1. Over 1 million people could be jabbed in workplace vaccination program

National COVID Taskforce Coordinator General John Frewen has reportedly told businesses that they can proceed with plans to start vaccinating employees at workplaces according to the AFR. The program should kick off by the start of next month and the government has estimated that between 1 million and 1.7 million people will be jabbed at their jobs.

2. Scientists say more evidence needed for COVID-19 booster shots

An international group of scientists including experts from the World Health Organization and the US Food and Drug Administration have concluded in a paper published in the journal The Lancet that coronavirus booster shots are not currently required. “Any decisions about the need for boosting or timing of boosting should be based on careful analyses of adequately controlled clinical or epidemiological data,” the scientists wrote.

3. Industry Super Australia says changes to fee measurement may have helped funds pass performance test

Research by Industry Super Australia published by The Australian today suggests that a last minute change to how admin fees for My Super products are measured, from an average over the past seven years to only for the previous financial year, could have seen some funds pass the Your Future, Your Super performance tests that would have otherwise failed. “Millions of Australian workers could remain unknowingly stuck in a dud retail super fund because the government poked some sneaky holes in its own performance tests allowing them to slip through the net,” said Industry Super Australia CEO Bernie Dean.

4. Plan to bring back the woolly mammoth receives $20 million in funding

Harvard Medical School geneticist George Church and tech entrepreneur Ben Lamm have formed a new company with US$15 million ($20 million) in funding that plans to recreate the woolly mammoth through genetic engineering. “Our goal is to have our first calves in the next four to six years,” Lamm said.

5. Dow Jones and S&P 500 rise on Monday

Both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 have closed higher after falls in the previous five trading sessions. The Dow rose by 261.91 points or 0.76% to 34,869.63 and the S&P 500 gained 10.15 points or 0.23% to 4,468.73, while the Nasdaq closed down 9.91 points or 0.07% to 15,105.58.