<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293-1.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-412343" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293-1.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293-1-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>In this photo illustration, the Bitcoin logo is seen on a mobile device with People’s Republic of China flag in the background. (Photo Illustration by t/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



GUANGZHOU, China — Huobi, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said it has ceased new account openings for mainland Chinese users after Beijing renewed a crackdown on virtual currencies.



The People’s Bank of China declared all virtual currency-related activities illegal including trading on Friday. The Chinese central bank also took aim at overseas exchanges providing services to mainland China users.



Huobi, one of these exchanges, said on Sunday that it would end account registrations for new mainland Chinese users. The company will also gradually retire existing accounts of mainland Chinese users by midnight on Dec. 31, 2021.



Meanwhile Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said that account registrations using Chinese mobile phone numbers are now blocked. The Binance app is also no longer available for download in China.



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“Binance takes its compliance obligations very seriously and is committed to following local regulator requirements wherever we operate,” a spokesperson told CNBC.



This year, Chinese authorities have intensified a crackdown on cryptocurrencies that has targeted bitcoin miners and trading.



But China’s tough stance on cryptocurrencies is not new. Authorities in the world’s second-largest economy have long been worried about the impact of digital coins on financial stability.



In 2017, China shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges and banned so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs), a way to raise money for crypto companies by issuing digital tokens. 



Many of China’s cryptocurrency exchanges moved offshore as a result of that. But loopholes have remained that allow mainland Chinese traders to buy and sell digital currencies on these offshore exchanges.

Major crypto exchanges stop letting Chinese users sign up after Beijing’s renewed crackdown

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412329" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla addresses a press conference after a visit to oversee the production of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at the factory of U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer in Puurs, Belgium April 23, 2021. John Thys | Pool | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



There will be a return to normal life within a year, Pfizer CEO and Chairman Albert Bourla said on Sunday, adding that it’s likely annual Covid vaccination shots will be necessary.



“Within a year I think we will be able to come back to normal life,” Bourla said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”



Returning to normal life will have caveats, he said: “I don’t think that this means that the variants will not continue coming, and I don’t think that this means that we should be able to live our lives without having vaccinations,” Bourla said. “But that, again, remains to be seen.”



Bourla’s prediction about when normal life will resume is in keeping with that of Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel. “As of today, in a year, I assume,” Bancel told the Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung, according to Reuters on Thursday, when asked for his estimate of a return to normal life.



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In order to make that happen, Pfizer’s Bourla suggested it is likely annual coronavirus vaccine shots will be needed.



“The most likely scenario for me is that, because the virus is spread all over the world, that it will continue seeing new variants that are coming out,” Bourla said. “Also we will have vaccines that they will last at least a year, and I think the most likely scenario is annual vaccination, but we don’t know really, we need to wait and see the data.”



On Friday, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Walensky authorized the distribution of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 booster shots for those in high-risk occupational and institutional settings, a move that overruled an advisory panel. Walensky approved distributing the booster shots to older Americans and adults with underlying medical conditions at least six months after their first series of shots, in line with the advisory panel.



The World Health Organization strongly opposes a widespread rollout of booster shots, saying wealthier nations should give extra doses to countries with minimal vaccination rates. 



Bourla said on Sunday it is “not right to decide if you’re going to approve or not boosters” on any other criteria than “if the boosters are needed.”



On Tuesday, Tom Frieden, former head of the CDC, criticized Moderna and Pfizer for not sharing vaccination intellectual property more broadly to help accelerate global vaccination rates.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/s-africa-signs-deal-for-20-mln-pfizer-covid-19-doses-2/">S.Africa signs deal for 20 mln Pfizer COVID-19 doses</a></h3>



“While focusing on selling expensive vaccines to rich countries, Moderna and Pfizer are doing next to nothing to close the global gap in vaccine supply. Shameful,” Frieden said tweeted on Twitter.



Bourla said it is not a good idea to wave intellectual property.



“Intellectual property is what created the thriving life sciences sector that was ready when the pandemic hit,” Bourla said. “Without that, we wouldn’t be here to discuss if we didn’t with us or not because we wouldn’t have vaccines &#8230; Also, we are very proud of what we have done. I don’t know why [Frieden] is using these words. We are very proud. We have saved millions of lives.”



Pfizer is selling vaccines at different prices to countries with different levels of wealth. Developing countries are buying vaccines at cost from Pfizer, Bourla said. And Bourla pointed to the fact that Pfizer is selling one billion vaccine doses to the U.S. government at cost. The U.S. government is then donating those vaccine doses “at no cost, completely free, to the poorest countries of the world,” he said.

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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicts normal life will return within a year and adds we may need annual Covid shots

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-411803" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Juan Rodriguez (L) reacts while receiving Johnson &#038; Johnson’s Janssen Covid-19 vaccine administered by vocational nurse Christina Garibay at a Skid Row community outreach event where Covid-19 vaccines and testing were offered in Los Angeles, California on August 22, 2021.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 booster shots for people 65 and older and other vulnerable Americans six months after they complete their first two doses, making many Americans eligible to receive the shots now.



The FDA’s decision largely follows recommendations given Friday by its key vaccine advisory committee at a more than 8-hour agency meeting. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 16-2 against distributing the vaccines to Americans 16 and older, before unanimously embracing an alternate plan to give boosters to older Americans and those at a high risk of suffering from severe illness if they get the virus.



Though Americans 65 and older make up roughly 17% of the U.S. population, they are the most at risk of dying from Covid, accounting for more than 77% of all Covid deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



The FDA granted emergency use authorization to administer Pfizer’s shots to older Americans and people from 18- to 64-years-old with medical conditions that place them at risk of getting severely sick. The agency also included a broad definition of people from 18 to 64 “whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure” to the virus place them at a high risk of developing serious complications from Covid. That leaves enough wiggle room for the CDC to potentially clear third doses for people in nursing homes, prisons, front-line health employees and other essential workers who were among the first Americans who got the initial shots in December.



“The FDA considered the committee’s input and conducted its own thorough review of the submitted data to reach today’s decision,” Dr. Peter Marks, the agency’s top vaccine regulator, said in a statement. “We will continue to analyze data submitted to the FDA pertaining to the use of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines and we will make further decisions as appropriate based on the data.” 



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The nonbinding decision by the vaccine advisory committee was expected to be a controversial one as the Biden administration has said it wants to begin offering booster shots to the general public as early as this week, pending authorization from U.S. health regulators.



While the agency hasn’t always followed the advice of its committee, it often does. Still, Marks reminded the panel on Friday that federal regulators did not have to accept its recommendation as written.



“We are not bound at FDA by your vote, just so you understand that. We can tweak this as need be,” he said.



In clearing the shots, which only apply to people who received Pfizer’s original vaccine, the FDA cited a small study provided by the company of about 300 people who received the boosters, data provided by the U.K. as well as more comprehensive, but less rigorous data, from Israeli health authorities.



Some scientists, including at least two at the FDA, had said they weren’t entirely convinced every American who has received the Pfizer vaccine needed extra doses at this time. However, the nation’s top health regulators, including CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock and White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, already endorsed Biden’s booster plan in August.



Friday’s vote put the FDA panel in an “awkward position” as the administration has already announced they would begin distributing boosters to the general public this month, Northwell Health chief of infectious disease Dr. Bruce Farber said prior to the panel’s recommendation.



Some committee members said they were concerned that there wasn’t enough data to make a recommendation, while others argued third shots should be limited to certain groups, such as people over age 60 who are known to be at higher risk of severe disease. Some members raised concerns about the risk of myocarditis in younger people, saying more research is needed.



Phil Krause, an FDA vaccine regulator who is leaving the agency over pressure from the Biden administration to approve the shots, was critical of the findings presented at the meeting, saying much of the data had not been reviewed by the federal agency or peer-reviewed. He said the models used were complex and scientists have to ensure it “is giving you the correct results.”



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“That’s part of the difficulty at looking at this kind of data without having the chance for FDA to review it,” he said.



In outlining plans last month to start distributing boosters as early as this week, administration officials cited three CDC studies that showed the vaccines’ protection against Covid diminished over several months. Senior health officials said at the time they worried protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death “could” diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout.



Pfizer said In documents made public last week that an observational study in Israel showed a third dose of the Covid vaccine six months after a second shot restores protection from infection to 95%. The data was collected from July 1 through Aug. 30 when the fast-spreading delta variant was surging throughout the country.



In a presentation Friday, Dr. Sharon Elroy-Preiss of Israel’s Health Ministry argued that if officials there had not begun distributing boosters at the end of July, the nation likely would have exceeded its hospital capacity. Health officials began to see a trend, she said, of individuals in their 40s and 50s who were fully vaccinated become critically ill with Covid.



“We didn’t want to wait to see those results and we knew that we needed to vaccinate a larger portion of the population in order to get the numbers down quickly,” she told the committee. Israeli health authorities expected severe cases to average 2,000 by late August, she said. “We were able to dampen that effect and our severe cases are roughly 700 or less and have stayed stable, even though we still have days at 10,000 confirmed cases.”



The FDA OK is not the final go-ahead. The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee held the first day of a two-day meeting Wednesday to debate the third shots with a vote on the FDA’s proposal scheduled Thursday afternoon. If they issue a recommendation and it is approved by the CDC, booster shots could begin immediately.

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106944281-1632151252470-gettyimages-1232648736-05012021_PHH_TSA_18.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-412258" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106944281-1632151252470-gettyimages-1232648736-05012021_PHH_TSA_18.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106944281-1632151252470-gettyimages-1232648736-05012021_PHH_TSA_18-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106944281-1632151252470-gettyimages-1232648736-05012021_PHH_TSA_18-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Passengers wearing face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of covid-19 arrive at Orlando International Airport. On April 30, 2021, the Transportation Security Administration extended the federal mask mandate, which was set to expire on May 11, until September 13 for all air passengers over the age of 2. Paul Hennessy | LightRocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The U.S. will ease travel restrictions for international visitors who are vaccinated against Covid-19 in November, including those from the U.K. and EU, the White House said Monday.



Noncitizens visiting the United States will have to show proof of vaccination and a negative Covid test taken within three days of departure, said Jeff Zients, who is leading the nation’s Covid response efforts for the White House.



The changes will take effect in early November, which the airline industry expects will spur holiday bookings.



“They must show proof of vaccination prior to boarding a U.S.-bound&nbsp;airplane,” Zients said during a press briefing.



Airlines and other travel industry groups have clamored for the U.S. to lift the restrictions for months. The Trump administration had first issued the rules, which now apply to more than 30 countries, in March 2020. President Joe Biden upheld those rules in January, shortly after taking office.



The Biden administration is also tightening rules for unvaccinated U.S. citizens returning home. They will need to test one day before departure and test again after returning.



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European and British officials have lifted entry bans for U.S. and other visitors since vaccines became widely available this spring, but the Biden administration hadn’t reciprocated.



Allowing more international travelers into the U.S. would have wide-ranging impacts. A ban on much of non-U.S. citizen travel has had broad effects on industries including airlines, retail and restaurants.



The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will also require airlines to collect and provide passenger information to aid contract tracing.



“In the coming weeks, CDC will be issuing a contact tracing order requiring&nbsp;airlines&nbsp;to collect current information for each U.S.-bound traveler, including their phone number and email address,” Zients said.



Shares of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines rose Monday after the White House’s announcement, escaping a broader market sell-off. Those carriers have the most international service of U.S. airlines and will benefit the most from the change in policy. JetBlue Airways, which debuted its first service to London last month, also gained.



“Leisure bookings for the holidays from inbound tourist visits and non-US citizens visiting friends and relatives will accelerate in upcoming weeks,” Jonathan Root, senior vice president at Moody’s Investors Service, said in an emailed statement. “We also now expect a stronger increase in business travel by the first quarter of 2022 than would have occurred if the borders remained closed.”



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There will be a few exemptions to the vaccination requirements for foreign visitors, such as for children not yet eligible to be vaccinated, according to a person familiar with the White House’s strategy, but full details of the policy have not yet been released.



The airlines cheered the Biden administration’s decision, which will open up those carriers to customers who have been restricted from flying to the U.S. since early 2020.



″U.S. airlines have been strong advocates for a stringent, consistent policy and are eager to safely reunite the countless families, friends and colleagues who have not seen each other in nearly two years, if not longer,” Nicholas Calio, president of Airlines for America, the lobbying group for the largest U.S. carriers, said in a statement.



In June, the U.S., U.K., EU, Mexico and Canada announced they would form a group to study how to safely reopen international travel.



Monday’s announcement came after the peak summer travel season but it could mean stronger demand for end-of-year holiday trips. Airlines have been using some of their biggest planes, normally reserved for international trips, for domestic routes, a trend that could quickly change if demand from abroad rises with the new rules.



Airline capacity to Europe from the U.S. this summer was down 61% from 2019, according to aviation data firm Cirium.

106944281-1632151252470-gettyimages-1232648736-05012021_PHH_TSA_18

U.S. to ease travel restrictions for foreign visitors who are vaccinated against Covid

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412250" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>A teen gets a dose of Pfizer&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccine last month at Holtz Children&#8217;s Hospital in Miami. Nearly 7 million U.S. teens and preteens (ages 12 through 17) have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine so far, the CDC says.</figcaption></figure>



Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine is safe and generates a “robust” immune response in a clinical trial of kids ages 5 to 11, the drugmakers announced in a press release Monday.



The companies tested a two-dose regimen of 10 micrograms — about a third the dosage used for teens and adults — administered three weeks apart. The shots were well tolerated and produced an immune response and side effects comparable to those seen in a study of people ages 16 to 25, they said.



Common side effects for teens and adults include fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and nausea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



The data, which included more than 2,200 children, will be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration and other health regulators “as soon as possible,” the companies said.



“We are eager to extend the protection afforded by the vaccine to this younger population, subject to regulatory authorization, especially as we track the spread of the Delta variant and the substantial threat it poses to children,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a release.



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The new data comes as many parents say they are anxious to get their children vaccinated, especially as schools reopen and the highly contagious delta variant continues to spread. The strain has led to a surge in hospitalizations across the U.S., including among young kids who are currently ineligible to get the shots.



So far, the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine has been cleared by the FDA for people as young as 12, while Moderna’s and Johnson &amp; Johnson’s vaccines have been authorized for adults.



The FDA is expected to issue a decision sometime this week on which groups are eligible to get a third dose, or booster shot, of the Pfizer vaccine. An FDA advisory committee on Friday unanimously recommended Pfizer booster shots to people age 65 and older and other vulnerable Americans.



Bourla said last week that Pfizer could submit data on children from ages 5 to 11 by the end of this month.



Additionally, Pfizer expects to release clinical trial data on how well its Covid vaccine works in children as young as 6-months-old to 5 years old as early as the end of October, he said.



The release shared Monday didn’t mention whether any of the kids in the trial experienced myocarditis, a rare heart condition seen in a small number of adolescents and young adults.

5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b

Pfizer says its Covid vaccine is safe and generates robust immune response in kids ages 5 to 11

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106555708-1590686796094gettyimages-1225054260.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-412239" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106555708-1590686796094gettyimages-1225054260.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106555708-1590686796094gettyimages-1225054260-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106555708-1590686796094gettyimages-1225054260-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Laurence Dutton</figcaption></figure>



As remote working takes a greater hold amid the coronavirus pandemic, a wealth of opportunities can open up for people that may not have existed before.



For example, less of a focus on the office can draw more people with disabilities into the workforce.



But for companies, there are still a great deal of considerations to take into account when creating an inclusive remote environment for blind and deaf people.



Martin O’Kane of the Royal National Institute of Blind People in the U.K. said in the case of people with sight loss, they may often rely on public transport to get to an office. Remote working may now present a chance for employers, but it will put their commitments to inclusivity to the test.



During the pandemic, video calls became the lifeblood for many companies to keep operations flowing whether in team meetings or for recruitment of new talent.



Organizations like RNIB and the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Center at University College London have issued guidance to employers on best practices for remote working with people that are visually impaired or hard of hearing.



But these guidelines are ever-evolving with the rapidly changing future of work.



“If you’ve sight loss, you’re probably using types of technology that will allow you to read information so that could be magnification or it could be speech reading software,” O’Kane said. 



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“The key thing for an employer is that you make sure that whatever system you’re using is compatible with that software.”



A spokesperson for DCAL said the organization is in the process of “working out how we will deal with this blended way of working”.



“It is vital that the views of deaf people and their lived experiences are taken into account so that any improvements in tech are actually what deaf people want and need. Not what hearing [people] think they want and need.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tech-tools"><a></a>Tech tools</h2>



Technology tools, especially for communication and video conferencing, present ways for employers to keep their staff engaged but it’s not always a straightforward option.



Gilles Bertaux, the CEO of Livestorm, a French video conferencing and webinar platform, said it is currently making tweaks to its platform to better serve the visually impaired.



“In our online room meeting, we’re trying to meet the standards for blind people based on the ARIA specifications,” Bertaux said, referring to a set of standards for web accessibility from the World Wide Web Consortium.



“It’s mainly targeted at people who are visually impaired or blind. In practical terms, it allows anyone to navigate the Livestorm room with their keyboard. We’re going to work hard on it next year to improve it again.”



He added that its design team is also working on filters to boost the color contrast on calls that will make people and objects more discernible.



For staff that are deaf or hard of hearing, real-time captioning and subtitles on video calls is still a nascent but advancing technology with major platforms like Zoom and Google Meet implementing live audio captioning.



Simon Lau, vice president of product at Otter.ai, a transcription software company, told CNBC that live captions can help reduce so-called “Zoom fatigue” for people that rely on lip-reading while on calls.



Meanwhile, Josh Miller, CEO of video transcription firm 3Play Media, said that while technology in this field is improving, it can be “still pretty clunky,” but companies should not be afraid to test the tech out with their employees.



“I think there’s a hesitation to engage in these types of services because of the complexity and not necessarily because of the cost. It’s that unknown of how does this actually get implemented. One of the things that we’re really excited about is simplifying it,” Miller said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Human touch</h2>



Technology may bridge certain gaps in keeping a remote team functioning but there are still old school considerations to make by not relying on tech to have all the answers.



RNIB’s O’Kane said that companies need to train employees more effectively on disability as part of their diversity programs.



For video conferencing with the visually impaired, this means more considerate etiquette on calls. This ranges from avoiding using too many visual cues to clearly stating your name when you speak on a group call. 



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“If you have sight loss and you can’t see who’s speaking, it can be very confusing to try and work out who is saying what,” O’Kane said.



“It comes down to making sure that all staff involved in remote calls have some good information on sight loss that’s part of their equality and diversity training.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Inaccessible web</h2>



All of this gets to the heart of a lingering problem with digital services. According to stats from Softbank-backed marketing tech firm Contentsquare, 70% of the web is largely inaccessible to those with visual disabilities.



The company established the Contentsquare Foundation earlier this year, after acquiring French start-up AdaptMyWeb, which makes assistive software. The foundation helps companies identify accessibility issues and bottlenecks on their websites, especially for the visually impaired and has developed a plug-in for users to adjust and improve their reading experience online.



Chief Marketing Officer Niki Hall told CNBC that many companies are still unaware of how inaccessible their sites or digital services are and often need it spelled out for them.



“We give people accessibility issue reports. Some people don’t even know that they have issues,” Hall said. “They can look at it and see what’s wrong with their site and how they can improve it.”



Identifying problems in accessible tech is just one step, she added, creating solutions and building services that are mindful of all users needs to be front of mind for companies.



“The bare minimum is to create a level playing field for all. It’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that their employees, their customers, everyone is creating the best experience, not a frustrating one.”

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412157" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A healthcare worker fills a syringe with Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Giorgio Companies site in Blandon, PA where the CATE Mobile Vaccination Unit was onsite to administer Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines to workers Wednesday morning April 14, 2021. Ben Hasty | MediaNews Group | Reading Eagle via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Moderna on Wednesday released more data on so-called breakthrough cases it says supports the push for wide use of Covid-19 vaccine booster shots.



The U.S. drugmaker shared a new analysis from its phase three study that showed the incidence of breakthrough Covid cases, which occur in fully vaccinated people, was less frequent in a group of trial participants who were more recently inoculated, suggesting immunity for earlier groups had started to wane.



There were 88 identified breakthrough cases out of 11,431 people vaccinated between December and March, the company said in a release, compared with 162 breakthrough cases out of 14,746 trial participants vaccinated in July through October of last year.



There were also fewer severe cases of Covid-19 cases in the group that received the vaccine more recently, according to a manuscript of the results shared by the company. Three Covid-19 related hospitalizations occurred in the group that got the shots early on, resulting in two deaths, according to the data. There were no hospitalizations or deaths in the group that recently received the vaccine, although the finding on severe cases was not statistically significant.



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“There’s a large debate, we all know, about whether or not vaccine boosters are going to be necessary into the fall,” Moderna President Stephen Hoge said in a phone interview. “That debate, what makes it really hard is it’s not really about whether the vaccine worked last month. It’s really about whether it’s going to work this winter.”



The analysis hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet.



The new data comes two days before a key Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory committee meeting, when a panel of outside experts will debate whether there is enough data to support widely distributing booster shots across the U.S.



The group, called the agency’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, is scheduled to debate administering third doses of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine as federal health regulators say they need more time to review Moderna’s application for extra doses.



The data shows that “we do see a significant increase in the risk of Covid-19 for those who are vaccinated a year ago versus six months ago,” Hoge said.



“If you take that number, which in the paper is roughly 28 cases per 1,000 person, and you extrapolate that across the 60 million Americans who’ve received that vaccine. The incremental number of cases of Covid-19 that would happen between here and the hospitals is about 600,000, more than half a million cases of Covid-19,” he said.



Earlier Wednesday, FDA scientists declined to take a stance on whether to back booster shots of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine, saying U.S. regulators haven’t verified all the available evidence.



The FDA appears to be skeptical about some of the data provided, including efficacy numbers out of Israel, where researchers there have released observational studies showing the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against infection waned over time.



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It sets the stage for a tense meeting Friday as the Biden administration has said it wants to begin offering booster shots to the general public as early as next week, pending authorization from the FDA. The move is part of President Joe Biden’s broader plan to confront a higher number of Covid cases fueled by the fast-spreading delta variant.



The administration has cited three studies, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that showed the vaccines’ protection against Covid diminished over several months. The White House’s plan calls for people to get a third dose eight months after they got their second shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.



Scientists and other health experts have repeatedly criticized the plan, saying data the federal health officials cited wasn’t compelling and characterizing the Biden administration’s push for boosters as premature.



A leading group of scientists published a paper Monday in the journal The Lancet that argued booster shots are not needed at this time for the general public. While Covid vaccine effectiveness against mild disease may wane over time, protection against severe disease appears to persist, the scientists said.



Widely distributing booster shots to the general public is “not appropriate” at this time, the authors, including two senior FDA officials and multiple scientists from the World Health Organization, wrote in the journal.

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