Daily Business Report-Jan. 19, 2021
Collaborators: Research, Writing, Avery Koop, Raul Amoros; Design, VC
Putting the economic cost of COVID-19 in perspective
Visual Capitalist
When it comes to the toll on human life, mental well-being, and any long-term complications, the true cost of COVID-19 can be difficult to quantify.
That said, from a purely economic angle, researchers can and do examine these things—as well as economic data like unemployment and lost GDP, to assign dollar figures to the pandemic.
Using data from a study out of Harvard University, these visualizations focus on putting the economic cost of COVID-19 in the U.S. in perspective. To help us understand the immense price associated with a pandemic, the study looked at other comparables like the costs of running America’s longstanding war on terror.
Since the pandemic took hold in the U.S. in March 2020, job loss has been one of the most significant consequences. Unemployment claims in the U.S. have recently reached a total of 60 million, while lost GDP is estimated to be around $7.6 trillion.
Unemployment, uncertainty, lost loved ones, and lost social connections, have led to spikes in depression and anxiety. In April 2020, around 40 percent of U.S. adults reported having at least one of these mental illnesses. Based on the sheer number of people struggling, the cost of mental health impairment could be as high as $1.6 trillion, according to these researchers.
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Qualcomm’s latest flagship Snapdragon platform
to power the new Samsung Galaxy S21 series
Qualcomm Technologies Inc. announced that its latest flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform is powering Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s latest and most cutting-edge smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S21 series (S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra), for select regions.
Snapdragon 888 packs industry-leading mobile innovations in 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), gaming, and camera technologies that will transform premium mobile devices into professional-quality cameras, intelligent personal assistants, and elite gaming rigs.
“We are very proud to continue our longstanding strategic collaboration with Samsung Electronics to deliver the latest breakthrough mobile experiences to consumers,” said Alex Katouzian, senior vice president and general manager, mobile, compute, and infrastructure. “Powered by the flagship Snapdragon 888 in select regions, the new Galaxy S21 series pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in mobile.”
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California housing market ends year on high note
Despite a global pandemic that lingered most of the year, two lockdowns and a struggling economy, California’s housing market closed out 2020 on a high note, recording solid sales and a fifth record-high median price in December, the California Association of Realtors reported.
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 509,750 units in December, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local Realtor associations and MLSs statewide. The statewide annualized sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2020 if sales maintained the December pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
USD School of Business ranks 1st in California
The University of San Diego School of Business now ranks #1 best business school in California for undergraduates, and in the top 50 in the nation for the fourth straight year, according to the latest ranking from Poets & Quants for Undergrads, a leading news site for business education
Since 2018, the school has remained in the nations’ top 50 business schools, ranking #43 this year, and the only one from San Diego out of 93 schools reviewed. Only two other universities in California made the list this year.
The ranking is based equally on admission standards, academic experience from alumni surveys and career/employment outcomes. Out of 93 schools, the school ranked 49th in admission standards, 48th in the academic experience category, and 40th in employment outcomes.
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San Diego’s Vaccination Super Station now operating
The new Vaccination Super Station at Petco Park is now providing the COVID-19 vaccine to all health care workers in the region who are eligible for Phase IA-Tier categories on the state of California’s vaccine priority list.
Located at the Padres’ Petco Park Tailgate Parking Lot, the 280,000-square-foot vaccination site consists of 42 vaccination tents in which nearly 300 clinical and administrative staff members from UC San Diego Health are working to distribute the vaccine every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The county had previously established four smaller sites across the region that are administering hundreds of inoculations to health care workers daily and will continue to operate, but the Vaccination Super Station at Petco Park alone will enable up to 5,000 vaccinations daily, potentially continuing with subsequent phases once Phase 1A is complete.
According to Nathan Fletcher, chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, the county hopes to replicate this supersized vaccination site model across San Diego County.
Scientists identify ‘immune cop’
that detects SARS-CoV-2
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have identified the sensor in human lungs that detects SARS-CoV-2 and signals that it’s time to mount an antiviral response. The study, published in Cell Reports, provides insights into the molecular basis of severe disease and may enable new strategies for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19.
“Our research has shown that MDA-5 is the immune cop that’s tasked to keep an eye out for SARS-CoV-2 and call for back-up,” says Sumit Chanda, Ph.D., director of the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys and senior author of the study.
Study says urban design can slow the spread
of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases
A new study finds that the design of cities has public health implications in the way it influences residents’ travel habits and in turn affects their risk of exposure to infectious diseases like influenza and COVID-19.
Noel Brizuela, a graduate student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, and colleagues find that the spatial distribution of commerce, worksites, and schools can strongly influence the spread of flu-like diseases.
In particular, the agglomeration of economic activities causes the risk of contagion to be unevenly distributed within any metropolitan area. The chances of someone getting a flu-like disease can change because of where they live, said Brizuela, with those living closer to city centers risking greater exposure. Urban designers implementing mixed-use zoning policies should enable people to work and shop close to home instead of having everyone commute to a central economic hub, Brizuela said.
Longtime professor named director
for School of Education at Cal State San Marcos
Laurie Stowell has been a professor at Cal State San Marcos since 1992, only two years after the university opened its doors. Now, almost three decades later, she’s ready for a new challenge.
Stowell has been named the director of the School of Education, one of three schools within the College of Education, Health and Human Services at CSUSM. She will officially begin the job on Jan. 25, the first day of the spring semester, though she said she has been working closely with current director Pat Stall during the transition.
Stall, who has been in the position since 2016, is returning as a faculty member in the School of Education.
Stowell, a professor of literacy, will serve as the school’s director for the rest of this academic year and the next three academic years.
Stowell will relinquish her teaching duties while serving as director, but she plans to keep running the San Marcos Writing Project, which she founded in 2001 and which provides professional development for local teachers.
Stowell received the Brakebill Award for outstanding professor of the year at CSUSM in 1997 and the CSU Wang Family Excellence Award in 2005.
Alphatec raises $30 million
Carlsbad-based Alphatec filed an SEC Form D to confirm the sale of $30 million in an equity offering worth nearly $170 million.
The new notice offering of equity, which made its first sale on Dec. 18, 2020, has received investments from six participants so far. The company does not intend for the offering of about $168 million, which has approximately $138 million remaining to be sold, to last for more than one year.
Alphatec is not requiring a minimum investment in the offering. The company additionally disclosed in the SEC filing that it owes an estimated $3.24 million in sales commissions to Cowen & Company.
Alphatec did not disclose an intended use of proceeds from the offering. The company develops the SafeOp neural informatix system for safely and reproducibly treating the spine’s various pathologies.
The company raised $100 million in a public offering priced last October.
