Some states are getting fewer vaccine doses than originally planned, said several state governors. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan have all commented on the problem. In response, HHS issued a statement that said "reports that jurisdictions' allocations are being reduced are incorrect." On Thursday, McClatchy reported that a vaccine tracking system had displayed "outdated, inaccurate projections for deliveries." (Axios) Meanwhile, Pfizer issued a press release saying it has millions of doses ready to go, but no instructions on where to send them. (Forbes) Separately, The FDA should grant emergency authorization to Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine soon. (The Verge)
President Trump, conversely, has been mostly silent about the vaccine rollout. Though Trump repeatedly made oft derided claims that vaccinations would be delivered this year, he has largely stayed out of public discussions about the distribution. The Associated Press reports that Trump has not held public events about the rollout, hasn't been inoculated, and has only twice tweeted about the shots. Vice President Mike Pence, however, will get a dose on live television today.
Public affairs shop Hamilton Place Strategies was hired by Dominion Voting Systems after the election to build a campaign addressing voter fraud claims by President Trump and his supporters, the Daily Beast reports. The agency describes itself as an analytical public affairs consulting firm and employs 60 people in Washington DC, New York and California, according to its website.
Alibaba said it is "dismayed" part of the company developed facial recognition tech that could tag the Uighur ethnic minority in videos. Surveillance industry researcher IPVM released a report recently claiming the capability to identify ethnic minorities was included in Alibaba's Cloud Shield content moderation service. In a statement the company said "We have eliminated any ethnic tag in our product offering," and added it never intended the technology to be used in this manner. (BBC) Comms execs for Huawei in the UK and Denmark recently stepped down because that company developed similar technology that could be used by the authoritarian Chinese government.
MSL has rejoined the PR Council, a year after stepping away from the industry organization. The decision to leave the group last December and then come back now, said CEO Diana Littman, was about reallocating resources, not the financial performance of the agency.
