one of these,” he says, knocking on the middle of his chest with his knuckles, eliciting a hollow metal clanking noise. Not that he really needs it anymore, the shrapnel is all gone, but the reactor still powers the Iron Man suits.

“I’m fine, sir, really. Nothing gets past this immune system. I’m not even sure normal vaccinations will work on me anymore,” Peter goes off, not realising that he’s splitting onto a new tangent every second.

“Want me to get a doctor up here tomorrow? Figure all that out for you?” Tony offers. “I know it’s not Bruce, but I have some doctors on standby who know how to deal with enhanced and modified humans,” he explains, still messing around with the Karen prototype. He seems to be trying to find ways to fit it inside the frame, using small, thin wires that look like they can’t hold much power, but are probably more effective than they look.

“That’d be great, thanks,” Peter says with relief. “Backtracking, do you know where Dr. Banner went off to?” he asks, tilting his head. If Peter is being honest, Bruce is one of the people he’s most excited to meet, hoping to converse about biology and medicine, since Tony is more of a mechanic type scientist. And while Peter loves all types of science, he has yet to talk to a real professional Doctor. Maybe he’ll collect the holy trinity of science mentors: technology, biology, and chemistry.

“No idea, Kid. Just fell off the face of the earth, haven’t been able to contact him since that Ultron thing,” Tony mumbles through his concentration.

“Well, I hope he’s not in any danger,” Peter vocalises his thoughts, not really meaning to say that part out loud, even though he knows Tony is thinking it as well.

“I want to say that I know he isn’t, but I can’t lie to you, Kid. Whenever someone goes missing, I always have to worry.”

On that note, Peter decides to stay quiet, not entirely sure if Tony wants his opinion on the matter at this point. But he’s wired the same way. It’s why he goes patrolling every night; when people are in danger, he has to worry, and do something about it. Otherwise it’s his fault when the bad things happen.

After a few more minutes, Tony lets out a groan of frustration, hanging his head low and stretching his neck muscles before resuming the project.

“Oh, forgot to tell you, we got news of Toomes’ case this morning. Short trial, they bring him into jail tonight,” Tony says offhandedly, switching one of his magnifying glasses. His tongue is sticking out of his mouth, which Peter knows is a sign that he’s working with a fairly frustrating gadget.

The way Peter tenses at the name, sucking in a breath he can’t seem to let go of, brings Tony out of his concentration to face him. He even turns his chair, which signals a conversation is about to happen.

“What did that guy do to get you so anxious? You were confident in your ability to ‘take him down’ just a month ago,” Tony asks, furrowing his brows at Peter, who rubs at his neck, biting his lip at the thought of having to relive any second of what happened with the Vulture.

“It’s nothing. He uh- I mean he had creepy eyes on his wingsuit, so-”

“Pete, you and I both know that is not the whole truth. You’re a horrible liar. I’m surprised nobody’s figured out you’re Spider-Man yet,” Tony interrupted, earning himself a lighthearted glare.

“For one thing, the only people who have figured it out are you, Ned, and May, and you barely count because you’re some sort of superhero magnet,” Peter tells him, tapping his pencil against his notebook, studying his own handwriting and ignoring whatever reaction Tony has to his statement. “And for another, it’s really okay, Mr. Stark. It’s not like I’m hurt or anything.”

“Kid, you can hurt inside, too. If something happened that night he hijacked the plane that makes you flinch when you hear his name, I want to know about it. I’m breaking the cycle of shame, remember?” Tony tells him, making his cheeks burn at the memory of his mentor indirectly referring to himself as Peter’s father figure. He reaches up to push his hair out of his face, having not done anything but let it air dry after his morning shower. Of course, his curls have to show themselves at the first sign of freedom from all of the product he usually puts in it on school days. With the amount of time Peter’s spent at the new facility since the move, he’s begun to not care about how he looks when he’s there.

After a good thirty seconds, Peter finally breaks under Tony’s probing stare.

“I followed him the night of the homecoming to his base, and he was waiting for me,” he begins, chancing a look up at Tony, who is paying him full attention. “Remember how the warehouse was all demolished and collapsed when they investigated his business?” he asks, not waiting for Tony to nod, but still flickering his eyes up to him. “Well, when I got there, I thought I had him, but he uh-” Peter took a deep breath. “He started saying all of these things about you and your business, and it threw me off that he was using my actual name, so I didn’t realise what was coming and he made his wingsuit break all of the support beams, and the um, well the ceiling caved, and the building just sort of… collapsed on me. And I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have Karen to contact anyone, so I started yelling for help, but nobody heard me, so I had to lift the beam that fell on me. And then I stuck to his suit and fought him up on the plane so he-”

“Woah, Pete, slow down,” Tony says, snapping Peter out of his reminiscence of that night. He doesn’t even realise that he’s completely spacing out until he feels his eyes burn from the lack of blinking. “He knows who you are?” Tony asks, resting a tentative hand on Peter’s shoulder. Peter nods slowly. “And he dropped an entire building on you, knowing that you’re only fifteen?”

Peter nods again, trying to fight off the stupid tear that escapes his eye, wiping it away before Tony can notice. But of course he notices, because he hasn’t taken his eyes off of Peter.

“Kid, why didn’t you mention this to anyone?”

Peter thinks for a moment. Why didn’t he? He figured the crashed plane was enough for Tony to deal with about that night, he didn’t need the added burden of Peter being trapped, especially since he knew Tony would blame it all on himself for taking away his suit, which wasn’t why it happened at all. Not to mention-

“It would have given away my identity, and I didn’t want to deal with the police about it. So, I webbed the guy up and left him for someone to find, then hid on the Cyclone until I knew for sure that he was caught and in custody. Next thing I know, you’re asking me to join the team.”

Tony leaves him in a string of silence, only his thoughts to keep him from going uneasy. The hand on his shoulder never falls away, only grips tighter after a few seconds.

When Tony opens his mouth, Peter expects him to say something about how stupid it was for him to withhold important information from the authorities, but instead finds himself being pulled into a tight hug, his head finding its way to Tony’s shoulder to rest on.

“Pete, I wish you’d told me sooner. I could’ve helped,” he whispers, his hand coming up to cradle the back of Peter’s head, fingers carding through his curls. The gesture is incredibly out of character and has never happened before, but it’s not bad. In fact, Peter could get used to this. It’s been so long since he’s received any sort of paternal affection, and while it may be weird, and he may feel guilty for thinking it, this is exactly what he remembers that feeling like.

But Tony Stark is not his father. He already has one of those. He may not be with him, but he’s still his dad.

That doesn’t stop him from wrapping his arms around Tony, though, because a hug is a hug, and he’s in desperate need of one right now.

“It’s over now, Mr. Stark. I’m okay,” Peter tries to reassure him, but Tony just chuckles a little, reminding him that no situation is too serious. He thrives off of this mentality. It makes him feel like he doesn’t need to commit to the feeling of a moment.

“Aren’t I supposed to be the one telling you that?” Tony asks, making Peter laugh along with him. With a light clap on the back, Tony pulls away, and the tear that slipped out earlier is now forgotten in the midst of his bright smile. He can physically feel himself getting happier just from the feeling of Tony being happy.

“I think we can take turns,” Peter tells him, a smirk finding its place on his face.

“Or you could just stop almost dying.”

“Only if you do.”

Peter looks up at Tony, making eye contact for a split second as they both raise an eyebrow, then looks away, smiling as he realises just how alike they really are. Maybe he’s not so far away from becoming who he wanted to be, even as a little kid.

“What do you say we take a break from the glasses and go upstairs to the kitchen, yeah? Tear into those chips, eat our feelings away?” Tony asks, pushing his stool under the workbench and walking over to the elevator. Peter grins, looking back at his notes for a moment before running over to Tony as he presses the button.

“Sounds like a plan, Mr. Stark.”

[orbemnews]

Assist With Vaccination Push Comes From Sudden Companies Amazon wrote to President Biden on Thursday providing to help with communication and know-how. Microsoft is opening up its largely empty workplace campus as a vaccination heart as a part of a broader partnership with the State of Washington. Starbucks is assigning employees from its operations and analytics departments to assist design vaccination websites, donating the labor to the identical state whereas persevering with to pay staff. Whereas some retailers and pharmacy chains have been straight concerned within the rollout of coronavirus vaccinations, extra shocking is the variety of corporations which have provided assist regardless of having little to do with well being care. What these corporations do have are huge nationwide footprints, vital manpower, enormous distribution warehouses and, in some instances, empty workplace buildings. They usually have the cash to spare for a public service effort that might increase each their public picture and their backside line. “Massive corporations can assume massive,” stated Arthur Herman, senior fellow on the Hudson Institute, a assume tank in Washington, D.C. “They’ll afford to step again and take into consideration their position as a social drive of their state and within the nation. Additionally they have huge provide chains and logistical connections.” As Mr. Biden tries to attain his objective of finishing up 100 million doses in 100 days, he’ll want all the assistance he can get. The president has requested Congress for $20 billion to assist fund vaccinations at stadiums, pharmacies and the like. He stated Friday that he had tapped the Federal Emergency Administration Company to function as much as 100 mass vaccination websites. However the personal sector may help the administration’s efforts with information storage, appointment scheduling, the supply of provides to clinics and hospitals, and extra. “Amazon, Google, Microsoft, these guys are consumer-facing individuals who can take care of billions of transactions each day,” stated Suketu Gandhi, a accomplice Kearney, a administration and consulting agency. Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee, included the assistance of corporations like Starbucks, Costco and Microsoft in a plan to vaccinate 45,000 residents a day. “We’re not a well being care firm,” Kevin Johnson, the chief govt of Starbucks, stated at a information convention saying the partnership on Monday, “however Starbucks does function 33,000 shops at scale, serving 100 million clients every week. And we have now a world-class staff of human-centered-design engineers who’re working below the route of the state, and well being care suppliers like Swedish, Kaiser Permanente and others.” The espresso chain will lend its experience in “operational effectivity,” amongst different issues, Governor Inslee stated in a information launch. Covid-19 Vaccines › Solutions to Your Vaccine Questions If I reside within the U.S., when can I get the vaccine? Whereas the precise order of vaccine recipients could fluctuate by state, most will probably put medical employees and residents of long-term care services first. If you wish to perceive how this resolution is getting made, this text will assist. When can I return to regular life after being vaccinated? Life will return to regular solely when society as an entire positive factors sufficient safety in opposition to the coronavirus. As soon as international locations authorize a vaccine, they’ll solely have the ability to vaccinate a couple of p.c of their residents at most within the first couple months. The unvaccinated majority will nonetheless stay susceptible to getting contaminated. A rising variety of coronavirus vaccines are exhibiting strong safety in opposition to turning into sick. However it’s additionally attainable for individuals to unfold the virus with out even understanding they’re contaminated as a result of they expertise solely gentle signs or none in any respect. Scientists don’t but know if the vaccines additionally block the transmission of the coronavirus. So in the interim, even vaccinated individuals might want to put on masks, keep away from indoor crowds, and so forth. As soon as sufficient individuals get vaccinated, it’ll change into very troublesome for the coronavirus to search out susceptible individuals to contaminate. Relying on how shortly we as a society obtain that objective, life would possibly begin approaching one thing like regular by the autumn 2021. If I’ve been vaccinated, do I nonetheless have to put on a masks? Sure, however not endlessly. The 2 vaccines that can doubtlessly get approved this month clearly defend individuals from getting sick with Covid-19. However the medical trials that delivered these outcomes weren’t designed to find out whether or not vaccinated individuals may nonetheless unfold the coronavirus with out creating signs. That continues to be a chance. We all know that people who find themselves naturally contaminated by the coronavirus can unfold it whereas they’re not experiencing any cough or different signs. Researchers might be intensely finding out this query because the vaccines roll out. Within the meantime, even vaccinated individuals might want to consider themselves as attainable spreaders. Will it harm? What are the unwanted side effects? The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is delivered as a shot within the arm, like different typical vaccines. The injection gained’t be any completely different from ones you’ve gotten earlier than. Tens of 1000’s of individuals have already acquired the vaccines, and none of them have reported any severe well being issues. However a few of them have felt short-lived discomfort, together with aches and flu-like signs that usually final a day. It’s attainable that individuals could have to plan to take a day without work work or faculty after the second shot. Whereas these experiences aren’t nice, they’re signal: they’re the results of your individual immune system encountering the vaccine and mounting a potent response that can present long-lasting immunity. Will mRNA vaccines change my genes? No. The vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer use a genetic molecule to prime the immune system. That molecule, referred to as mRNA, is finally destroyed by the physique. The mRNA is packaged in an oily bubble that may fuse to a cell, permitting the molecule to slide in. The cell makes use of the mRNA to make proteins from the coronavirus, which might stimulate the immune system. At any second, every of our cells could include a whole bunch of 1000’s of mRNA molecules, which they produce as a way to make proteins of their very own. As soon as these proteins are made, our cells then shred the mRNA with particular enzymes. The mRNA molecules our cells make can solely survive a matter of minutes. The mRNA in vaccines is engineered to face up to the cell’s enzymes a bit longer, in order that the cells could make additional virus proteins and immediate a stronger immune response. However the mRNA can solely final for a couple of days at most earlier than they’re destroyed. Microsoft will open up an empty constructing on its campus in Redmond to vaccinations in partnership with the state and well being care suppliers. It’s also providing its know-how, constructing on talents it has already provided to the federal government, together with synthetic intelligence to the State Division of Well being to assist observe hospitalizations and exams. “Actually know-how performs a job within the distribution of vaccines, because it principally does within the distribution of all the things on the earth,” Microsoft’s president and chief authorized officer, Brad Smith, stated on the occasion saying the rollout. Amazon is holding a pop-up vaccine clinic in Seattle on Sunday, by means of a partnership with Virginia Mason Medical Middle; they hope to vaccinate 2,000 individuals. The corporate has additionally provided to vaccinate its personal staff within the state, a lot of whom it says are important employees — a suggestion it has made to Tennessee as effectively. This previous week, Amazon instructed the Biden administration that it may assist with “operations, data know-how and communications capabilities.” It didn’t elaborate to The New York Occasions on what the help would entail. “The size of a few of these retailers is so essential,” stated Andrew Lipsman, analyst on the information analytics agency eMarketer. “They’ve by no means been higher outfitted to deal with will increase in quantity, particularly as a result of they’ve needed to ramp up their operational capability in the midst of the pandemic.” Sure corporations could hope their presents endear them to the brand new administration — or the general public. “It’s nice P.R. to be seen as somebody who helps throughout this disaster,” stated Mr. Herman, the senior fellow on the Hudson Institute. Corporations are additionally encouraging their employees to get vaccinated. Representatives for Kroger and Walmart stated vaccination efforts would come with their staff who had been eligible to obtain one. Some retailers are giving their staff direct incentives to get vaccinated. JBS, the meatpacking big, is providing a $100 bonus. (The business’s working situations make its staff significantly susceptible to the coronavirus.) Greenback Basic, which has 157,000 employees in about 17,000 shops, is giving them 4 hours of pay in the event that they get a vaccine. The grocery supply service Instacart stated it will present a $25 stipend. Chobani is overlaying as much as six hours of wages so employees can get vaccinated. “We’re going to do our half to assist defeat this virus that’s harm so many,” stated Peter McGuinness, Chobani’s chief working officer. “And, in doing so, it’s going to maintain our staff safer.” Different corporations’ approaches are extra stick than carrot, saying they might require vaccinations. Scott Kirby, the chief govt of United Airways, which reported its largest losses in a decade for the fourth quarter, instructed staff on Thursday that the service — and different companies — may make the coronavirus vaccine necessary for all employees. Corporations with vaccinated staff are prone to be extra enticing to clients, making them really feel safer when procuring or receiving help in shops. For some, mass vaccination could also be important for his or her enterprise to stabilize. “There’s little doubt that getting their staff vaccinated goes to be good for enterprise and might be an essential increase to getting the economic system again on observe,” stated Mr. Herman, who has written a guide concerning the mobilization of American business throughout World Conflict II. Nonetheless, to attain nationwide vaccination requires what Mr. Biden has described as a “full-scale wartime effort,” with its success depending on coordination amongst corporations, federal companies and a bitterly divided Washington. “These corporations have an enormous, enormous alternative to assist,” Mr. Gandhi of Kearney stated. “Will they save the day? I don’t know.” Supply hyperlink #businesses #Push #unexpected #Vaccination

[mylifeasavetstudent]

Nerves About Ross

6/22/17

I heard I was accepted 3 weeks ago, but I’m still waiting to hear about whether I start in September 2017 or January 2018. I should know within the next 5-6 weeks - which could give me only 3-4 weeks to get ready and move down there.

Trying to get my thoughts in order, here are some of the logical and illogical things I'm scared about in regard to starting Veterinary School and in regard to moving down to St. Kitt’s. I’m sure some are normal and shared by most students, but I’m sure some are me just being a whiny 23-year old New York girl.

_____________

1) Packing. (Overpacking, underpacking, forgetting). How am I gonna fit everything in two suitcases? I plan to use vacuum seal bags and bring the two biggest overweight suitcases and a carry-on that I can. I just keep thinking about all the bulky stuff - kitchenware, bedding/pillows, shower/beach towels, steel-toed farm boots, shoes/clothes, toiletries, makeup/hair/cosmetics, electronics, books/school supplies. I went away to undergrad college about 30 minutes away and lived on an on-campus dorm/apartment for 4 years. However, I was in a big city, and could easily get anything I needed down the block. I was also so close to home, that I often went home on the weekends, and could pick up anything I needed. Also important to note that I could use Amazon, unlike St. Kitt’s. Every time I moved in/out, it took about 2-3 car loads of stuff!

2) Buying textbooks/school supplies.

I guess I should wait till I get to the island to get books? Do they have a school bookstore? Will other students be selling them? I worry if I wait till I get down there, I won’t be able to find them.

Should I order them in advnace and pack them? I worry this will take up too much space/weight in my suitcase. Should I order them in advance and have them shipped to St. Kitt’s? This would probably be super expensive, and what if they take too long to get there or go to the wrong location?

3) Buying a car (getting license/insurance/mechanics, etc.)

When should I buy a car? Second semester? I’m worried I’ll be taken advantage of and pay a lot of money for a really crappy car. I’m nervous about driving a dangerous car. I’m nervous about going through all the processes of getting a license, insurance, legally buying the car, etc. I love my US car and I’m gonna miss it and hate leaving it at home for a few years! I’m also terrified to find a reliable St. Kitts mechanic, since I’ve heard horror stories about being overcharged and taken advantage of. Mechanics who “fix” your problem, but purposely create more. Criminal mechanics who steal your car and sell parts. Agh.

4) The bus system/traveling.

Super nervous about figuring it out and navigating it while I don’t have a car yet. What if I get stranded in some bad area alone as the sun sets?!

5) Food shopping (bugs, giardia).

I've heard horror stories about food on grocery store shelves being rancid and expired. I’ve been told to check the dates on everything before buying it - even milk and cheeses. I’ve been told about boxes of pasta full of bugs and peanut butter full of worms. I’ve also heard there is giardia and mycoplasma in the tap water? Definitely scared of that. Is this true of bottled water or other drinks?

6) Bugs/centipedes/spiders/ticks.

I am terrified of bugs. The pictures I see of giant spiders, moths, and aggressive, hard-to-kill venomous centipedes in homes/beds/clothes give me absolute nightmares. I’m also scared of ticks and tick-borne diseases due to all the outdoor activity. 

7) Living arrangements.

The uncertainty here is killing me. I know I'll be living in a dorm my first semester, but that’s only 3 months. And will I be living alone? With 2 roommates? 3? How do I apply? I’m nervous to be living alone - but what if I get roommates I hate?

8) Wild animals/monkeys/sea animals/hiking.

Are there dangerous wild animals? What about the monkeys? What about in the ocean? Are there aggressive fish/octopi? Do I need to worry about jellyfish? Sharp sea urchins? I know there are a lot of great hikes - but I'm an inexperienced hiker. Do I need to be scared of animals on the trails? What about tick-borne diseases? What about being robbed/attacked by humans on the trial? Or getting lost in the woods with no cell signal? I don’t even know what clothes to wear or what hiking shoes ARE! HELP.

9) Personal Safety/Being burgalarized.

I’ve heard that as long as you are generally street smart, you should be okay. But I also hear horror stories of native drug deals gone wrong right near St. Kitts students - of guns shots and murders. I’ve heard of armed car jackings, robberies, rapes. I’ve heard of break ins and burglaries. Definitely nervous about personal safety. Even if just my STUFF is stolen - I’m so nervous I'll lose expensive items, as well as personal valuable like photos and class notes. I’m investing in personal property insurance that extends to St. Kitts, as well as external hard drives to copy all my stuff. Do I need to buy a pocket knife or mace or something?

10) Cell phones.

I still don’t really understand this concept. So I can bring my iphone, and simply put it in airplane mode and turn on the wifi? That way I can use iMessage, email, Facebook messenger, WhatsApp, viver, etc. for phone calls/text - but, it will only work when there is wifi around. This way, I won’t be charged an exorbitant amount for international cell service. Should I stop paying for my phone plan?

I’m also told you’re given an old block phone from Ross for calls to other students and businesses on the island. 

11) Massive debt.

Yep. Probably gonna be in $325,000 of debt and start at $40,000 a year while I have clients scream at me about how rich I am and don’t care about animals. 

12) Failing out. 

Definitely scared of vet school being “too hard” and failing out. I know I’m a good student and I’m planning to study my ass off - but this fear is still there.

13) Living on my own.

Like I said, I lived about 30 minutes from my house for four years in undergrad college. I could go home on the weekends, and ask my mom for help with anything. I lived on campus, so I had maintenance and security staff always present. I never lived off campus. I also lived with 1-3 roommates every year, and always shared a bedroom - so I was never completely alone.

14) Making friends and knowing no one.

Definitely a big fear - but everyone else seems to manage it, right? I guess when you’re all in a completely new country with no friends/family, everyone’s a bit more open. 

15) Logistics - setting up a bank account, loans, FAFSA, paying pills, receiving monthly loan allowals, visas, passports, customs, flights, vaccines.

SO MUCH TO DO. 

16) Rabies vaccine

It’s gonna hurt, isn’t it? What other vaccines do I need? Can I get them on the island? Is it cheaper?

17) My dog.

My dog is 13 with CKD. I’m terrified that when I get on that flight, it’ll be my last time seeing her. ):

18) Mail system.

Seems very complicated and expensive. I’ve heard people dig through your personal mail right in front of you. And SO. EXPENSIVE. Also gonna greatly miss amazon.

19) Disease (Zika, HIV, Lyme, parasites - vaccines)

Definitely scared of getting some crazy topical diseases that we don’t have up here in NYC. Definitely scared of parasites - is that gorgeous water there safe to swim in? Not just the oceans/seas, what about lakes? I don’t need some crazy vagina parasite swimming into me or accidentally swallowing some giardia. Or is just the drinking water dangerous?

20) The health system (getting insurance, birth control, allergy shots, hospital visits)

Trying to figure out how to continue my birth control and allergy shots while I'm down there. Apparently my birth control is $4/month over the counter down there. Apparently Ross Health Services can administer my allergy shots, but I’ll have to bring the refrigerated vials down from NYC with me, and have them changed out every 9-12 months. God knows how much that would cost to ship - might be cheaper for me to just fly up and back and get em!

Definitely nervous about the quality of health care and emergency health care down there. I heard chickens roam the hospital. Hoping to get all my general/preventative care done on my breaks back home. 

21) Being okay with “island time” (everything being closed)

I’ve lived my entire life in a busy city - nothing closes, ever. Weekends, nights, holidays - there’s always somewhere I can stop and get food/drinks. Adapting to there being no drive throughs or quick delis to stop into when I had 5 minutes before class is gonna be rough. And so is realizing that by 5pm on a Friday, I’m screwed until 8am on a Monday for any business I need to go to or contact. Especially dreading this with a car breakdown. 

22) Not being able to find things from the US (Certain drinks, snacks, cosmetics)

Again, this is just something I’m gonna have to adapt to - but I will miss it!

23) Deciding when I can afford to go home.

I have no idea if I should go home after every semester? Is that something people normally do? Or once a year? 

From what I'm reading on flight websites: It’s gonna be about a $400-600 flight ($1000-1200 round trip), take about 5 hours (10 hours both way) and need to have 1-2 stops. With the stops, it’ll be about 7-22 hours one way (14-44 hours round trip). Ugh. 

24) Not taking advantage of all the great opportunities/trips available. 

I’m scared I’m gonna be so overwhelmed with classes and exams, that I’ll miss out on some of the great extracuricular activities, clubs, sports, games, hikes, etc. Or the great “vacation” trips abroad available on breaks. 

25) Second semester - rent, laundry, landlords, safety, finding roommates.

Definitely scared of moving on to second semester and out of the dorms where I'll be pressured to find a safe, convenient, cheap apartment. I’ll have to move all my stuff (how? rent a car?), pay bills, pay rent, deal with a landlord, all for the first time in my life. And I’m definitely scared about picking the “Right” roommates to live with. 

26) Restaurant food/native food

How is the food there? I’m unfortunately not a huge seafood fan, but not averse to trying the native food. However - is it safe? Should I make sure I ask for no ice (water parasites)? Is there a possibility of undercooked meat/seafood or spoiled/expired meat/seafood? Is there a possibility of parasites in the food?

27) Hobbies

I’ve been going to school part time and working full time the past year, and I haven’t participated in any of my hobbies in over a year. I love learning foreign languages and I love horseback riding - and I haven't had time (excuse excuse) or money to do either. I worry this will just continue on in veterinary school, as I’ll be even more stressed, and have even less time and less money. Is there even any horseback riding availability down there? I mean, I can’t really pack all my language books (guess I can do a lot online), and I definitely can’t pack all my riding stuff (boots, helmet, clothes, saddle, etc. etc.)

28) Fun one: So when do I change my blog name from mylifeasaPREvet student to mylifeasaVETstudent? I also think I’m gonna start a website blog about life on the island - no only for future nervous students (like me right now) - but for my friends and family to see via Facebook. Don’t exactly wanna share all my tumblr info on Facebook! Best website for a blog?

[jobsearchtips02]

IPO market gears up for another hectic week with 8 offers expected to raise $2 billion

The U.S. going public market is gearing up for another busy week with 8 deals on tap anticipated to raise about $2 billion, led by Azek Co., a maker of materials for outside living items.

Recently was the busiest of the year so far with 8 offers and 2 special function acquisition vehicles (SPACs) striking the market in stride.

” For the very first time considering that June 2018, all eight IPOs raised more than originally expected, either by prices above the variety or upsizing their offerings,” according to commentary from Renaissance Capital, a supplier of institutional research and IPO-related exchange-traded funds.

The marketplace went through a sleepy period throughout the coronavirus pandemic prior to last week’s reawakening. While the secondary market has actually been on fire– May’s dollar volume of share offerings is the biggest since 2014, according to BTIG, as companies transferred to strengthen liquidity positions after the pandemic set in– new companies have had to await an equity-market healing from its pandemic lows.

So far in 2020, there have actually been 43 IPOs, down 31%from the exact same time a year ago. But the Renaissance IPO exchange-traded fund. IPO,. -0.36% has actually performed highly, returning 22.6%in the duration, thanks to the addition in the index of recent IPOs of digital companies and others that are gaining from working-from-home products and services, such as Zoom Video Communications Inc. ZM,. -2.35%, Slack Technologies Inc. WORK,. -2.03% and biotech Moderna Inc. MRNA,. -1.53%, which is establishing a COVID-19 vaccine.

See now: Luckin Coffee demonstrates how risky Chinese IPOs can be, but financiers are just not listening

Last week’s offers consisted of the most significant IPO of the year to date, that of Warner Music Group Corp. WMG,. 3.16%, which went back to public markets after 9 years as a personal entity and raised $1.93 billion by selling 77 million shares priced at $25 each, the higher end of its $23 to $26 rate variety. That stock ended the week up 20%.

This week’s most significant deal will be Azek. AZEK,. , which will raise $625 million at the top end of its rate range.

” We are an industry-leading designer and maker of gorgeous, low-maintenance and environmentally sustainable items concentrated on the highly attractive, fast-growing Outdoor Living market,” the business states in its prospectus.

The offer is being financed by 14 banks, led by Barclays. Proceeds will be utilized to redeem outstanding debt and for general business functions. In the first six months of fiscal 2020 to March 31, the business had a net loss of $5.8 million that was narrower than the $208 million loss posted in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $4116 million from $3574 million.

The prospectus acknowledges the challenges being presented by the coronavirus pandemic and says it has cut personnel and tapped credit lines to tide it over. It likewise concedes that it has a heavy financial obligation load at $1.2 billion.

The company’s primary peer is Trex Inc. TREX,. -0.39%, which pays. Trex had net income of $424 million in the first quarter on sales of $200 million. That was up from earnings of $316 million a year back and sales of $1796 million. Trex stock has held up through the pandemic, and is up 38%in the year to date, surpassing the S&P 500, which is down 0.8%.

The 2nd greatest offer of the week was online used car seller Vroom Inc. VRM,. 10020%, which priced late Monday and started trading Tuesday by quickly doubling. The offer priced at $22 a share, above its $18 to $20 cost range. The company raised practically $500 million at an appraisal of about $2.5 billion. The stock was last up 110%at $4634

Vroom is likewise loss-making, however profits is growing at a tidy clip. The company’s bottom lines struck $143 million in 2019, broader than the $852 million loss posted in2018 In the first quarter, it lost $411 million compared with a loss of $271 million in the very first quarter of 2019, its prospectus shows.

Income increased 39%to $1.2 billion in2019 For the 3 months ended March 31, sales rose 60%to $3758 million, Vroom stated.

For more, check out: Vroom IPO: Five things to understand about the online used-car seller

Vroom’s primary peer is Carvana Inc. CVNA,. 0.92%, Shares of Carvana are trading more than 600?ove the company’s 2017 IPO cost.

Vaccine maker Vaxcyte. PCVX,. is intending to raise $210 million on top end of its cost variety and will use the profits to fund medical research study.

” Its lead prospect, VAX-24, is a 24- valent investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed to supply broad-spectrum coverage of Merck’s Pneumovax 23 with an immunogenicity profile similar to Pfizer’s Prevnar 13,” according to Renaissance Capital.

The business is wishing to advance VAX-24 into medical trials in the 2021 2nd half.

The staying offers are:

– Burning Rock Biotech, a Chinese cancer test maker, which is intending to raise up to $210 million by selling 13.5 million American depositary shares at $1350 to $1550 each. The business has applied to list on Nasdaq under the ticker sign “BNR.”

– Avidity Biosciences Inc. RNA,. , which concentrates on muscle conditions, plans to offer 10 million shares priced at $14 to $16 each to raise as much as $160 million. The company has actually applied to list on Nasdaq, under the ticker sign “RNA.” Cowen, SVB Leerink, Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo are underwriters on the offer, with earnings allocated for the development of treatments for DMD and muscle atrophy, along with for working capital.

– Generation Bio Co. GBIO,. , a biotech concentrating on gene treatment treatments for rare illness, prepares to offer 7.4 million shares priced at $16 to $18 each to raise as much as $1332 million. The business has actually applied to list on Nasdaq, under the ticker sign “GBIO.” J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Cowen and Wedbush PacGrow are financing the deal. Profits will be utilized to fund R&D, to establish platform technologies and for general corporate purposes.

– uCloudlink, a Chinese mobile data marketplace, is intending to raise $53 by offering 2.6 million American depositary shares priced at $18 to $2050 The business has actually applied to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “UCL.” Profits of the deal, which is being financed by I-Bankers Securities, Belongings Capital Ltd., Tiger Brokers and Loop Capital Markets, will be used to fund R&DS, for basic corporate functions and for possible acquisitions.

– Lantern Pharma. LTRN,. , a biotech working on cancer treatments, is intending to raise $2652 million by offering 1.56 million shares priced at $15 to $17 each. The company has used to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “LTRN.” The sole bookrunning supervisor is ThinkEquity, with Dougherty & Co. and Paulson Investment Co. acting as co-managers.

– Completing the list is SPAC Hudson Executive Investment. HECCU,. 2.60%, which priced late Monday and was upsized to raise $360 million. That stock increased 2.5%on Tuesday in its trading debut. SPACs, or blank-check business, have no set company till they get a business or companies with the cash raised in an IPO. The company is aiming to acquire a fintech or healthcare company, according to its prospectus.

The Renaissance IPO ETF was flat Tuesday, while the S&P 500 was down 0.6%.

Read now: He offered his business for billions, then used nearly all the proceeds to buy 2 stocks– and just 2 stocks

%.

from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/ipo-market-gears-up-for-another-hectic-week-with-8-offers-expected-to-raise-2-billion/

[newstfionline]

Turning the Tide Against Cholera

By Donald G. McNeil Jr., NY Times, Feb. 6, 2017

SUNDARBANS NATIONAL PARK, BANGLADESH--Two hundred years ago, the first cholera pandemic emerged from these tiger-infested mangrove swamps.

It began in 1817, after the British East India Company sent thousands of workers deep into the remote Sundarbans, part of the Ganges River Delta, to log the jungles and plant rice. These brackish waters are the cradle of Vibrio cholerae, a bacterium that clings to human intestines and emits a toxin so virulent that the body will pour all of its fluids into the gut to flush it out.

Water loss turns victims ashen; their eyes sink into their sockets, and their blood turns black and congeals in their capillaries. Robbed of electrolytes, their hearts lose their beat. Victims die of shock and organ failure, sometimes in as little as six hours after the first abdominal rumblings.

Cholera probably had festered here for eons. Since that first escape, it has circled the world in seven pandemic cycles that have killed tens of millions.

Artists of the 19th century often depicted it as a skeleton with a scythe and victims heaped at its feet. Outbreaks forced London, New York and other cities to create vast public water systems, transforming civic life.

Today cholera garners panicky headlines when it strikes unexpectedly in places like Ethiopia or Haiti. But it is a continuing threat in nearly 70 countries, where more than one billion people are at risk.

Now, thanks largely to efforts that began in cholera’s birthplace, a way to finally conquer the long-dreaded plague is in sight.

A treatment protocol so effective that it saves 99.9 percent of all victims was pioneered here. The World Health Organization estimates that it has saved about 50 million lives in the past four decades.

Just as important, after 35 years of work, researchers in Bangladesh and elsewhere have developed an effective cholera vaccine. It has been accepted by the W.H.O. and stockpiled for epidemics like the one that struck Haiti in 2010. Soon, there may be enough to begin routine vaccination in countries where the disease has a permanent foothold.

Merely creating that stockpile--even of a few million doses--profoundly improved the way the world fought cholera, Dr. Margaret Chan, secretary general of the W.H.O., said last year. Ready access to the vaccine has made countries less tempted to cover up outbreaks to protect tourism, she said.

That has sped up emergency responses and attracted more vaccine makers, lowering costs. “More cholera vaccines have been deployed over the last two years than in the previous 15 years combined,” Dr. Chan said.

The treatment advances relied heavily on research and testing done at the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, known as the ICDDR,B, in Dhaka.

Although Dhaka may not be the first place one might look to find a public health revolution, the center is famous among experts in gut diseases.

While its upper levels are quiet and scholarly, the center’s ground floor is the world’s largest diarrhea hospital. Its vast wards treat 220,000 patients a year, almost all of whom recover within 36 hours. Doctors there save hundreds of lives a day.

The ICDDR,B was originally the Cholera Research Laboratory, founded in 1960 by the United States as part of that era’s “soft diplomacy.” Research hospitals were built in friendly countries both to save lives locally and to act as sentinels for diseases that might threaten America.

The ICDDR,B wards contain long rows of “cholera cots.” Each has a plastic sheet with a hole in the middle. A bucket beneath the hole catches diarrhea and another is placed next to the cot for vomit. An IV pole completes the setup. Usually, the only patients who stay long in the hospital are malnourished infants.

Defying expectations, the ward smells only of the antiseptic that the floors are constantly mopped with.

Patients with severe watery diarrhea arrive around the clock, many of them carried in--limp, dehydrated and barely conscious--by friends or family. A nurse sees each one immediately, and those close to death get an IV line inserted within 30 seconds.

It contains a blend of glucose, electrolytes and water. Cholera spurs the intestines to violently flush themselves, but it does not actually damage the gut cells. If the fluid is replaced and the bacteria flushed out or killed by antibiotics, the patient is usually fine.

Within hours, patients start to revive. As soon as they can swallow, they get an antibiotic and start drinking a rehydration solution. Most walk out within a day. The techniques perfected here are so effective that the ICDDR,B has sent training teams to 17 cholera outbreaks in the past decade.

Usually, the only patients who stay long in the hospital are infants so malnourished that another bout of diarrhea would kill them. They live for up to a month in a separate ward with their mothers, who are taught how to cook nutritious porridges from the cheapest lentils, squash, onions, greens and oil.

Only about 20 percent of the patients at the center have cholera. The rest usually have rotavirus, salmonella or E. coli. The same therapy saves them all, but the cholera cases are more urgent because these patients plummet so precipitously toward death.

“I thought I was dying,” Mohammed Mubarak, a gaunt 26-year-old printing press worker, said one afternoon from his cot. His roommates had carried him in at 7 that morning, unconscious and with no detectable pulse.

Now, after six liters of intravenous solution, he was still weak but able to sit up and drink the rehydration solution and eat bits of bread and banana.

Mr. Mubarak had first fallen ill at about 2 a.m., a few hours after he drank tap water with his dinner. “Usually I drink safe water, filtered water,” he explained. “But I drank the city water last night. I think that is what did this.”

Cholera, born in the swamps, arrived long ago in Dhaka. The city is home to more than 15 million, and a third of the population lives in slums. In some places, water pipes made of rubbery plastic are pierced by illegal connections that suck in sewage from the gutters they traverse and carry pathogens down the line to new victims, like Mr. Mubarak.

Vibrio cholerae travels from person to person via fecal matter. In 1854, the epidemiologist John Snow famously traced cases to a single well dug near a cesspit in which a mother had washed the diaper of a baby who died of cholera and convinced officials to remove the well’s pump handle.

Because cholera is a constant threat to hundreds of millions of people lacking safe drinking water in China, India, Nigeria and many other countries, scientists have long sought a more powerful weapon: a cheap, effective vaccine.

Now they have one.

Injected cholera vaccines were first invented in the 1800s and were long required for entry into some countries. But many scientists suspected they did not work, and in the 1970s studies overseen by the ICDDR,B confirmed that.

In the 1980s, a Swedish scientist, Dr. Jan Holmgren, invented an oral vaccine that worked an impressive 85 percent of the time. But it was expensive to make and had to be drunk with a large glass of buffer solution to protect it from stomach acid.

Transporting tanks of buffer was impractical. Making matters worse, it was fizzy, and poor Bangladeshi children who had never tasted soft drinks would spit it out as soon as it tickled their noses.

In 1986, a Vietnamese scientist, Dr. Dang Duc Trach, asked for the formula, believing he could make a bufferless version. Dr. Holmgren and Dr. John D. Clemens, an American vaccine expert who at the time was a research scientist for the ICDDR,B, obliged.

“This isn’t an elegant vaccine--it’s just a bunch of killed cells, technology that’s been around since Louis Pasteur,” said Dr. Clemens, who is now the ICDDR,B’s executive director.

He and Dr. Holmgren lost touch with Dr. Dang, largely because of Vietnam’s isolation in those days. But seven years later, Dr. Dang notified them that he had made a new version of the vaccine. He had tested it on 70,000 residents of Hue, in central Vietnam, and had found it to be 60 percent effective.

Although his was not as effective as Dr. Holmgren’s, it cost only 25 cents a dose. If enough people in an area can be made immune through vaccination, outbreaks often stop spontaneously.

In 1997, Vietnam became the first--and thus far, only--country to provide cholera vaccine to its citizens routinely, not just in emergencies. Cases dropped sharply, according to a 2014 study, and in 2003 cholera vanished from Hue, where the campaign focused most heavily.

But Dr. Dang had not conducted a classic clinical trial, and Vietnam’s vaccine factory did not meet W.H.O. standards, so no United Nations agency was allowed to buy his vaccine.

Because no pharmaceutical company had an incentive to pay for trials or factories, his invention languished in “the valley of death”--the expensive gap between a product that works in a lab and a factory-made version safe for millions.

In 1999, Dr. Clemens approached what is now the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was just getting organized.

“They were literally operating out of a basement then,” he said. “I got a letter from Bill Gates Sr. It was very relaxed, sort of, ‘Here’s $40 million. Would you mind sending me a report once in a while?’

“But without that,” Dr. Clemens continued, “this wouldn’t have seen the light of day.”

With that money, Dr. Clemens reformulated Dr. Dang’s vaccine, conducted a successful clinical trial in Calcutta and found an Indian company, Shantha Biotechnics, that could make it to W.H.O. standards.

Rolled out in 2009 under the name Shanchol, it came in a vial about the size of a chess rook, needed no buffer and cost less than $2 a dose. Even so, there was little interest, even from the W.H.O.

The vaccine lacked the publicity campaign that pharmaceutical companies throw behind commercial products, and “cholera ward care” was saving many lives--when it could be organized. The new vaccine was not used in a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe in 2009, or initially in Haiti’s explosive outbreak in 2010.

The “valley of death” lengthened: Without customers, Shantha could not afford to build a bigger factory. The impasse was broken only when Dr. Paul Farmer, a founder of Partners in Health, which has worked in central Haiti since 1987, began publicly berating the W.H.O. for not moving faster.

The agency approved Shanchol in 2011, and since then, the vaccine has slowly gained acceptance. In 2013, an emergency stockpile was started, and the GAVI Alliance committed $115 million to raise it to six million doses.

The vaccine is now used in Haiti, and has been deployed in outbreaks in Iraq, South Sudan and elsewhere. A second version, Euvichol, from South Korea, was approved in 2015.

And later this year, Bangladesh--where it all began--hopes to begin wiping out its persistent cholera. A local company has begun making a domestic version of the vaccine, called Vaxchol. Dr. Firdausi Qadri, a leading ICDDR,B researcher, estimated last year that success there would require almost 200 million doses.

The world finally has a vaccine that, with routine administration, could end one of history’s great scourges. But what will happen is still hazy.

With 1.4 billion people at risk, the potential cost of vaccination in cholera-endemic countries is enormous. And the disease tends to move, surging and vanishing among the many causes of diarrhea.