Global Scans · Coronavirus · Weekly Summary

Future potential spread of the coronavirus is impacting world trade and threatens a global economic recession and inflection point. For the first time, Illness is now a major driving force. We first reported this virus way back in 2010 and regularly since July 2015 as a predictable surprise: a known unknown to most. It is not a Black Swan; it was foreseen! Forewarned is forearmed and forearmed is protection against unpleasant possibilities and this inflection point will most likely change everyone's future profoundly.

Here are some actions you could take offered by and our friends at WavePoint and BCG and McKinsey.

Companies are asking people to work from home (we have always worked from our homes since 2003). We think the latter will become a long-term and rapidly growing trend as people reduce traveling time, buy more online, and increasingly recognize the benefits to their health of staying home. More emerging, potential behavioral trends here. Begin regularly evaluating predictable surprises, be prepared and act in time, while others lose their shirt through inattention to the future.

• [New] By integration type, the secure elements with integrated cryptography engines segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19% from 2026 to 2035. Precedence Research
• [New] The FDA previously announced in June of 2025 that it will require updated warnings about myocarditis and pericarditis in labeling of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The Pandora Report
• [New] The multiyear project is planned to continue until 2028, during which 19 helicopters and 5 firefighting aircraft are scheduled to be added to the national inventory. Daily Sabah
• [New] In 2025 just under 5% of lease turn-ins were EVs; in 2026, that will grow to about 12.5%, then nearly 19% in 2027. Car and Driver
• [New] The COVID-19 pandemic further pushed North American events to drop cash for hygiene reasons, so by 2026 it's widely expected that a concert or game will be a card only affair. Ticket Fairy
• [New] Since COVID-19, contactless card payments have become second-nature in retail and food service globally, so fans often expect to use their card at events. Ticket Fairy
• [New] In the high exposure risk scenario, the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine are more salient (i.e., the difference in prevented severe COVID-19 outcomes and caused instances of blood clots is greater than in the low exposure risk scenario). PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Compared to the control condition, the perceived probability of blood clots due to the AstraZeneca vaccine decreases in conditions presenting evidence-based information about the comparative risk of severe COVID-19 vs. AstraZeneca's risk of specific blood clots. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Perceiving a higher risk of COVID-19, a lower risk of the AstraZeneca vaccine, having already received a COVID-19 vaccine once, being older and male, and having a higher education led to higher vaccination intentions. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] By the end of 2026, for-sale inventory is expected to sit about 12% below pre-2020 norms, a significant improvement from the 19% gap in 2025 and the nearly 30% deficit seen in 2024. Florida Realtors
• [New] The global solid waste management system met both opportunities and threats owing to the spread of COVID-19. Financial News Media
• [New] The era of invest at your own risk ended in 2025 as a global patchwork of 19 new laws turned crypto from an abstract legal nightmare into a regulated utility. CryptoSlate
• [New] Despite the lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical shocks such as the war in Ukraine, many companies are not confident in the resilience of their supply chains - only 3% of respondents rate their supply chains as very resilient in this year's Allianz Risk Barometer. Allianz Commercial
• [New] Events from the COVID pandemic to recent extreme weather have highlighted the risks of tightly optimised global logistics, while nimbler, modular operations with shorter supply chains can be more adaptable. The Conversation
• [New] Barclays estimates incremental ad revenues $6 billion and $19 billion from the two platforms in 2026 and 2027, respectively, boosting Meta's top line as much as $25 billion. eMarketer
• [New] The scramble during the Covid-19 pandemic for face masks and other medical supplies made predominantly in China revealed the threat that Beijing can pose - as did the shady origin of the virus near a Chinese lab. Hudson Institute
• [New] Belgium and Romania too are introducing voluntary military service, while in the summer of 2026 France will bring in its own form of paid voluntary military training lasting ten months, aimed at 18 - to 19-year-olds. CIDOB
• [New] Asked about the most plausible black swan scenarios that could occur in the next five years, 19% of respondents said they fear a breakthrough in quantum computing that renders current encryption obsolete. Claims Journal
• [New] Trump's announcement comes as millions of Americans face higher healthcare costs in 2026 after Congress allowed generous COVID-19-era tax credits for federally subsidized Obamacare plans to expire. Reuters
• Vaccines to fight respiratory syncytial virus, meningococcal disease, flu, and COVID are now recommended only for children at high risk of serious illness or after consultation between doctors and parents, as a part of the CDC's scaling back of key childhood vaccination recommendations. KFF Health News
• Since the outbreak of COVID-19, new scientific analyses and insider accounts have revealed major vulnerabilities in how the United States oversees high-risk biological research. The Heritage Foundation
• In recent years, the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has faced extreme events that challenged its health system: arbovirus epidemics, armed violence, heatwaves, and, most critically, COVID-19, which exposed overlapping vulnerabilities and demanded articulated responses. PubMed Central (PMC)

Last updated: 25 January 2026