YOUR MANDATORY COVID UPDATE- Pfizer is fighting to protect the secret sauce of its covid vaccine even as inequalities in vaccine supply and distribution remain, Bloomberg reports. The pharma company, which has inoculated upward of 1 bn people to-date, is refusing to waive intellectual property rights on the vaccine’s technology. Instead, it is making more doses available to lower and middle income countries at a sliding scale of prices to accommodate income levels.

But the vaccine maker’s antiviral pill could be more readily available in low- and middle-income countries, including Egypt. Pfizer has reached a licensing agreement (pdf) with Medicines Patent Pool to expand low-cost access to its antiviral covid pill, which was proven to cut the risk of hospitalization or death in high-risk patients by 89%, according to a company statement. Under the agreement qualified sub-licensees will be able to supply a total of 95 low and middle-income countries, including Egypt, Jordan, India, Pakistan, and South Africa. The agreement will cover all of Sub-Saharan Africa’s lower-middle income countries.

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Unfinished reliefs at Hatshepsut Temple have given archaeologists rare insight into Ancient Egyptian art techniques Hatshepsut Temple, report The Art Newspaper and Haaretz. The reliefs, which show 200 “almost-identical figures” marching and bearing offerings for the pharaoh, highlight mistakes and unfinished work, denoting that artists of different skill levels worked side-by-side on the paintings. Contrary to earlier theories that only trained artists worked on projects of this scale, the reliefs show that apprentices were likely recruited to buy accutane online, while the more skilled artisans worked on the finer details.

Saudi’s futuristic Neom project is expanding beyond land, with a planned floating city on the Red Sea, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled today, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The so-called “Oxagon” is being touted as a zero-emissions project, powered completely by renewables and including a port and a logistics hub. Its manufacturing facilities will focus on seven advanced industries including green energy, automation, water innovation, sustainable food production, health and well being and technology. How exactly the city will be made to float, or how much it is expected to cost, were not revealed.

Miramax is suing Quentin Tarantino for plans to auction off Pulp Fiction scenes as NFTs, reported the Wall Street Journal. The company’s copyright infringement lawsuit claims that the NFT sale represented a breach of their rights agreement. Earlier this month, Tarantino announced plans to auction off seven uncut scenes, audio commentary and original handwritten scripts from the 1994 cult film Pulp Fiction on NFT marketplace OpenSea.