New York Governor Cuomo resigns amid sexual harassment scandal
The resignation would take effect in 14 days and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would become the governor for the rest of Andrew Cuomos term.
new York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said he was resigning amid mounting pressures from sexual harassment allegations and investigations as well as calls for resignation from other political figures.
The resignation would take effect in 14 days and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would become the governor for the rest of Cuomo’s term.
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Cuomo has been working as New York governor since January 2011 and his third term will end at the end of 2021.
Cuomo said he doesn’t want to be “unhelpful in any way” and the best way he can help is to step aside given the circumstances.
New York Assembly is working on impeachment articles against Cuomo on sexual harassment and mishandling of nursing homes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Judiciary Committee under New York Assembly has given Cuomo a deadline to turn over evidence to defend himself until this Friday.
Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women from 2013 to 2020, said a recent report by independent investigators appointed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
As many as 11 women were harassed by Cuomo including his top aides, according to the report.
Cuomo’s former assistant Brittany Commisso, who is one of the 11 women, recently filed a criminal complaint against Cuomo on accusations Cuomo groped her in the Executive Mansion in the state’s capital city Albany.
However, Cuomo has been denying sexual harassment accusations, saying that “I never did and I never would intentionally disrespect a woman, treat any woman differently than I would want them treated.
Photo taken from a video in New York, the United States, shows New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaking during a televised address, on Aug. 10, 2021.
Earlier, Cuomo offered apologies for bringing his personal experience into the workplace and for his gestures leading others to take offense.
The sexual harassment scandal emerged around half a year ago and Cuomo authorized New York Attorney General Letitia James to carry out an independent investigation.
Besides, the attorney general’s office issued a report in January saying the Health Department of New York State underreported the death toll in nursing homes from COVID-19 by as much as 50 percent.
Cuomo has largely ignored calls for him to resign until issuance of the latest investigation report from the office of Letitia James on Aug. 3.
U.S. President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer all called Cuomo to resign over the scandal.
As the 56th governor of New York, Cuomo is from a Democratic elite family with his father Mario Cuomo serving as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms.
Cuomo’s long-time aide and stalwart supporter Melissa DeRosa resigned late Sunday as DeRosa’s name appeared over 100 times in the investigation report.
The number of Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia crossed 8.21 million, with 94,201 new cases reported on Tuesday, way higher than Monday’s tally of 80,208. There were 3,201 more deaths, increasing from Monday’s 2,463 and taking total Covid-19 deaths in Asean to 175,623.
Indonesia reported 32,081 new cases and 2,048 deaths on Tuesday, bringing cumulative cases in that country to 3,718,821 patients and a total 110,619 deaths so far.
The government extended the lockdown period in Bali and Java to August 16 while other areas will remain under lockdown until August 23 to curb the spread of the Delta variant. However, shopping malls will allow only vaccinated customers to enter, except for children and elders.
The Philippines’ Public Health Ministry meanwhile reported that one fifth of the hospitals in the country are now at full capacity after the number of new infections hit 8,000-10,000 patients per day in the past week, compared to an average of 5,700 patients per day in July.
It also reported that more than 22,000 medical professionals have contracted Covid-19 since the outbreak started. Of these, 102 medics have died.
Cuomo announces resignation in effort to head off likely impeachment after devastating report on his conduct
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, announced his resignation Tuesday in an effort to head off a looming impeachment effort in the state Assembly, a precipitous fall triggered by a state investigation that found he sexually harassed 11 women and oversaw an unlawful attempt to exact retribution against one of his accusers.
“Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing,” Cuomo said in a video address. “And I cannot be the cause of that.”
“Given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is to step aside and let government get back to governing,” he added.
He said his resignation will be effective in 14 days. Cuomo will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, who will be New York’s first female governor and will serve out the rest of the term through the next election in November 2022.
“I am prepared to lead,” she said in a statement, calling Cuomo’s resignation “the right thing to do and in the best interest of New Yorkers.”
Cuomo’s decision to step down represents a crushing defeat for the three-term governor, ending his nearly 11-year domination of state government that was known for its liberal policy victories and a hard-knuckle style of politics marked by bullying, intimidation and retribution.
The governor had remained defiant through months of escalating controversy over his behavior. He repeatedly denied improperly touching women – even as accusations multiplied – and dismissed the harassment claims as a misinterpretation of his affectionate political style and attempts to build office camaraderie.
“In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn,” Cuomo said Tuesday in a long defense of his actions that precipitated the announcement. “There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have no excuses.”
He announced his resignation shortly after his attorney, Rita Glavin, delivered a lengthy attack on a report commissioned by the state attorney general that was released last week.
“The report got key facts wrong, it omitted key evidence, and it failed to include witnesses who did not support the narrative that it was clear this investigation was going to weave from day one,” Glavin said during a virtual news conference, calling the events since the report’s release a “pile-on.”
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Cuomo’s standing collapsed quickly after Attorney General Letitia James released the results of her investigation on Aug. 3. Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie (D), a longtime ally, announced that the governor had “lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority,” adding that Cuomo “can no longer remain in office.” State Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, also called for Cuomo’s resignation.
By the time Cuomo decided to leave office, he was politically isolated – having lost the support of President Joe Biden, the state’s two Democratic senators, most of the New York congressional delegation and the bulk of the state Assembly.
Public polls taken this month found that most New Yorkers – including fellow Democrats – wanted Cuomo to resign. A Quinnipiac University poll found that 70% of registered voters said he should step down, including 57% of Democrats. The poll found that 54% thought Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, and 55% said he should be charged with a crime.
“I think the governor did the right thing,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said on Capitol Hill after Cuomo’s announcement. “And I just want to commend the brave and courageous women who came forward. That was not an easy thing to do.”
The governor’s resignation may not end the Assembly’s impeachment investigation – multiple members of the Judiciary Committee said Tuesday that there is ongoing debate about whether to move forward with the process. Even after stepping down, Cuomo could still be banned from ever seeking state office again if he is impeached by the Assembly and then convicted in a trial before the state Senate.
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The legislative investigation has been looking at issues beyond the alleged sexual harassment, including Cuomo’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in nursing homes, claims that he gave preferential virus testing to friends and family members, and reports that he used state resources to write a book. On Monday, Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine did not rule out the possibility of continuing with the impeachment inquiry if Cuomo resigned.
Assemblyman Keith Brown, a Republican, who sits on the judiciary committee, said Tuesday that he was upset by Cuomo’s decision to keep attacking the attorney general’s sexual harassment investigation before announcing his resignation.
“I think it was disgraceful to go and discredit each of these women who bravely came forward to make accusatory statements about a very powerful sitting governor,” Brown said. “It took a lot to have them do that, and then to have his private attorney discredit them – it’s all theater.”
Assemblyman Phil Steck, a Democrat, said it was too early to say whether the judiciary committee will move forward with its investigation when it meets on Monday.
“There are a number of factors to consider,” Steck said. “It’s important to send a clear message on what are abuses of power, but continuing the investigation is very costly.”
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Cuomo had been ensconced in the Albany governor’s mansion for days, refusing entreaties from allies to resign as he assessed how he could survive politically. His efforts to defend his conduct were deemed ineffective even by some of his staunchest allies.
He still faces criminal investigations into his conduct by prosecutors in several counties, including New York, as well as an ongoing federal investigation by the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn into the administration’s handling of nursing homes during the pandemic. The New York attorney general is separately probing whether the administration misused public resources when it provided Cuomo relatives and other well-connected New Yorkers with preferential virus testing and when aides helped him write a book last year that netted him more than $5 million.
Hochul, a low-profile figure who started her career as an aide to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., and later served in Congress representing a western portion of the state, spent part of Tuesday calling around to reintroduce herself to influential political figures. The 2022 campaign for governor is expected to set in motion a competitive Democratic primary fight.
“She wanted me to know that she wanted to come to National Action Network,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said in an interview Tuesday afternoon, referring to his civil rights group. “I want to find common ground. We talked about some of the problems she’ll face in the Black community.”
In Albany, lawmakers breathed a sigh of relief at the prospect of working with the new governor.
“I have high hopes for her, especially at a time when we are torn apart by the end of the Cuomo administration,” said Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti, a Democrat, adding: “We need a peacemaker. . . . I am hopeful she will be. That will be her biggest challenge, to bring everybody together.”
Cuomo, a political survivor who spent more than three decades in public life, was ultimately felled by an independent report commissioned by James, a fellow Democrat, whose explosive findings detailed how Cuomo allegedly harassed women inside and outside his office with unwanted touching and inappropriate comments. The 165-page report – based on interviews with 179 individuals, including Cuomo and his top aides – concluded that there was evidence to substantiate claims against him by 11 women.
Joon Kim, the former acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York appointed by James to help lead the investigation, said when the report was released that some women “suffered through unwanted touching and grabbing of their most intimate body parts.”
“The executive chamber’s workplace culture was rife with bullying, fear and intimidation on one hand while normalizing frequent flirtations and gender-based comments by the governor on the other,” Kim added.
The report included details of an alleged incident in November, when Cuomo embraced his executive assistant, Brittany Commisso, and reached under her blouse to grab her breast. Commisso went public with her story this week after filing a criminal complaint with the Albany County sheriff’s office. The governor has continued to deny the incident.
The attorney general’s investigation also revealed allegations that Cuomo harassed a female state trooper who was hired on to the governor’s detail after they had a brief exchange, even though she had not yet served the three years required for the post.
The governor touched the trooper inappropriately on several occasions, running his finger down her spine when he was standing behind her on an elevator in his New York City office, according to the report. In another episode, Cuomo allegedly ran his hand across the trooper’s stomach as she held the door for him at an event on Long Island.
Cuomo addressed her claims for the first time Tuesday, arguing that he had recruited her in an effort to diversify his mostly male protective detail. He said he did not remember touching her stomach, but he also did not deny doing so, explaining that he often touched state troopers in nonsexual ways when they held doors for him.
“I didn’t do it consciously with the female trooper. I did not mean any sexual connotation. I did not mean any intimacy by it. I just wasn’t thinking,” Cuomo said. “It was a mistake, plain and simple. I have no other words to explain it. I want to personally apologize to her and her family.”
The governor also allegedly grabbed the buttocks of an employee of a state office, made sexually suggestive comments to a young female assistant, inappropriately touched other women not employed by the state, and kissed another state employee without consent in his office.
In addition, investigators found that Cuomo made numerous suggestive sexual comments that constituted “unlawful sexual harassment.”
These included telling the female state trooper that his requirement for a girlfriend was someone who “can handle pain,” telling one assistant it was “about time you showed some leg,” suggesting a buttock tattoo to an aide, and calling two executive assistants “mingle mamas” while asking one of them whether she would be willing to cheat on her partner.
And the investigators found that Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s top aide, worked with other advisers to discredit one of his accusers, Lindsey Boylan – releasing her personnel file to reporters and circulating a draft of a letter impugning her credibility. DeRosa resigned from Cuomo’s staff on Sunday.
The attorney general’s office found that the campaign against Boylan, which included the circulation of the letter, amounted to “unlawful retaliation.”
“My clients feel both vindicated and relieved that Cuomo will no longer be in a position of power over anyone,” attorney Mariann Wang, who represented two Cuomo accusers, said in a statement after the governor’s announcement.
Cuomo’s announcement marked a dramatic fall for a politician who had attracted widespread acclaim last year for his handling of the pandemic in New York. He won a special Emmy award for his daily televised briefings and published a self-adulatory book about his leadership during the crisis. He was eyeing a fourth term that would surpass his father, Mario Cuomo, who served three terms as New York governor.
But for all his public popularity, he was known for governing through fear, screaming and threatening lawmakers and aides alike, and regularly attacking other politicians, such as New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. Cuomo’s allies said his ruthless style allowed him to accomplish political goals, such as passing same-sex marriage and other liberal agenda items.
But he made few true allies, and many New York politicians felt schadenfreude at watching his troubles. Cuomo was viewed skeptically by many liberals in the city, but he was usually able to overcome any opposition from groups such as the Working Families Party.
After working on his father’s campaigns, the younger Cuomo served in the Department Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton.
He first ran for New York governor in 2002, only to see his hopes dashed before the primary by a critical comment about then-Gov. George E. Pataki. He made a comeback in 2006, when he was elected New York attorney general, clearing the way for his 2010 election as governor.
His third term in office was set to conclude in 2022, and he was widely expected to seek a fourth, with no clear Democratic rival.
Divorced from Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, Cuomo has three adult daughters.
He addressed his daughters at the end of his remarks Tuesday.
“I want them to know from the bottom of my heart that I never did and I never would intentionally disrespect a woman or treat any woman differently than I would want them treated, and that is the God’s honest truth,” he said. “Your dad made mistakes, and he apologized and he learned from it. And that is what life is all about.”
Published : August 11, 2021
By : The Washington Post · Michael Scherer, Josh Dawsey, Ted Gup
UN humanitarian chief extremely concerned by deteriorating situation in Afghanistan
“A safe, secure, and sustainable future in Afghanistan can only be achieved through successful peace negotiations,” UN humanitarian chief said.
United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths on Monday expressed deep concern over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, while strongly condemning attacks against civilians.
In a statement, the UN humanitarian chief said that he is “extremely concerned by the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan where more than 1,000 people have been killed or injured due to indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Hilmand, Kandahar and Hirat provinces in the last month alone.”
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“Afghan children, women and men are suffering and forced to live with violence, insecurity, and fear every day,” said Griffiths.
He said that there are “grave concerns” for women’s survival and basic human rights.
“Forty years of war and displacement, compounded by climate shocks and COVID-19, have left almost half of Afghanistan’s population in need of emergency aid,” he added.
“I join Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and members of the Security Council in strongly condemning attacks against civilians and I echo their calls for a ceasefire. Fighting across the country, which has claimed the lives of over 40,000 people since 2009 when UN reporting began, needs to stop. People have suffered enough,” Griffiths said.
Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2021 shows smoke rising during gun fights in Shiberghan, capital of Jawzjan Province, Afghanistan.
The humanitarian chief stressed that humanitarian organizations are committed to delivering relief and assistance to all civilians in Afghanistan.
“They continue to operate in a neutral and impartial manner but need unimpeded access and assurances that aid workers and service providers can deliver aid and services without interference,” he said.
“I remind all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, including their responsibility to protect civilians and ensure access for humanitarian organizations to reach people in need,” Griffiths noted.
“A safe, secure, and sustainable future in Afghanistan can only be achieved through successful peace negotiations,” he concluded.
Putin calls for joint efforts to combat maritime crimes
“Russia is committed to the common tasks of combating crimes at sea in all forms and manifestations,” Putin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday suggested closer cooperation under the United Nations (UN) to fight crimes at sea.
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There are many threats along the sea routes, Putin said when addressing a high-level debate in the UN Security Council on strengthening maritime security via video link.
To more effectively counter transnational crimes and the use of seas for criminal purposes, Putin said it is necessary to unite the efforts of all interested countries and international and regional organizations, with the UN playing a central coordinating role.
“We strive to help ensure security in the Persian Gulf, in the Atlantic, and in the Gulf of Guinea, where piracy and taking of hostages have become more frequent,” he said.
Putin proposed to create a special structure within the UN system, which would directly deal with issues of cracking down on maritime crimes in different regions of the world.
“Russia is committed to the common tasks of combating crimes at sea in all forms and manifestations. We are ready to further promote the development of equal international cooperation on this topic,” he said.
US issues “do not travel” advisory for Thailand due to Covid situation
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned citizens against travel to Thailand due to the Covid-19 situation in the country.
The CDC issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Thailand, indicating a very high level of Covid-19 risk.
“Your risk of contracting Covid-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA authorised vaccine,” it advised. “Before planning any international travel, please review the CDC’s specific recommendations for vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers.”
Suggestions for those who decide to travel to Thailand include:
▪︎ See the US Embassy’s web page regarding Covid-19.
▪︎ Visit the CDC’s webpage on travel and Covid-19.
▪︎ Enrol in the Smart Traveller Enrolment Programme to receive alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
▪︎ Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.
▪︎ Review the crime and safety reports for Thailand.
▪︎ US citizens who travel abroad should always have a contingency plan for emergency situations.
Meanwhile, the State Department said US nationals should also reconsider travel to Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, and Songkhla provinces in the South due to civil unrest.
“Periodic violence directed mostly at Thai government interests by a domestic insurgency continues to affect security in the southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, and Songkhla,” it said.
“US citizens are at risk of death or injury due to the possibility of indiscriminate attacks in public places. Martial law is in force in this region.”
The US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in these provinces as US government employees must obtain special authorisation to travel to these provinces, it added.
The sanctioned are closely involved in anti-Russian activities, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Russia said on Monday that it has barred a “proportionate” number of British citizens from entry in retaliation for British sanctions against Russians for alleged human rights violations and corruption.
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The sanctioned are closely involved in anti-Russian activities, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, without disclosing their names and how many people are exactly targeted.
Moscow sees London’s “groundless attacks” as an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of another state and put pressure on the Russian judicial system, the ministry said.
“We once again call on the British leadership to abandon an unfounded confrontational policy with regard to our country. Any unfriendly steps will meet an adequate proportionate response,” it read.
In December 2020, Britain imposed travel bans and asset freezes against three Russians and the Terek Special Rapid Response Unit “responsible for torture and other human rights violations against LGBT people in Chechnya.”
In April 2021, under the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021, Britain announced travel bans and asset freezes against 14 Russians, who were accused of participating in the “theft of 230 million U.S. dollars of Russian state assets via a highly complex tax fraud.”
Canada begins to allow entry for fully vaccinated U.S. citizens, permanent residents
The Canadian government is planning to open its borders to fully vaccinated visitors from the rest of the world starting Sept. 7.
Canada unilaterally began to allow the entry by fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents on Monday after the two countries agreed to close the border to non-essential travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic 17 months ago.
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Eligible U.S. citizens and permanent residents must live in the United States and have allowed 14 days to pass since receiving a full course of a Health Canada-approved vaccine.
They are also needed to show proof of a negative molecular test for COVID-19 that’s no more than 72 hours old and to use the ArriveCAN app or online web portal to upload their vaccination details.
Fully vaccinated visitors who have recovered from the disease and are otherwise eligible to enter Canada can show proof of a positive molecular test taken between 14 and 90 days prior to crossing the border.
Monday also marks the end of mandatory quarantine hotels. Previously, all travellers flying into Canada from an international destination had to quarantine at an airport hotel at their own expense for up to three days while they await a COVID-19 test result.
Before Monday, international flights were only permitted to land in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary, but under the new rules, international flights can now land in Halifax, Quebec City, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton.
The Canadian government is planning to open its borders to fully vaccinated visitors from the rest of the world starting Sept. 7. All foreign visitors have to get one of the Canada-approved four vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson option.
The Biden administration extended the U.S.-Canada border closure on non-essential travel until at least Aug. 21, citing concerns over the spread of the Delta variant. Air and sea travellers are exempt, though passengers by rail, ferry and pleasure boat are not.
Death toll from Greece wildfires rises to 2 as PM announces support measures
For the seventh day, hundreds of firefighters along with residents, volunteers, and international aid crews were trying to contain the biggest blaze that is still raging in the northern part of Greeces Evia island.
The death toll from the raging wildfires in Greece has risen to two on Monday as devastating blazes continue to wreak havoc across the country.
A bulldozer driver was killed close to where a fire was raging in Fokida region in central Greece on Monday, the hospital where he was transferred said.
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The 70-year-old man was assisting with the bulldozer to set up firebreaks in the area when the track fell over a precipice in a depth of 30 meters and died. Last week, another volunteer lost his life in the wildfires in the northern suburbs of Athens, hit by an electricity pylon.
Meanwhile, two volunteer firefighters, who were rushed to a hospital in Athens on Friday, remained in critical condition on Monday.
“In the past few days, 63 organized evacuations took place in 141 villages and settlements. I completely understand the pain of our citizens who saw their homes or property burning,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an address broadcast live on public broadcaster ERT Monday evening, noting that the priority was “to save lives.”
Mitsotakis announced that a supplementary support package of 500 million euros (587 million U.S. dollars) will be distributed to people who have lost homes and property in the fire-stricken areas of Attica and Evia island.
He also thanked the countries that were assisting Greece with human resources, planes and vehicles to battle the fires, expressing his gratitude to all those people who were in the front line of this “unprecedented disaster.”
For the seventh day, hundreds of firefighters along with residents, volunteers, and international aid crews were trying to contain the biggest blaze that is still raging in the northern part of Greece’s Evia island.
Nightmarish scenes continued to unfold during the weekend and on Monday as the shifting winds set many resurgent wildfires in large parts of the area, forcing more evacuations of villages and thousands of residents and tourists.
A resident is seen amid the smoke of a wildfire in northern Evia island, Greece, Aug. 8, 2021.
“Everyone here makes their living from tourism activities, local businesses and cultivating oil groves. We are going to starve here in Pefki, and in the whole northern part of Evia island,” Maria, owner of a small hotel and restaurant in Pefki village in northern Evia island, told Xinhua.
“After four family generations that we managed to make something, we left our houses and businesses with a backpack. This is our fortune, with that we have been left,” Maria said, as she was embarking on a ferry boat to escape the fire.
According to Greek Coast Guard, a total of 2,770 residents and tourists were evacuated by sea from the fire-stricken areas of Evia island from Aug. 1 to 8.
On Friday, coast guard vessels assisted by ferries and private boats transferred 1,400 people to safe zones.
After the fire was contained during the weekend, Greek authorities on Monday started assessing the damages of the extended fire fronts that swept through several villages in the northern suburbs of Attica prefecture, on the foothills of Mount Parnitha.
The extensive fires throughout Greece led to the intervention of the prosecutor of the Supreme Court, who requested an investigation, as there were suspicions of deliberate organized criminal activity of arson in forests, the Greek national news agency AMNA reported.
Forest fires are common in Greece over the summer. In July 2018, a wildfire swept through a resort near Athens, resulting in 102 deaths.
Vaccine developer BioNTechs revenues jump to 5.3 bln euros in Q2
The companys estimated net income in Q2 skyrocketed to 2.8 billion euros due to sales from its COVID-19 vaccine.
BioNTech’s revenues jumped to 5.3 billion euros (6.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the second quarter (Q2) of this year, up from 42 million euros in the same period last year, the German biotechnology company announced on Monday.
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The company’s estimated net income in Q2 skyrocketed to 2.8 billion euros due to sales from its COVID-19 vaccine, following losses of 88.3 million euros in the prior-year period, according to BioNTech.
BioNTech, together with Pfizer, delivered more than one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses worldwide in the first half of 2021.
“We are proud to have reached this great milestone after only six months and to have made a difference for people with our proprietary mRNA technology,” said CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin.
BioNTech has signed contracts with Pfizer to supply more than 2.2 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine this year, and more than one billion in 2022. The German company thus raised its forecast for this year’s sales of the vaccine to 15.9 billion euros.
The company stressed that the recent acquisition of a TCR cell therapy development platform and a manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg in the United States was an important step towards the “goal to build a global biotechnology company for individualized cancer medicine.” (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars)
Photo taken from a video in New York, the United States, shows New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaking during a televised address, on Aug. 10, 2021.
Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2021 shows smoke rising during gun fights in Shiberghan, capital of Jawzjan Province, Afghanistan.
A resident is seen amid the smoke of a wildfire in northern Evia island, Greece, Aug. 8, 2021.
