TR EMERITUS

RTT News, 23 March 2010 Monday, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK: News ) confirmed the presence of material from a virus called PCV-1 in Rotarix, based on which the US Food and Drug Administration has recommended clinicians and public health professionals in U.S. to temporarily suspend the use of its oral rotavirus vaccine. Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis among children below five years of age and it is estimated that more than half a million children die of rotavirus gastroenteritis each year. Rotarix is a two-dose, orally-administered vaccine that offers protection against rotavirus to infants from the age of 6 weeks. Brentford, U.K-based company noted that the material was first detected by US researchers using a novel technique used for looking for viruses, which was confirmed by the additional tests conducted by GlaxoSmithKline. PCV-1 is a known virus that does not multiply in humans and is not known to cause illness in humans. It is found in everyday meat products and is frequently eaten with no resulting disease or illness. FDA has also issued a statement confirming that there is no evidence that the finding poses a safety risk based on the excellent safety profile of Rotarix. The vaccine has been produced according to FDA standards as reviewed and approved for US licensure in 2008. The safety profile of Rotarix is based on extensive clinical data from the largest vaccine clinical trial program conducted by GlaxoSmithKline, enrolling more than 90,000 participants in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa and the US. The company said that retrospective testing of Rotarix, using new molecular detection techniques, has confirmed that material from PCV-1 has been present since the initial stages of the vaccine's development in the cell bank and rotavirus seeds used as base production material. Worldwide sales of Rotarix recorded in 2009 was 282 million pounds Sterling with US representing 76 million pounds Sterling. GlaxoSmithKline said it was currently reviewing the best possible ways to replace the cell bank and virus seeds used as base production material. At the same time, in accordance with the regulators, the company will continue to manufacture Rotarix to the existing approved production and quality standards to meet public health needs worldwide. Meanwhile, the FDA indicated it intends to convene an advisory committee within about four to six weeks, to review the available data and make recommendations on rotavirus vaccines licensed in the USA. - RTT News  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent An economist and associate professor from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Dr Tan Khee Giap has lashed out at Singaporeans for complaining about foreigners taking away their jobs. Echoing PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew's views that Singaporeans are "champion grumblers", Dr Tan claimed that Singaporeans are "protesting too much" at a roundtable session at the Tax Academy of Singapore's annual Budget seminar yesterday. He told the audience presence that figures last year showed that about three out of ten job vacancies had been unfilled for at least six months which implied that Sinagporeans are turning away the jobs. Dr Tan did not provide any explanation as to why the unfilled jobs are not accepted by Singaporeans. Perhaps the pay is too low and the working hours are too long. The PAP and the state media have been busy trying to portray Singaporeans are being "fussy" in job application to deflect blame from their discriminatory labor polices which favor the foreigners. In the last few weeks alone, the Temasek Review has published job advertisements put up by companies based in Singapore seeking foreigners for positions which can otherwise be filled by Singaporeans. Dr Tan accused some Singaporeans of being "voluntarily unemployed" and suggested that "every resident worker who is unemployed for more than three months should be made to register with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), which will have to help him find a job based on his last drawn pay." "The WDA can then track how many times each unemployed person turns down a job - much like the statistics the Housing Board recently revealed of new flat buyers turning down flat options," he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times. He believes that WDA rejection rate will be "fairly high" without substantiating his statements and that this will "quash the perception there are not enough jobs to go around for Singaporeans." "WDA should work actively to help citizens get jobs. When these people turn down jobs once, twice, three times, the Government then doesn't have to make apologies about bringing in foreign workers," he added. Being an economist by training, it is appalling that Dr Tan is not aware of the basic fact that having jobs alone is not enough - the jobs must pay reasonably well to ensure a decent standard of living for Singapore workers. The PAP has opened the floodgates to foreign workers without putting in adequate measures to safeguard the interests of Singaporeans. It is impossible to expect Singaporeans to compete directly with the cheaper foreigners while remaining "cheaper, better and faster" at the same time. Despite recent promises made by PAP leaders to "slow" the inflow of foreigners to placate angry Singaporeans, Dr Tan continues to call for foreign workers to spur Singapore's growth: "Foreign workers, while unpopular, are necessary for Singapore's growth, which may not be able to rise on higher productivity alone. This is especially so as the Government has been spending more than it earns - for instance, on help for the needy - and running budget deficits for a number of years now," Dr Tan said. According to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, the relentless influx of foreign workers in recent years has depressed the ordinary wages of Singaporeans, increased the cost of living and led to an overall decline in the standards of living. It is pretty obvious that there will not be any major overhaul of the PAP's disastrous liberal immigration and pro-foreigner policies so long it remains in power. Unless Singaporeans reclaim their rights as citizens of their country and vote out the despotic PAP regime in the next general election, they will soon be relegated to second class minorities in their own homeland with the males having to serve two years of National Service to protect the lives and wealth of the PAP elites and the immigrants.  Read More →

By Fiona Chan from Straits Times SINGAPOREANS who complain about foreigners taking away their jobs may be protesting too much, a well-known Singapore economist has said. Dr Tan Khee Giap, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, yesterday cited figures showing that as of last September, about three out of 10 job vacancies - or 10,140 openings - had been unfilled for at least six months. This was roughly the same level as the year before and implies that Singaporeans are turning their noses up at some jobs, he said at a seminar on Budget 2010. To verify this 'voluntary unemployment', he suggested that every resident worker who is unemployed for more than three months should be made to register with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), which will have to help him find a job based on his last drawn pay. Read rest of article here  Read More →