Raphael Stevens

Ross Lipson, left, and Zach Lipson, Dutchie co-founders.
Source: Dutchie

Cannabis tech platform Dutchie announced Tuesday its acquisitions of software companies Greenbits and LeafLogix in an effort to streamline e-commerce tools for its dispensary partners.
Greenbits and LeafLogix create enterprise resource planning and point-of-sale software for cannabis companies. Dutchie declined to disclose the financial terms.

Founded in Oregon by brothers Ross and Zach Lipson in 2017, Dutchie works with 2,116 dispensaries across 36 markets in the United States and Canada to facilitate online ordering of cannabis, including pick up and delivery.
The deals come as more states like Virginia look to legalize cannabis, and the pace of consolidation in the sector accelerates. Since November, six states have passed legalization measures.
Also Tuesday, Dutchie said it has received $200 million from investors in a Series C funding round, putting its valuation at $1.7 billion.
The latest funding round was led by Tiger Global, with new investors Dragoneer and DFJ Growth. Existing investors, Casa Verde Capital, Thrive Capital, Gron Ventures and former Starbucks CEO and founder Howard Schultz, also participated.
Dutchie CEO Ross Lipson told CNBC he remains optimistic that this move will further the company’s presence in the fast-growing industry.

Commenting on business trends, Lipson said in an interview that while the majority of customers are purchasing cannabis flower products, the company is seeing greater demand in the industry for many other forms of the plant.
“You’re seeing many more categories like vaporizers, topicals, edibles and tinctures continue to increase in demand as well. I think as the technology and education continues, the product offering will expand for sure,” Lipson said.
The company is scheduled to appear on CNBC’s Closing Bell Tuesday afternoon. More

A doctor administers the Astrazeneca vaccine at a mass coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination drive-through clinic in Milan, Italy on March 15, 2021.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

LONDON — The decision by many European countries to suspend the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus shot could have far-reaching consequences, according to analysts, with vaccine uptake and the wider immunization program already lagging in the region.
Sweden and Latvia on Tuesday became the latest countries to suspend the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clot concerns. The move follows Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Ireland, among other European nations, to have temporarily paused the use of the vaccine as a precaution while checks are made into whether there is a link between the shot and an increased risk of blood clots.

The World Health Organization, drug regulators and the vaccine maker itself have sought to downplay ongoing safety concerns, saying there is currently no evidence to suggest a link between the shot and an increased risk of developing blood clots, which are a common occurrence among the general population.
The WHO, in particular, has urged countries not to pause using the shot in their vaccination rollouts. It said its advisory committee on vaccine safety has been reviewing the available data and is in close contact with the EU’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA).  
More expert guidance is expected to be announced shortly following safety reviews: WHO’s safety committee will meet on Tuesday while the EMA is meeting on Thursday.
It’s not the first time that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has come under pressure with the drugmaker previously questioned over its trial methodology and data, the efficacy of the shot in the over-65s and having had a well-publicized dispute with the EU over the delivery of supplies to the bloc.
However, health experts and political analysts are questioning whether much of Europe’s decision to pause the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine is misplaced and likely to damage vaccine confidence further, or could even cost lives at a time when a third wave of infections is being seen from Paris to Prague, and the EU’s vaccine rollout is already sluggish.

“At this stage, it is likely national regulators are acting conservatively and out of an abundance of caution, in the belief a risk-averse approach will help reassure the public and limit the impact on uptake going forward. But the prospect of a longer review or an outright ban cannot be ruled out,” Federico Santi, senior Europe analyst at Eurasia Group, said in a note Monday.
“Either way, the damage is done. Willingness to take the AstraZeneca vaccine had already been lower than the mRNA vaccines available in the EU due to lower headline efficacy numbers and the initial confusion over its suitability for over 65s,” he said.
Some wonder whether there is a political element behind the decision to pause the vaccine, given earlier disputes over the vaccine.
Several European countries initially decided to not recommend the vaccine to over-65s, saying there was insufficient evidence to show it was effective, before reversing that decision as more data became available showing it was highly effective at reducing the number of severe Covid infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
Such decisions, not helped by disparaging comments by some European leaders (French President Emmanuel Macron once said the vaccine appeared to be “quasi-ineffective” for the over-65s) have been seen as only stoking hesitancy among some Europeans toward the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The EU’s vaccination rollout is already much slower than the U.K. and U.S. and the bloc’s leadership has come under fire for its immunization strategy.
“We know where this is going to lead, it’s going to lead to a loss of confidence in the vaccine,” Natasha Loder, health policy editor at the Economist told the BBC’s Today program on Tuesday.
Asked if the suspension had a political dimension, Loder said: “There could be in as far as there’s bad feeling about this vaccine.” Nonetheless, the decision, she said, had “no rational basis” and could be dangerous. “This precautionary principle is a nonsense when you’re in the middle of a pandemic,” she said.
“This is a safe vaccine and when they realize that this is a safe vaccine in Europe they are going to have to deal with the consequences of all this media coverage.”
Not all EU countries are following the same route, however, with Belgium, Poland and the Czech Republic all saying they will continue to use the shot, saying that the benefits outweigh the risks. 
AstraZeneca has staunchly defended its vaccine, saying in a statement Sunday that the number of blood clots recorded post-vaccination were lower than could be expected to occur naturally. More

A healthcare worker prepares a syringe with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 dose at Coria City Hospital, Spain.
Gustavo Valiente | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images

LONDON — Health experts say they are disappointed and confused by the flurry of suspensions of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, warning there is not yet enough data to justify these decisions.
Sweden and Latvia on Tuesday joined a fast-growing list of European countries suspending the use of the vaccine as a precautionary measure following reports of blood clots. Germany, France, Italy and Spain on Monday said they would all stop administering the shot.

Other countries, such as Austria, have temporarily paused the use of certain batches of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Thailand on Friday became the first Asian nation to halt the use of the shot over safety concerns.
The U.K., Canada and Australia — which are continuing to deploy the vaccine — are among some of the countries seeking to reassure citizens about its benefits.
The World Health Organization, Europe’s drug regulator and the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis have all recommended that countries continue to use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

There are no signs yet of any data that really justify these decisions.

Michael Head
Senior research fellow in Global Health at the University of Southampton

“The decisions by France, Germany and other countries look baffling,” said Dr. Michael Head, senior research fellow in Global Health at the University of Southampton, U.K.
“The data we have suggests that numbers of adverse events related to blood clots are the same (and possibly, in fact lower) in vaccinated groups compared to unvaccinated populations,” he continued.

“Halting a vaccine roll out during a pandemic has consequences. This results in delays in protecting people, and the potential for increased vaccine hesitancy, as a result of people who have seen the headlines and understandably become concerned. There are no signs yet of any data that really justify these decisions,” Head added.

Experts at WHO will meet on Tuesday to review the safety of the shot.
The European Medicines Agency, which is also evaluating the safety of the drug, has said there is no indication that it is causing blood clots, adding that it believes the vaccine’s benefits “continue to outweigh its risks.”

What has AstraZeneca said?

More than 17 million people in the European Union and the U.K. have received a dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, with fewer than 40 cases of blood clots reported as of last week, AstraZeneca said in a statement.
The pharmaceutical giant said that across the EU and U.K. there had been 15 events of deep vein thrombosis and 22 events of pulmonary embolism reported among those vaccinated.
“This is much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar across other licensed COVID-19 vaccines,” AstraZeneca said.
The EMA has also said that the data available so far showed that the number of blood clots in vaccinated people is no higher than that seen among the general population.

A bottle of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Igor Petyx | KONTROLAB | LightRocket via Getty Images

Europe’s caution about the drug has compounded the woes of the region’s ailing vaccination campaign and comes at a time when Germany’s public health agency has warned that a third wave of coronavirus infections has already begun.
Dr. Stephen Griffin associate professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds, said the news that many countries in Europe had suspended the rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was “disappointing.”
“Since many European countries are currently experiencing another resurgence of SARS-CoV2 infections and yet are lagging behind in terms of roll out, the importance of continuing the vaccination programmes cannot be underestimated, and the harm caused by depriving people of access to a vaccine will likely vastly outweigh even the worst case scenario if any link to the clotting disorders is eventually found,” Griffin said.
“It should also be noted that nationwide gestures such as this are bound to fuel hesitancy, or more extreme anti-vaccine sentiment, further undermining the vaccination effort,” he added.

How does the vaccine work?

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is a shot designed to prevent the coronavirus in people aged 18 and older. It is made up of an adenovirus that has been modified to contain the gene for making a protein from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. As such, the vaccine does not contain the virus and cannot cause Covid.
The most common side effects of the shot are typically mild or moderate and improve within a few days of vaccination.
Late-stage clinical trials found the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot to have an average efficacy of 70% in protecting against the virus.

“We are closely reviewing reports but the evidence available does not suggest the vaccine is the cause,” said Dr. Phil Bryan, vaccines safety lead at the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
“Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. More than 11 million doses of the AZ vaccine have now been administered across the UK, and the number of blood clots reported after having the vaccine is not greater than the number that would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population,” he continued.
“We are working closely with international counterparts in understanding the global safety experience of COVID-19 vaccines and on the rapid sharing of safety data and reports. People should still go and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so,” Bryan said. More

SINGAPORE — Asia’s economic recovery could slow down as more countries suspend the use of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, warned the chief Asia-Pacific economist of Moody’s Analytics.
“It adds some modest risk to the role that Asia plays in terms of the global economic turnaround,” Steve Cochrane told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday.

Reports of blood clots in some people who received the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot led several countries — many of them in Europe — to temporarily stop using the vaccine. The World Health Organization said there’s no link between the shot and an increased risk of developing blood clots and is investigating.

Vaccine impact on global trade

Cochrane said issues surrounding the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine could hurt global trade — and that’s bad news for Asia where many economies are dependent on trading activity.

The vaccine is a risk, of course. It’s one of the critical risks, we still have to see vaccines roll out over the course of this year for the global economy to get back on its feet.

Steve Cochrane
chief Asia-Pacific economist, Moody’s Analytics

“There’s a possibility it could put a dent in terms of global trade if the vaccine rollout is delayed in Europe and that were to mean that there were some more extensive lockdowns on the economy in Europe — then that could slow down the pace of global trade,” he explained.
Asian countries have been relatively successful in containing the virus, and that’s helped their economies recover quicker than those in Europe and the U.S.

Fortunately, renewed lockdowns in some parts of Europe have not hit manufacturing, said Cochrane. He added that “almost all” of the impact from those lockdowns have affected the services sector.

“So, right now, it’s not that big of an issue and global trade still looks like it’s very, very strong,” said the economist. “The vaccine is a risk, of course. It’s one of the critical risks, we still have to see vaccines roll out over the course of this year for the global economy to get back on its feet.”

Thailand briefly halts AstraZeneca vaccine

Thailand briefly halted the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine on Friday, but authorities said on Monday they would go ahead with administering the shots.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha became the first person in the country to receive the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot on Tuesday, reported Reuters.
Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia said Monday it will delay the rollout of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine while waiting for the review from WHO, the news agency reported.
— CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report. More

As more countries lift travel restrictions for those who have been vaccinated, the world is slowly opening to travelers again.
Travelers without kids, that is.

To date, no Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in children, said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the pediatric infectious disease division at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.
Clinical trials are different for children, and factors such as dosage amounts and preexisting childhood vaccination schedules need to be examined before vaccines are approved for them, she said.

The countries opening to vaccinated travelers

Countries, such as Estonia and Seychelles, have opened borders and eliminated quarantine requirements for vaccinated travelers. Greece and Thailand have indicated similar policies are in the works.
Other countries are granting vaccination exemptions to certain types of travelers. Georgia requires they enter by air from specific countries, and Slovenia’s policy only applies to those who have taken American- and European-made vaccines.

Slovenia is opening its borders to travelers who have received vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.
Mathew Roberts Photography – www.matroberts.co.uk | Moment | Getty Images

Iceland is allowing vaccinated travelers to bypass quarantine requirements, only if they are currently allowed to enter — and most people aren’t.

Trials in children have started, but will take time

Covid-19 vaccines made by Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca are authorized for people aged 18 years and older. Those aged 16 years and over can take Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine.
Vaccine trials in children have begun, but the ones that are farthest along involve older children and teenagers, said Dr. Jeremy Levin, chairman of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, a trade association for the biotech industry.

It’s critical to understand that trials in children may have to be different.

Dr. Jeremy Levin
chairman of BIO

“Pfizer and Moderna are testing their vaccines on children 12 and older and may have data by the summer,” Levin told CNBC Global Traveler. “Johnson & Johnson, Novavax and AstraZeneca are further behind, but also plan to test their vaccines in children.”
Last month, The University of Oxford announced AstraZeneca trials are starting for children as young as 6 years old. Johnson & Johnson is also launching vaccine trials in older children first, with infants and newborns following quickly thereafter, The New York Times reported last month.

Russia is seeking permission to conduct trials of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in children, though it hasn’t designated specific age groups yet, said Levin.
Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“It’s critical to understand that trials in children may have to be different,” said Levin. “These trials may require longer to get a read-out because adverse effects of Covid-19 are rarer in this population.”
Infected children are often asymptomatic and don’t tend to get severely ill from Covid-19. Deaths in children are also rare.

When will kids be vaccinated?

Vaccinations in time for the summer travel season aren’t expected, however, they are likely to be available to high school students by the fall, said White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“I’m not sure it’s exactly on the first day school opens, but pretty close to that,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Feb. 28.  
Elementary school children will have to wait a little longer.
“If you project realistically, when we will be able to get enough data to be able to say that elementary school children will be able to be vaccinated … I would think that would be, at the earliest, the end of the year and very likely the first quarter of 2022,” Fauci said.
Fauci explained that companies are testing vaccines in a process known as “age de-escalation,” which entails testing older children first, then working incrementally down to infants.
“Almost all of the vaccine companies will need to study from infants on up,” said Nachman, although she called conducting trials by age groups “somewhat [of] an artificial plan” that is “not mandated by science.”
“In many studies, there is no indication of any increased safety … as we age de-escalate,” she said. “The result is instead of protecting children and their families, we are increasing their risk by not getting them [vaccinated] sooner.”

Will exceptions be made for children to travel?

Slovenia allows children under the age of 13 to avoid quarantine and testing requirements, if they cross the border “with a close family member who has not been put under home quarantine,” said Sabina Langus Boc from Slovenia’s ministry of the interior.
However, most countries that have loosened travel restrictions for vaccinated travelers aren’t granting exceptions for unvaccinated kids. But, this could happen as countries reeling from catastrophic losses in tourism revenue seek to attract family holidaymakers this summer.
“Countries which exempt children from vaccination are doing so in the absence of data,” said Levin. “It’s important to realize that we know that children can and are harmed by Covid-19.”

Family travel this summer

While vaccination policies may not open avenues for kids to travel abroad this summer, families can consider destinations, such as the Maldives and Mexico, that are open to everyone — vaccinated or not.
New destinations are expected to open to more travelers as vaccination campaigns continue around the globe. On March 25, Seychelles is welcoming all visitors — regardless of vaccination status — based on the expectation that the island nation will reach herd immunity this month.

Amid an aggressive vaccination rollout that began in January, Seychelles opened to vaccinated travelers before announcing it would welcome all travelers come March 25.
Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images

Families can also consider one of the few island hotspots that have kept Covid infection rates low, if they are willing to “vacation in place” together.
Most people, however, are expected to travel domestically this summer, a trend that is ringing true from the U.S. to China and Saudi Arabia. Published in January, a new report by TripAdvisor named domestic travel one of five trends to watch this year.
Others may stay home until medical authorities deem it safe to travel again. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently advises people to “delay travel and stay home to protect yourself and others from Covid-19, even if you are vaccinated.”

Read more:

These six islands opened to travelers — and still have some of the world’s lowest Covid rates More

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is making universal basic income a central tenet of his political campaign once again — this time for New York City Mayor.
“It makes us stronger, healthier, more secure, mentally healthier, improves our relationships,” Yang said of the concept of guaranteed income. “55% of Americans are now for cash relief, in perpetuity, and 85% are for cash relief during this pandemic.”

Yang’s proposed income program would extend an average of $2,000 per year to New York City residents living in extreme poverty and would cost $1 billion per year, according to his campaign website.
The mayoral candidate told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” Monday evening that he would target property tax-exempt landlords in New York City, like Madison Square Garden, to foot a portion of the bill.  
“MSG’s tax breaks [are] $40 million a year, alone,” Yang said. “If you look at that money and you get it back into the city’s hands, plus you invest some level of the city’s resources, we can alleviate extreme poverty here in New York City.” 
Yang also commented on the dramatic rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S., calling it “a devastating time in the Asian-American community.”
Reports of anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. rose 149% in 2020 from the year prior, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. New York City recorded an 833% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes, according to police data.
“We need to designate these incidents as hate crimes, and we need to build connections with the Asian American community because, I hate to say this, a lot of these incidents are still not being reported,” Yang said. “Many Asian Americans do not have that kind of relationship with law enforcement and city officials, and I would like to change that.” More