COVID-19 – Page 2

Avoiding credit-risk related collapses : TradeFlow reduces risk in SME trade finance using innovative FinTech, non-lending, non-credit system

March 16, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

When large credit lending firms collapse, huge shockwaves are sent throughout industry; the risk of contagion looms, threatening thousands of jobs, disrupting supply chains for essential goods, and increasing the barriers to credit that hits SMEs most.

Recognising these challenges, TradeFlow uses a system to enable trade that removes the issue of credit insurance whilst enabling SMEs trade profitably. FinTech-powered, it is non-lending, non-credit based and reduces fraud risk with more control over the logistics and testing of commodities transacted as a neutral principal; IOT tracking devices and the use of drones are used to minimise the risks of unauthorised cargo container swapping and unauthorised commodities access.

Such financial issues happening reveal the vulnerabilities of trade finance models that have not kept pace with rapidly evolving economic challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. SMEs, by their nature, do not have deep reserves or pools of collateral that they can pledge against the loans they have traditionally sought to give them the liquidity they need. In the aftermath of financial shocks, it is those SMEs that suffer disproportionately as banks and other lenders carry out portfolio rebalancing exercises. The business model of firms that rely heavily on credit risk insurance against defaults is one that is particularly vulnerable.

Termed the “Digital Transaction and Risk Transformation Engine (DTRTE)”, TradeFlow’s system enables global physical commodity trade for SMEs, with the DTRTE architecture providing the added advantage of superior risk-adjusted returns and capital preservation for investors. The system is also highly complementary to traditional trade finance lending institutions like Banks; TradeFlow does not lend money.

Tom James, CEO of TradeFlow affirms, “TradeFlow strives to innovate and bring digitised solutions to the international trading community that adds value in operational and capital efficiency, transforming risk to enable trade .” John Collis, CRO of TradeFlow adds, “TradeFlow’s mission is to enable SME trade worldwide. When a financial earthquake hits there may be many casualties, but those numbers are dwarfed by the follow-on losses caused by the problems of getting adequate and timely relief and aid to the needy. Financial earthquakes remind us of the value of the system we have created. ”

Nations around the world struggle with socio-political challenges, many made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Greater economic hardships brought about by higher-risk systems of trade can be prevented through innovations made possible by Digitalisation.

The world’s growing trade finance gap needs to be filled, stably and sustainably , and TradeFlow’s trade solutions can help achieve that to support the everyday flow of goods and money getting to the right places at the right times.

Global Sources 2021 April show series canceled

March 4, 2021 Published by Roboticulized.com

In light of the risk of the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions and quarantine requirements relating to international travel, and concerns for public health and safety, Global Sources is regretfully announcing the cancelation of the Global Sources 2021 April show series, rescheduling to run in October, 2021.

Global Sources continues to support international suppliers and buyers with business opportunities through a diversified portfolio of online services, including Global Sources Online (www.globalsources.com) and the Global Sources App, in its ongoing efforts to help companies around the world to do business during the pandemic. Special editions of the Global Sources Electronics and Global Sources Lifestyle & Fashion shows are scheduled to be organized in July 2021 to embrace the increasing buyer demand.

Cancelation of the Global Sources 2021 Spring Show Series:

– Global Sources Consumer Electronics	– (April 11 – 14, 2021)
– Global Sources Mobile Electronics	– (April 18 – 21, 2021)
– Global Sources Smart Home & Appliances	– (April 18 – 21, 2021)
– Global Sources Home & Kitchen	– (April 18 – 21, 2021)
– Tech Gifts Show	– (April 18 – 21, 2021)
– Global Sources Lifestyle X Fashion	– (April 27 – 30, 2021)

“Protecting the health and safety of exhibitors, visitors and service users has always been our top priority, for which we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Global Sources shows in April 2021. We thank all stakeholders for their understanding and support,” said Hu Wei, CEO of Global Sources.

“As a trusted partner in driving global trade for 50 years, Global Sources stands by its buyers and partners through thick and thin. Buyers will still be able to contact suppliers through our diversified portfolio of online services, and usage of such online services has risen sharply since the pandemic.”

Global Sourcing – always on

Global Sources Online (www.globalsources.com)

Global Sources Online was the world’s first cross-border B2B trade platform, and has 26 years of industrial expertise, particularly in high-value frontier areas such as smart innovation, fashion & lifestyle, and consumer electronics. The platform demonstrates the latest products of verified suppliers and enables buyers to place sample orders online. Available twenty-four-seven, Global Sources Online has more than two million active users each month, offering premium O2O sourcing experience to millions of high-end B2B buyers worldwide all year round.

Global Sources App – sourcing partner on the go (Download Link)

The GlobalSources.com App is an easy, all-in-one sourcing tool for buyers to search millions of products and manage their inquiries and quotations – anytime, anywhere. Its outstanding features include:

– Real-time chat with suppliers	– Watch product demos
– View recommended products and suppliers	– Plan and manage trade show visit
– Get quotes from suppliers	– Direct Order with in-app payment

Special Editions of Electronics and Lifestyle & Fashion Exhibitions to meet increasing trade demand in the sourcing world

Global Sources continues to be at the forefront of facilitating trade between international buyers and suppliers. Demonstrating foresight and flexibility, and confidence in increasing buyer demand, Global Sources plans to hold the first and largest post-pandemic exhibitions – Special Editions of the Global Sources Electronics and Global Sources Lifestyle & Fashion shows, in Hong Kong in July, 2021. Over 3,500 exhibitors are expected to participate at this long-awaited event which would offer buyers a rich mix of consumer electronics, mobile accessories, smart home products and appliances, along with lifestyle and fashion products. The Special Editions will be supported by Global Sources’ renowned online services, maximizing business opportunities for buyers and suppliers worldwide.

Ramco Systems Positioned as Leader in the 2020 SPARK Matrix for Multi-Country Payroll by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions

March 4, 2021 Published by Roboticulized.com

Leading Global Payroll software provider, Ramco Systems announced that it has been named as a 2020 Technology Leader in Quadrant Knowledge Solutions‘ SPARK Matrix Analysis of the global Multi-Country Payroll Solution (MCP) market.

The Quadrant Knowledge Solutions SPARK Matrix includes a detailed analysis of global retail execution market dynamics, major trends, vendor landscape, and competitive positioning. The study provides a competitive analysis and ranking of leading multi-country payroll vendors in the form of its SPARK Matrix, providing strategic information for users to evaluate different vendor capabilities, competitive differentiation, and market position.

According to Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, the multi-country payroll market is currently transitioning from early adoption to the rapid growth stage of the overall product lifecycle. While multi-country payroll is essentially around for several years, the current advanced solutions powered by robotic process automation, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning is increasingly gaining market traction across industry verticals and various geographical regions.

Driven by the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, major industries across diversified areas, are facing significant challenges and a negative growth rate. COVID-19 has also impacted the market for overall digital transformation and enterprise software, including the multi-country payroll (MCP) technology market. The multi-country payroll platform market which has grown by 18.5% in 2019 is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% from 2020-2025. Despite of the fact that the majority of the technology market is witnessing negative growth due to the on-going pandemic across the global regions, the market growth for multi-country platforms still has a positive growth in the year 2020.

“Ramco, with its comprehensive payroll solution equipped with AI-driven and end-to-end payroll execution, has received strong ratings across the parameters of technology excellence and customer impact, and has been positioned amongst the top 3 technology leaders in the 2020 SPARK Matrix of the multi-country payroll solution market”, said Pallavi Bothra, Analyst at Quadrant Knowledge Solutions. “The company’s platform is equipped with advanced NLP-based intelligent chatbot service, machine learning, and RPA powered services to help enterprises transform Payroll strategy by automating traditional HR transactions, improving operational processes, and driving business benefits across functions. With its robust technology platform, comprehensive functional capabilities, and compelling product strategy and roadmap, Ramco is well positioned to expand its market share in the global multi-country payroll market”.

Commenting on being positioned as a leader in the Multi Country Payroll SPARK Matrix, Virender Aggarwal, CEO, Ramco Systems, said, “Our focus on leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning in areas such as anomaly detection, reasoning engine and self-explaining pay slip have helped us stay ahead of others in the global payroll market. With compliance across 50+ countries and a roadmap to add 12 more in the coming year, we continue to win the trust of Fortune 500 & MNCs looking for a seamless payroll experience. We thank our customers and partners for supporting us in this journey which has cemented us as a leading payroll provider with innovative edge and delivering customer impact in the 2020 SPARK Matrix for Multi-Country Payroll.”

The global demand for multi-country payroll is increasing due to the capability of the platform to seamlessly process the payroll activity automatically, resulting in uniformity and reduction in discrepancies apart from reducing the risk of human error. Additionally, the platform’s ability to adapt to the frequent & dynamic improvements in compliances, ensures adherence to the latest legal regulations, safeguarding them from future legal actions. The multi-country payroll platforms are governed by the requirement of global payroll, which would rise with the market adoption of third-party payroll solutions against in-house processing of payroll. This can only happen when the payroll vendors provide a scalable, yet standardized payroll platform, as per requirement.

Endera launches nation’s first Trust Exchange Network – a game-changer in the digital and gig economies

March 2, 2021 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Endera, provider of the first continuous evaluation platform for post-hire workforce risk, has launched Trua, a user-centric, digital trust exchange network powered by cutting-edge, patented algorithms that facilitate a Trust Score based on an individual’s verified identity, publicly available court records, and other verifiable data. Users can share their TruaScore with potential employers to establish credibility and trustworthiness, ultimately replacing the need for traditional background checks and credit-score inquiries that require personally identifiable information (PII).

Trua puts individuals in charge of their own data by enabling users to generate a dynamic Trust Score that’s continuously monitored and updated. The score, ranging from zero to 360, is generated by verified and validated background information pulled from nationwide court and public records.

The score takes into account a person’s identity, credentials, criminal and civil records, education, watch lists, and sanctions without exposing sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers as in a traditional background check.

Over 8 million computations are factored into Trua’s cutting-edge proprietary algorithms that simplify the typically arduous screening of an individual’s background information into an easy-to-understand, personal Trust Score. Users have complete control over who to share their score with and the length of time it can be viewed by explicit authorization.

Trua’s mission is to enable the exchange of trust for life’s transactions and to empower people to have a confident and secure relationship with the unknown. The TruaScore is now the way to prove trustworthiness in person-to-person transactions such as workplace hiring, in-home-care and service providers, tenant screening, or even dating.

“Trust within the gig and sharing economies can be difficult to measure, especially because studies show that two-thirds of people solely rely on peer references and word-of-mouth in decision making,” said Raj Ananthanpillai, CEO of Endera. “Many digital platforms that connect service providers with consumers cut the vetting process short, leaving consumers with little to no real trust in a provider’s identity and credibility, which can be a safety or liability risk.”

The nontraditional gig/share economy is dramatically expanding as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, fluctuations in the economy, and technological advancements that make remote hiring and work more efficient. In this market, there is currently no universal, standardized trust exchange method that gig and freelance workers can rely on to drive professional growth and personal protection.

“There is a clear need for a fast, reliable solution to assess trust without infringing on privacy or exchanging sensitive personal data,” Raj added.

By empowering people to take ownership of their data and personal information without compromising the integrity of the data, Trua allows users to prove their trustworthiness in person-to-person transactions without fear of identity theft or leaked PII. Unlike traditional background checks, the TruaScore is a non-biased trust exchange method because employers and hirers only see an individual’s Trust Score, not a lengthy document with underlying data and personal details.

With the constant risk of data breaches that leave personal information vulnerable, TruaScore does not require companies to collect an individuals’ PII and then outsource background checks to a third party. Instead, Trua lets individuals assemble their own background profile and enables the evaluator to verify them through the Trua Trust Exchange. This transformation allows Trua to reduce significant regulatory burden and liability risk for employers and better protects sensitive data.

“Employers should no longer have to bear the overwhelming responsibility of safeguarding every applicant’s or employee’s PII, especially as company data breaches are on the rise,” said Raj. “Trua takes that burden off of employers and allows them to hire smarter, safer and much faster.”

TruaScores are continually updated as new public information becomes available, eliminating the need for employers to run periodic screenings as they would with a traditional background check. It also provides situation-specific scores for employers interested in relevant history and credentials.

Trua users are able to review and dispute any incorrect data affecting their score, which is atypical during a traditional background-check process; applicants are merely informed that a background check is being performed on them and it ends there. Whereas Trua provides a dashboard of information on how to improve their score over time, similar to how individuals monitor and work to improve their credit scores.

Banking and financial service institutions will benefit from utilizing the holistic Trust Score, as Trua quickly verifies an individual’s identity, criminal and civil issues, watch lists and sanctions, and financial compliance without the need for third-party background checks or storing an individual’s personal documents.

“We are disrupting the archaic method of verifying a person’s identity and background in order to adjust to the realities of the new digital landscape of our lives,” said Raj. “Millions of people are renting vacation homes, hiring care givers and home services, ordering cars through rideshare, and meeting people from dating apps without confidently knowing if these individuals are safe and trustworthy. It’s time that we drive a societal change in terms of safety, security and personal responsibility, and provide a turnkey digital trust exchange, putting individuals back in control of their personal data.”

Trua Trust Exchange is based on blockchain technology and holds six patents for its proprietary processes, visual display and scoring technology. An individual’s records are verified by multiple sources to ensure legitimacy, and are cryptographically signed and stored on a blockchain to provide a chain of custody of all data sources applied in the validation.

All user data is encrypted and accessible only by multifactor authentication by the individual. When users no longer want to use a Trust Score, their data is deleted and never sold to third parties as it is when using traditional background checks and credit bureaus.

Trua is powered by facial recognition technology and backed by 15 years of research and product development on behalf of major corporations and U.S. intelligence agencies such as Homeland Security.

Kantaro and Atrys Health Partnership Expand Global Footprint of Quantitative COVID-19 Antibody Tests in Europe and South America

February 8, 2021 Published by Roboticulized.com

Kantaro Biosciences, LLC, a joint venture between the Mount Sinai Health System and RenalytixAI (LSE:RENX / NASDAQ: RNLX), and manufacturing partner Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH), entered into a marketing and distribution agreement with Atrys Health (BME: ATRY), a biomedical company dedicated to providing diagnostic services and medical treatments of excellence. Atrys Health will offer COVID-SeroKlir and COVID-SeroIndex, Kantaro’s quantitative SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody test kits, in select European and South American territories, including Spain, Portugal, Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Chile.

The Kantaro tests have received a CE Mark for detecting the presence and precise level of neutralizing IgG antibodies that are produced as part of the immune response to COVID-19 virus exposure. The Kantaro tests are also the first and only quantitative antibody tests that do not require proprietary equipment, meaning they can be run easily in any approved clinical laboratory. Quantitative testing for neutralizing antibodies can inform healthcare decision-making and public health policies worldwide.

“Atrys Health is the latest in a growing list of high-quality distribution partners. This agreement represents another critical step forward in bringing the Kantaro quantitative antibody tests to doctors, patients and researchers in regions affected by COVID-19,” said Sara Barrington, Kantaro’s chief commercial officer. “We believe this type of antibody testing is increasingly relevant at this point in the pandemic to provide peace of mind and answer important questions about vaccine response, longevity and immunity.”

Isabel Lozano, CEO of Atrys Health, said: “Our partnership with Kantaro diversifies and widens our portfolio of diagnostics at the forefront of innovation. We humbly embrace the opportunity to make the Kantaro quantitative antibody tests available to our customers in Europe and South America and be part of the global effort to increase testing and begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

COVID-SeroKlir and COVID-SeroIndex are enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) that have demonstrated 97.8% sensitivity and 99.6% specificity for detecting COVID-19 IgG antibodies, making them highly accurate with low potential for false results. The high precision results from a two-step process that utilizes two virus antigens: the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and the full-length spike protein.

The underlying technology in the Kantaro quantitative antibody test is based on research performed at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. The Mount Sinai technology has already been used in a highly diverse population of over 86,000 patient samples to screen for convalescent plasma donors and determine past infections in the clinical assessment of potentially life-threatening complications from COVID-19, including lung, kidney and cardiovascular disease. This technology has been utilized extensively in peer-reviewed research published in Science and Nature.

3D Metrology Market Worth $13.4 billion by 2026 – Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™

February 5, 2021 Published by Roboticulized.com

According to the new market research report “3D Metrology Market with COVID-19 Impact by Product Type (CMM, ODS, VMM, 3D AOI, 3D X-ray &CT), Application (Quality Control & Inspection, Reverse Engineering, Virtual Simulation), Offering, End-user Industry, and Geography – Global Forecast to 2026”, published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is estimated to grow from USD 9.6 billion in 2021 to reach USD 13.4 billion by 2026; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% from 2021 to 2026. A few key factors driving the growth of this market are increased R&D spending on 3D metrology, focus on quality control while manufacturing goods, and demand for higher productivity by electronics manufacturing services companies. Factors such as increasing adoption of cloud computing services and surging demand for industry 4.0 are expected to provide growth opportunities to players in the 3D metrology market.

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3D metrology market for hardware offering is expected to hold largest share during forecast period.

Hardware is expected to hold largest share of 3D metrology market from 2021 to 2026. The increasing adoption of 3D metrology equipment in industries such as aerospace & defense, automotive, architecture & construction, medical, electronics, energy & power, and heavy machinery to maintain product quality is the major driver for the growth of the hardware market.

CMM is expected to hold largest share of 3D metrology market during forecast period.

CMM is expected to hold largest share of 3D metrology market from 2021 to 2026. Better rigidity and higher accuracy are the major factors for the adoption of bridge CMMs for 3D metrology. The CMM market is growing rapidly and mainly focusses on quality control to capture large volumes of 3D data for modeling and analysis. The captured data are then shared with production scheduling, design, purchasing, and many other manufacturing company functions to ensure the accuracy of manufactured products. Other drivers of the CMM market include growing interest in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and superior quality inspections.

The 3D metrology market for automotive industry is expected to hold largest share from 2021 to 2026.

3D metrology is used in the automotive industry in the early stages of the design, production, and installation of single components and finished products, and the installation of automated production lines. The process of quality control and inspection is vital for production as it enables faster response to quality issues, thereby leading to the growing demand for 3D metrology systems in the automotive industry.

Browse in-depth TOC on “3D Metrology Market“
154 – Tables
48 – Figures
229 – Pages

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3D metrology market in APAC to grow at highest CAGR during forecast period.

The key countries contributing to the growth of the 3D metrology market in APAC include Japan, China, India, and South Korea. Countries in APAC are involved in the manufacturing of defense aircraft, which is expected to increase the scope of 3D metrology inspection applications in the aerospace & defense industry. The demand for automobiles and electronic products in APAC is likely to grow in the coming years, which would result in an increased production of vehicles.

Hexagon (Sweden), FARO Technologies (US), KEYENCE Corp. (Japan), Jenoptik (Germany), Nikon Corp. (Japan), Mitutoyo Corp. (Japan), ZEISS Group (Germany), KLA Corp. (US), Perceptron (US), Renishaw (UK), Creaform (Canada), Baker Hughes Company (US), CyberOptics Corp. (US), Trimble, Inc. (US), 3D Systems, Inc. (US), Automated Precision, Inc. (US) and Metrologic Group (France) are few major players in 3D metrology market.

Related Reports:

Industrial Metrology Market by Offering, Product, Application (Reverse Engineering, Quality & Inspection, Mapping & Modelling), Industry (Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Precision Manufacturing, Consumer), and Geography – Global Forecast to 2023

3D Printing Market by Offering (Printer, Material, Software, Service), Process (Binder Jetting, Direct Energy Deposition, Material Extrusion, Material Jetting, Powder Bed Fusion), Application, Vertical, Technology, and Geography – Global Forecast to 2024

Hosted security adoption given major boost by uptake in cloud, Morphean’s survey shows

February 2, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

New research into the impact of COVID-19 on physical security purchasing decisions has revealed a sharp increase in the necessity/urgency for businesses to adopt hosted video surveillance (VSaaS) and access control (ACaaS) solutions. While 70% of 1000 senior decision makers in IT, security, FM and HR roles agree this to be the case, 78% also anticipate their organisations’ use of cloud technologies to increase as a result of COVID-19.

The independent survey, commissioned by hosted security provider Morphean, revealed that over three-quarters (76%) of senior managers in UK, Germany and Sweden have increased their use of video conferencing; 65% have increased their use of office applications; and 70% of those in the security sector are now strongly inclined towards cloud adoption.

For security professionals already working with cloud services, the growth in connected digital devices is resulting in a growing appetite for physical security, such as network cameras, to enhance existing IT systems and assist business intelligence gathering. 95% agree that if an existing security system could deliver insights beyond security (i.e. occupancy or test and trace analytics), it would influence adoption.

More flexibility in working locations is the benefit respondents are most likely to identify from moving business functions to the cloud (50%), followed by easier collaboration (44%); more cost-effective (44%); safer/better security (38%). 82% anticipate the levels/frequency of remote workers and flexible working in their organisations to be higher post-pandemic.

For the physical security reseller, the study will demonstrate that hosted security solutions must play a major part in expanding their offering to a wiser customer base. Such solutions represent an investment into improving security and operations, a chance to forge new business relationships, and an opportunity to embrace future proof technologies in preparation for whatever challenges the future might hold.

Propertiq’s PVO: Property Value Offering Launches Across MENA

January 25, 2021 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

As a first-of-its-kind in the blockchain world, the team at Propertiq heads full force into the MENA region. The founding team is comprised of various industry-experts who recognise how progressive the public & private sectors are in locations like United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Iraq. Propertiq’s business model is called PVO: Property Value Offering, which is an out-of-box form of financing commercial real-estate projects that optimise returns to investors.

“We’ve built an eco-system that has combined some of the most reliable yet rewarding sectors in the market today despite the pandemic — commercial real-estate, blockchain, and affiliate marketing; all coming together to form something unique which is why we’ve taken the liberty to deem Propertiq’s business model, the world’s first PVO: Property Value Offering,” said Mr. Othman Mohammad Saleh, CEO of Propertiq.

Unlike Security Token Offerings (STOs) or REITs that focus primarily on fractional ownership, Propertiq tokenises the commercial value of a property’s benefits across sectors like Hospitality, F&B, & Offices. The platform is an autonomous, transparent facilitator for anybody who’s dreamt of investing into real-estate opportunities that ordinarily wouldn’t be within reach due to financial & geographical limitations.

Despite the pronounced effect that COVID-19 has had on global markets in 2020, the team at Propertiq believes that the pandemic has accelerated the mindset of beneficiary growth versus ownership in the minds of investors today. Through proprietary tokenomics & intricate smart-contracts, Propertiq’s investors are free to invest any amount, at whichever ratio, no matter how big or small in order to gain as beneficiaries, not owners from not just one commercial property’s gain, but several.

“We believe that most of today’s generations (Gen Y & Z) aren’t excited by the idea of “owning” something in the traditional sense any more. The world has become such an unpredictable yet connected place that people value freedom to be mobile as opposed to being tied down to an investment or a place nowadays. People would rather put in a thousand dollars into a hundred projects as opposed to putting a hundred thousand into just one now” added Ms. Kinda Jordi, VP Strategy (MENA).

With global ambitions, Propertiq’s core model is all about working hand in hand with various franchisees & operators in different parts of the world so that more can benefit from the potential of PVOs.

Propertiq’s MENA presence is spearheaded from Dubai in strategic partnership with the office of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Ahmad Al Maktoum – Investment. The Co-founders of Propertiq are strong advocates of community, which is why they built the PVO business model, so that it may further democratise the property investors of tomorrow in the most accessible and transparent manner possible. While Propertiq’s baseline offerings revolve around the PVO, the team has already modelled out an entire roadmap that will progressively evolve the brand into a full-fledge, autonomous ecosystem that allows more than just crypto-investment yield.

“We’re also going to be launching our own DeFi protocol here at Propertiq by mid February 2021. Short for Decentralised Finance; we want the world to see how Propertiq DeFi can augment the trust factor within the property sectors globally by taking it one step further beyond conventional distributed ledger technology (DLT). We are going to be emphasising on real-world use cases, assets, & applications like rental, lending, and escrow mechanisms very soon too,” said Irfan Nadaffi, VP Operations (MENA).

Black and Hispanic/Latinx Americans Less Confident in Ability to Access COVID-19 Vaccines, Treatments and Healthcare than White Americans, Finds Quest Diagnostics Health Trends™ Analysis

January 19, 2021 Published by Roboticulized.com

A new Quest Diagnostics Health Trends study finds that Black and Hispanic/Latinx Americans are nearly two times as likely as White Americans to say their access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and healthcare, once available, is worse than other racial/ethnic groups.

The study, titled COVID-19: Magnifying Racial Disparities in U.S. Healthcare, is based on a nationally representative survey conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX).

“COVID-19 has exacerbated long-standing inequities in healthcare, particularly among communities of color. Our new Health Trends research reveals people perceive, trust and engage with the healthcare system for COVID-19 differently depending on race and ethnicity,” said Harvey W. Kaufman, M.D., Senior Medical Director, Head of the Health Trends Research Program for Quest Diagnostics. “Importantly, it also reveals they expect America’s COVID-19 experience will lead to meaningful change in healthcare. Policy makers and providers should take these insights to heart, particularly as our country embarks on an unprecedented vaccination campaign.”

COVID-19: Magnifying Racial Disparities in U.S. Healthcare reveals racial divides in perceptions of access to healthcare and trust during the pandemic.

Select findings below:

Black and Hispanic/Latinx Americans lack confidence in access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics

Black and Hispanic/Latinx Americans are nearly two times as likely to say their access to COVID-19 vaccines, once available, is worse than other racial/ethnic groups, compared to White Americans (Black, 21%; Hispanic/Latinx, 17%; White 9%).
In addition, a larger proportion of Black and Hispanic/Latinx Americans felt access to COVID testing (15%, Black; 17%, Hispanic/Latinx vs. 8% White), COVID therapeutics (22%; 19% vs. 10%), quality preventative care during COVID (23%; 17% vs. 9%) and quality COVID-19 care (20%; 15% vs. 9%) is inferior to access for people of other races.

Fewer Black and Hispanic/Latinx Americans trust they would receive equitable life-saving COVID-19 care

A much higher percentage of White Americans (84%) are confident that they would receive the same life-saving care as people of other races or ethnicities if they contracted COVID-19. Conversely, only 67% of Hispanic/Latinx Americans and 64% of Black Americans share this confidence.
Fewer Black Americans (79%) and Hispanic/Latinx Americans (71%) trust their doctors would do everything possible to save their life if diagnosed with COVID-19 than White Americans (85%).
The survey found that 42% of Black Americans are more scared of getting COVID-19 than a delayed diagnosis for cancer, compared to only 33% of White Americans.

Lack of preventative care may fuel concern in undiagnosed conditions

One in two Black Americans (49%) are concerned they currently have an undiagnosed health condition, compared to only 39% of White Americans.
A majority of Americans (60%) have skipped or delayed some in-person medical treatments or appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially Hispanic/Latinx Americans (67%, compared to White and Black Americans at 59% and 58%, respectively).

The study also found that 52% of Americans expect actions will be taken to address racial disparities in healthcare in the wake of COVID-19.

“Our society is at an inflection point in terms of publicly and openly acknowledging, accepting and acting to eliminate racial disparities in healthcare,” said Gary A. Puckrein, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Minority Quality Forum. “This Quest Diagnostics research underscores the lack of trust and access to healthcare in minority communities. It’s vital for organizations – both public and private – to step off the sidelines and get into the game to take steps to build a more equitable healthcare system for all Americans. By sharing data and insights that demonstrate the depth and breadth of racial disparities, Quest Diagnostics is taking meaningful action to help solve the larger population health crisis that COVID-19 has further exposed.”

The analysis follows a Health Trends report issued last month that found that a majority of all Americans (74%) have avoided or delayed getting a diagnostic COVID-19 test when they believed they needed one (Black, 72%; Hispanic/Latinx, 83%; White 72%).

Addressing Racial Disparities in Health
“2021 provides a moment to illuminate pathways forward to addressing inequities so people can access quality COVID-19 care and other services regardless of race or ethnicity,” said Harvey W. Kaufman, M.D., Senior Medical Director, Head of the Health Trends Research Program for Quest Diagnostics. “COVID-19 has increased the moral imperative and urgency to address racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, including issues of access and bias.”

To help address disparities now and in the future, Quest Diagnostics is working immediately to improve the equitable allocation of diagnostic testing. One of these strategies involves tailoring outreach through collaborations to encourage vulnerable communities to get back to care, in part to help better control the chronic conditions that increase risk for severe illness due to COVID-19. Insights from this study have informed additional steps Quest Diagnostics will take to improve health equity, reduce racial bias in healthcare and build trust with communities of color.

In August 2020, Quest Diagnostics announced Quest for Health Equity, a national initiative to address and reduce health disparities in underserved communities, including those impacted by COVID-19. The multi-year initiative involves a commitment of more than $100 million in resources by Quest Diagnostics and the Quest Diagnostics Foundation for a combination of testing services, education programs, collaborations, and direct financial support. The initiative builds on the company’s relationships with federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), through which it provides COVID-19 testing and other laboratory services to underserved communities across the United States.

In addition, in response to inequities highlighted by COVID-19, the company’s Health Trends team has published peer-reviewed research, based on the company’s de-identified laboratory data, on racial/ethnic differences in COVID-19 testing results. This includes a recent study that found that largely Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic populations in the United States have the highest COVID-19 test positivity rates.

“COVID-19 highlighted existing health disparities and the enormity of the problem. Too many Americans from our most vulnerable communities are disproportionately impacted and too many lack access to care and COVID-19 and other diagnostic testing amidst a pandemic,” said Ruth Clements, Vice President and General Manager of Infectious Diseases and Immunology and leader for Quest for Health Equity at Quest Diagnostics. “At Quest, we believe in equal access to COVID-19 testing and important preventative diagnostic services. Through our community collaborations like Choose Healthy Life with the Black clergy and FQHCs we are striving to bring health equity to populations in need.”

Methodology
On behalf of Quest Diagnostics, The Harris Poll conducted an online survey of 2,050 adults 18 years and older across the United States from November 10-12, 2020. The survey sample included 337 Hispanic/Latinx, 265 Black and 1,278 White adults. Figures for age by sex, region, education, household size, marital status and household income were weighted by race/ethnicity where necessary to make them representative of their actual proportions in the population. The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys in the U.S. tracking public opinion, motivations and social sentiment since 1963 that is now part of Harris Insights & Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm that delivers social intelligence for transformational times.

Covid-19 vaccination campaign safety : France rolls out the “Medication Shield” of Synapse Medicine

January 17, 2021 Published by Roboticulized.com

Synapse Medicine, which was founded by public health physicians, rolls out its Medication Shield technology to increase the safety of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in France, in collaboration with the regional pharmacovigilance centers (CRPVs) and the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM). This technology comes out as a valuable time-saver, supporting the management of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports by making it easier and allowing pharmacovigilance teams to focus their attention on the most severe cases. Because COVID-19 vaccines were developed in a brief period of time, it is crucial to ensure rigor and responsiveness in monitoring any possible side-effects.

The Medication Shield: a unique technology to improve adverse drug events monitoring

In France, monitoring the safety of drugs, particularly vaccines, is carried out by the ANSM and the CRPVs. Synapse Medicine has been working in collaboration with these health institutions for the past 18 months on a research project aiming to support the management of pharmacovigilance cases. This technology, called “Medication Shield”, manages ADR reports in real-time (declared on the online reporting portal by the general public), encodes them automatically into an international classification (MedDRA), and ranks them by severity. The ANSM has chosen to deploy the Medication Shield on a national level in response to the current context, which requires reinforced pharmacovigilance and important responsiveness regarding COVID-19 vaccines. This technology allows monitoring teams from the ANSM and the CRPVs to analyze ADR reports more rapidly, depending on their severity.

Artificial Intelligence to improve the pharmacovigilance of the COVID-19 vaccines

The COVID-19 vaccines were brought to the public quickly thanks to innovative development processes. This requires official health authorities to strengthen their protection systems against medication risks and to rapidly deploy increased pharmacovigilance systems.

“The Medication Shield acts as a collective shield. It allows pharmacovigilance experts, physicians, and pharmacists to save time during the management of ADR reports and focus their attention on the most severe cases. The major challenge here is to monitor any unexpected events following the COVID-19 vaccination in real-time , and more broadly following the use of any medication,” comments Dr. Clément Goehrs, co-founder and CEO of Synapse Medicine.

Tag: COVID-19