Zoom Elevates Platform Experience with Launch of Zoom Apps and Zoom Events

Zoom Drives Innovation of Video Communications with New Solutions to Empower the Hybrid Workforce

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) today announced the general availability of its latest innovations, Zoom Apps and Zoom Events. Zoom Apps seamlessly embeds third-party apps within the Zoom Meetings and desktop client experience, enhancing collaboration, productivity, and entertainment for today’s hybrid workforce. Zoom Events is an all-in-one platform for creating a wide range of interactive and immersive virtual events to reach and engage audiences.

“I’m thrilled to see our platform vision expand through Zoom Apps and Zoom Events, as the world embraces hybrid work, empowering the workforce today and into the future,” said Eric S. Yuan, Founder and CEO of Zoom. “These innovations will enhance the ways in which we connect and collaborate with our colleagues, clients, friends, family members, and others, improving productivity and collaboration while maintaining elements of fun and well-being.”

“Zoom Apps and Zoom Events are critical components in broadening Zoom’s offering and reach,” said Roopam Jain, Vice President, Information and Communications Technologies at Frost & Sullivan. “These solutions empower users to accomplish more with video communications and are a testament to Zoom’s focus of enabling customers to create and grow businesses entirely on its platform—whether through applications, integrations, events, or other services.”

Bringing Your Favorite Apps to the Zoom Platform
Zoom Apps expands the offerings of the Zoom App Marketplace, which already hosts over 1,500 third-party integrations. With Zoom Apps, you can boost productivity and stay focused on your workflows by incorporating your favorite apps into your meetings. There are over 50 Zoom Apps available now, ranging from enterprise to consumer use cases—including whiteboarding, project management, note-taking, and video games, with more in development and available soon. A few Zoom Apps currently available include:

  • Asana: Host purposeful meetings with the ability to create in-meeting action items and next steps beforehand so your teams are always moving forward with clarity. You can also create, edit, and assign tasks, all without leaving your Zoom meeting.
  • Dot Collector: The Dot Collector app allows everyone in a meeting to share their perspective through real-time feedback and polling. Dots are systematically collected, shared and preserved enabling adjustments to be made in the moment and over time. The Dot Collector app fosters more inclusive collaboration, transparency, and meaningful relationships among colleagues, while empowering individuals with insights that help them to unlock their full potential.
  • Dropbox Spaces: Get more out of your meetings with the Dropbox Spaces app for Zoom. Keep everyone on the same page by collaborating in real time in a single shared workspace before, during, and after Zoom Meetings.
  • Heads Up!: Heads Up! is a fun and hilarious game by Ellen DeGeneres. Heads Up! is the perfect party game to play with your colleagues and friends, and is a fun way to pass time with your coworkers while waiting for meetings to start. The app is developed for Zoom by Ellen Digital and Playco.
  • SurveyMonkey Enterprise by Momentive: Drive more engaging and inclusive meetings with in-the-moment feedback from surveys and polls available directly within the Zoom meeting experience. Capture optimal stakeholder insights from customers, employees, patients—any meeting attendees. Take action to increase employee engagement, improve the customer or patient experience, and make remote meetings more productive.
  • Wellness That Works by WW: Wellness that Works by WW, a leader in weight loss and wellness, helps users move more, eat better and shift their mindset with push notifications to stand and stretch, along with a hydration tracker, mindset tools, and go-to recipes. Wellness that Works reinforces WW’s credentials in behavior change science by helping users build and maintain healthy habits wherever they are… even in meetings!

Improving the Hybrid and Virtual Event Experiences
Zoom Events gives organizations the power to create engaging hybrid and virtual experiences. Zoom Events enables large and small businesses alike to seamlessly manage and host back-to-back event sessions from sales summits, customer events, trade shows, and internal events. Zoom Events offers features such as event hubs, dedicated corporate virtual event spaces, customizable registration, and networking through a chat-enabled virtual event lobby. Zoom Events also allows event-specific reporting around registration, attendance, and ticket sales. Zoom will be hosting its annual user conference, Zoomtopia, and Zoom Academy, on Zoom Events this year.

OnZoom, the consumer-focused Zoom Events solution, helps brands and small businesses reach a consumer audience by creating, hosting, and monetizing events, including fitness and cooking classes, theatrical presentations, and more. OnZoom will remain in beta and serve as a place where small businesses and entrepreneurs can host and publish events to our public event directory.

More Information

  • To learn more about Zoom Apps, please visit the Zoom Apps page and read our blog detailing how Zoom Apps is bringing critical business applications directly within Zoom meetings.
  • To learn more about Zoom Events, please visit the Zoom Events page and read our blog detailing how Zoom Events allows the seamless creation and management of virtual events of any size.

About Zoom
Zoom is for you. We help you express ideas, connect to others, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom.

Zoom Public Relations
Farshad Hashmatulla
Product PR Manager
press@zoom.us

Zoom Elevates Platform Experience with Launch of Zoom Apps and Zoom Events Zoom Drives Innovation of Video Communications with New Solutions to Empower the Hybrid Workforce SAN JOSE, Calif., July 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) today announced the general availability of its latest innovations, Zoom Apps and Zoom Events. Zoom Apps seamlessly embeds third-party apps within the Zoom Meetings and desktop client experience, enhancing collaboration, productivity, and entertainment for today’s hybrid workforce. Zoom Events is an all-in-one platform for creating a wide range of interactive and immersive virtual events to reach and engage audiences. “I’m thrilled to see our platform vision expand through Zoom Apps and Zoom Events, as the world embraces hybrid work, empowering the workforce today and into the future,” said Eric S. Yuan, Founder and CEO of Zoom. “These innovations will enhance the ways in which we connect and collaborate with our colleagues, clients, friends, family members, and others, improving productivity and collaboration while maintaining elements of fun and well-being.” “Zoom Apps and Zoom Events are critical components in broadening Zoom’s offering and reach,” said Roopam Jain, Vice President, Information and Communications Technologies at Frost & Sullivan. “These solutions empower users to accomplish more with video communications and are a testament to Zoom’s focus of enabling customers to create and grow businesses entirely on its platform—whether through applications, integrations, events, or other services.” Bringing Your Favorite Apps to the Zoom Platform Zoom Apps expands the offerings of the Zoom App Marketplace, which already hosts over 1,500 third-party integrations. With Zoom Apps, you can boost productivity and stay focused on your workflows by incorporating your favorite apps into your meetings. There are over 50 Zoom Apps available now, ranging from enterprise to consumer use cases—including whiteboarding, project management, note-taking, and video games, with more in development and available soon. A few Zoom Apps currently available include: Asana: Host purposeful meetings with the ability to create in-meeting action items and next steps beforehand so your teams are always moving forward with clarity. You can also create, edit, and assign tasks, all without leaving your Zoom meeting. Dot Collector: The Dot Collector app allows everyone in a meeting to share their perspective through real-time feedback and polling. Dots are systematically collected, shared and preserved enabling adjustments to be made in the moment and over time. The Dot Collector app fosters more inclusive collaboration, transparency, and meaningful relationships among colleagues, while empowering individuals with insights that help them to unlock their full potential. Dropbox Spaces: Get more out of your meetings with the Dropbox Spaces app for Zoom. Keep everyone on the same page by collaborating in real time in a single shared workspace before, during, and after Zoom Meetings. Heads Up!: Heads Up! is a fun and hilarious game by Ellen DeGeneres. Heads Up! is the perfect party game to play with your colleagues and friends, and is a fun way to pass time with your coworkers while waiting for meetings to start. The app is developed for Zoom by Ellen Digital and Playco. SurveyMonkey Enterprise by Momentive: Drive more engaging and inclusive meetings with in-the-moment feedback from surveys and polls available directly within the Zoom meeting experience. Capture optimal stakeholder insights from customers, employees, patients—any meeting attendees. Take action to increase employee engagement, improve the customer or patient experience, and make remote meetings more productive. Wellness That Works by WW: Wellness that Works by WW, a leader in weight loss and wellness, helps users move more, eat better and shift their mindset with push notifications to stand and stretch, along with a hydration tracker, mindset tools, and go-to recipes. Wellness that Works reinforces WW’s credentials in behavior change science by helping users build and maintain healthy habits wherever they are… even in meetings! Improving the Hybrid and Virtual Event Experiences Zoom Events gives organizations the power to create engaging hybrid and virtual experiences. Zoom Events enables large and small businesses alike to seamlessly manage and host back-to-back event sessions from sales summits, customer events, trade shows, and internal events. Zoom Events offers features such as event hubs, dedicated corporate virtual event spaces, customizable registration, and networking through a chat-enabled virtual event lobby. Zoom Events also allows event-specific reporting around registration, attendance, and ticket sales. Zoom will be hosting its annual user conference, Zoomtopia, and Zoom Academy, on Zoom Events this year. OnZoom, the consumer-focused Zoom Events solution, helps brands and small businesses reach a consumer audience by creating, hosting, and monetizing events, including fitness and cooking classes, theatrical presentations, and more. OnZoom will remain in beta and serve as a place where small businesses and entrepreneurs can host and publish events to our public event directory. More Information To learn more about Zoom Apps, please visit the Zoom Apps page and read our blog detailing how Zoom Apps is bringing critical business applications directly within Zoom meetings. To learn more about Zoom Events, please visit the Zoom Events page and read our blog detailing how Zoom Events allows the seamless creation and management of virtual events of any size. About Zoom Zoom is for you. We help you express ideas, connect to others, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom. Zoom Public Relations Farshad Hashmatulla Product PR Manager press@zoom.us

Zoom Drives Innovation of Video Communications with New Solutions to Empower the Hybrid Workforce

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) today announced the general availability of its latest innovations, Zoom Apps and Zoom Events. Zoom Apps seamlessly embeds third-party apps within the Zoom Meetings and desktop client experience, enhancing collaboration, productivity, and entertainment for today’s hybrid workforce. Zoom Events is an all-in-one platform for creating a wide range of interactive and immersive virtual events to reach and engage audiences.

“I’m thrilled to see our platform vision expand through Zoom Apps and Zoom Events, as the world embraces hybrid work, empowering the workforce today and into the future,” said Eric S. Yuan, Founder and CEO of Zoom. “These innovations will enhance the ways in which we connect and collaborate with our colleagues, clients, friends, family members, and others, improving productivity and collaboration while maintaining elements of fun and well-being.”

“Zoom Apps and Zoom Events are critical components in broadening Zoom’s offering and reach,” said Roopam Jain, Vice President, Information and Communications Technologies at Frost & Sullivan. “These solutions empower users to accomplish more with video communications and are a testament to Zoom’s focus of enabling customers to create and grow businesses entirely on its platform—whether through applications, integrations, events, or other services.”

Bringing Your Favorite Apps to the Zoom Platform
Zoom Apps expands the offerings of the Zoom App Marketplace, which already hosts over 1,500 third-party integrations. With Zoom Apps, you can boost productivity and stay focused on your workflows by incorporating your favorite apps into your meetings. There are over 50 Zoom Apps available now, ranging from enterprise to consumer use cases—including whiteboarding, project management, note-taking, and video games, with more in development and available soon. A few Zoom Apps currently available include:

  • Asana: Host purposeful meetings with the ability to create in-meeting action items and next steps beforehand so your teams are always moving forward with clarity. You can also create, edit, and assign tasks, all without leaving your Zoom meeting.
  • Dot Collector: The Dot Collector app allows everyone in a meeting to share their perspective through real-time feedback and polling. Dots are systematically collected, shared and preserved enabling adjustments to be made in the moment and over time. The Dot Collector app fosters more inclusive collaboration, transparency, and meaningful relationships among colleagues, while empowering individuals with insights that help them to unlock their full potential.
  • Dropbox Spaces: Get more out of your meetings with the Dropbox Spaces app for Zoom. Keep everyone on the same page by collaborating in real time in a single shared workspace before, during, and after Zoom Meetings.
  • Heads Up!: Heads Up! is a fun and hilarious game by Ellen DeGeneres. Heads Up! is the perfect party game to play with your colleagues and friends, and is a fun way to pass time with your coworkers while waiting for meetings to start. The app is developed for Zoom by Ellen Digital and Playco.
  • SurveyMonkey Enterprise by Momentive: Drive more engaging and inclusive meetings with in-the-moment feedback from surveys and polls available directly within the Zoom meeting experience. Capture optimal stakeholder insights from customers, employees, patients—any meeting attendees. Take action to increase employee engagement, improve the customer or patient experience, and make remote meetings more productive.
  • Wellness That Works by WW: Wellness that Works by WW, a leader in weight loss and wellness, helps users move more, eat better and shift their mindset with push notifications to stand and stretch, along with a hydration tracker, mindset tools, and go-to recipes. Wellness that Works reinforces WW’s credentials in behavior change science by helping users build and maintain healthy habits wherever they are… even in meetings!

Improving the Hybrid and Virtual Event Experiences
Zoom Events gives organizations the power to create engaging hybrid and virtual experiences. Zoom Events enables large and small businesses alike to seamlessly manage and host back-to-back event sessions from sales summits, customer events, trade shows, and internal events. Zoom Events offers features such as event hubs, dedicated corporate virtual event spaces, customizable registration, and networking through a chat-enabled virtual event lobby. Zoom Events also allows event-specific reporting around registration, attendance, and ticket sales. Zoom will be hosting its annual user conference, Zoomtopia, and Zoom Academy, on Zoom Events this year.

OnZoom, the consumer-focused Zoom Events solution, helps brands and small businesses reach a consumer audience by creating, hosting, and monetizing events, including fitness and cooking classes, theatrical presentations, and more. OnZoom will remain in beta and serve as a place where small businesses and entrepreneurs can host and publish events to our public event directory.

More Information

  • To learn more about Zoom Apps, please visit the Zoom Apps page and read our blog detailing how Zoom Apps is bringing critical business applications directly within Zoom meetings.
  • To learn more about Zoom Events, please visit the Zoom Events page and read our blog detailing how Zoom Events allows the seamless creation and management of virtual events of any size.

About Zoom
Zoom is for you. We help you express ideas, connect to others, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom.

Zoom Public Relations
Farshad Hashmatulla
Product PR Manager
press@zoom.us

Zoom va acquérir Five9

La combinaison de la solide plateforme de communications de Zoom et du centre de contact cloud intelligent de Five9 permettra aux organisations d’imaginer une nouvelle manière d’interagir avec leurs clients

SAN JOSÉ, Californie, et SAN RAMON, Californie, 21 juill. 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ : ZM) a annoncé aujourd’hui la conclusion d’un accord définitif pour l’acquisition de Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ : FIVN), un fournisseur de premier plan de centre de contact intelligent dans le cloud, dans le cadre d’une transaction payée entièrement en actions et évaluée à environ 14,7 milliards de dollars. Combiner la solution de centre de contact en tant que Service (« CCaaS ») de Five9 avec la vaste plateforme de communications de Zoom va transformer la façon dont les entreprises communiquent avec leurs clients, en construisant la plateforme d’engagement client de l’avenir.

Cette acquisition devrait contribuer à améliorer la présence de Zoom auprès des entreprises clientes et lui permettre d’accélérer son opportunité de croissance à long terme en ajoutant le marché des centres d’appels, qui s’élève à 24 milliards de dollars. Five9 est un pionnier du logiciel de centre de contact basé sur le cloud. Son centre d’appels cloud hautement évolutif et sécurisé fournit une suite complète d’applications faciles à utiliser qui permettent de gérer et d’optimiser les interactions avec les clients via de nombreux canaux différents.

« Nous cherchons constamment des moyens d’améliorer notre plateforme, et l’ajout de Five9 offrira encore plus de satisfaction et de valeur à nos clients », a déclaré Eric S. Yuan, président-directeur général et fondateur de Zoom. « Zoom repose sur la conviction fondamentale que des technologies de communication robustes et fiables permettent des interactions qui renforcent l’empathie et la confiance, et nous estimons que cela est particulièrement vrai pour l’engagement client. C’est principalement via le centre d’appels que les entreprises communiquent avec leurs clients, et nous sommes convaincus que cette acquisition crée une plateforme d’engagement client de premier plan, qui aidera à redéfinir la manière dont les entreprises de toutes tailles communiquent avec leurs clients. Nous nous réjouissons d’unir nos forces à celles de l’équipe Five9, et je suis impatient de les accueillir au sein de la famille Zoom. »

« Les entreprises allouent des ressources annuelles importantes à leur centre d’appels, mais elles peinent toujours à offrir une expérience fluide à leurs clients », a déclaré Rowan Trollope, président-directeur général de Five9. « La mission de Five9 a toujours consisté à aider les entreprises à résoudre facilement ce problème et à interagir avec leurs clients de manière plus pertinente et efficace. L’union de ses forces à celles de Zoom permettra aux clients professionnels de Five9 d’avoir accès à des solutions de pointe (en particulier à Zoom Phone) qui leur permettront de générer plus de valeur et d’obtenir des résultats tangibles pour leur activité. Ceci, combiné à la philosophie de la « facilité d’utilisation » et au vaste portefeuille de communications de Zoom, permettra réellement aux clients d’interagir via leur canal préféré. »

L’acquisition de Five9 par Zoom vient compléter son offre Zoom Phone, qui jouit d’une popularité croissante. Zoom Phone est un système de téléphonie cloud moderne qui offre une alternative numérique aux offres de téléphones existantes, permettant aux organisations de se connecter et d’interagir à l’aide de moyens nouveaux et pratiques pour aller de l’avant.

Cette combinaison offre également aux deux sociétés d’importantes opportunités de réaliser des ventes croisées auprès de leurs clients respectifs. Grâce à cette acquisition, Zoom contribuera encore plus à faire évoluer le numérique de demain et à rapprocher les entreprises et leurs clients.

Suite à la clôture de la transaction, Five9 sera une unité d’exploitation de Zoom, et Rowan Trollope deviendra un président de Zoom et continuera d’être PDG de Five9, sous la direction d’Eric Yuan.

Détails sur la transaction proposée
Dans le cadre de l’accord, les actionnaires de Five9 recevront 0,5533 action ordinaire de classe A de Zoom Video Communications, Inc. pour chaque action de Five9, Inc. D’après le cours de clôture de l’action ordinaire de classe A de Zoom au 16 juillet 2021, cela représente un cours par action pour les actions ordinaires Five9 de 200,28 dollars et une valeur de transaction implicite d’environ 14,7 milliards de dollars.

Les conseils d’administration de Zoom et Five9 ont approuvé la transaction. Le conseil d’administration de Five9 recommande aux actionnaires de Five9 d’approuver la transaction et d’adopter l’accord de fusion. La transaction, qui devrait être clôturée au cours du premier semestre de l’année civile 2022, est soumise à l’approbation des actionnaires de Five9, à la réception des approbations réglementaires requises et aux autres conditions de clôture habituelles.

Des détails et informations supplémentaires sur les conditions générales de l’acquisition seront disponibles dans les rapports actuels sur le formulaire 8-K qui seront déposés par Zoom et Five9 auprès de la Securities and Exchange Commission.

Conseillers
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC agit en tant que conseiller financier exclusif et Cooley LLP en tant que conseiller juridique pour Zoom. Qatalyst Partners agit en tant que conseiller financier exclusif et Latham and Watkins LLP en tant que conseiller juridique pour Five9.

Informations sur la conférence téléphonique sur les transactions
Zoom et Five9 organiseront un webinaire Zoom Video à l’intention des investisseurs le lundi 19 juillet 2021 à 5h30 (heure du Pacifique) / 8h30 (heure de l’Est). Les investisseurs sont invités à participer au webinaire Zoom Video en consultant le site : https://investors.zoom.us/. Une rediffusion sera disponible peu après la fin de l’appel.

À propos de Zoom
Zoom est pour vous. Nous vous aidons à exprimer vos idées, à communiquer avec les autres et à bâtir un avenir limité uniquement par votre imagination. Notre plateforme de communications sans friction est la seule à avoir commencé par la vidéo comme fondement, et nous avons établi la norme en matière d’innovation depuis lors. C’est pourquoi nous sommes un choix intuitif, évolutif et sécurisé aussi bien pour les particuliers que les petites et grandes entreprises. Fondée en 2011, Zoom est cotée en bourse (NASDAQ : ZM) et a son siège social à San José, en Californie. Rendez-vous sur zoom.com et suivez @zoom.

À propos de Five9
Five9 est un fournisseur de premier plan de solutions de centre de contact dans le cloud, apportant la puissance de l’innovation cloud à plus de 2 000 clients à travers le monde et facilitant des milliards d’interactions client chaque année. Le centre de contact cloud intelligent Five9 fournit des interactions numériques, des analyses, l’automatisation des flux de travail, l’optimisation des effectifs et une intelligence artificielle pratique, afin d’aider les entreprises clientes à imaginer une nouvelle expérience pour leurs propres clients. Conçue pour être fiable, sécurisée, conforme et évolutive, la plateforme Five9 contribue à accroître la productivité des agents et des superviseurs, connecte le centre de contact à l’entreprise et, au final, fournit des résultats commerciaux tangibles, notamment une augmentation des revenus et un renforcement de la confiance et de la fidélité des clients.

Énoncés prospectifs
Le présent communiqué de presse contient des informations prospectives relatives à Zoom, à Five9 et à l’acquisition de Five9 par Zoom qui impliquent des risques et des incertitudes notables pouvant entraîner un écart sensible entre les résultats réels et ceux exprimés ou sous-entendus par ces énoncés. Les énoncés prospectifs contenus dans la présente communication incluent, entre autres, des déclarations concernant les avantages potentiels de la transaction proposée pour Zoom, Five9 et leurs clients respectifs, les plans de Zoom, ses objectifs, ses attentes et ses intentions concernant la société combinée, l’envergure de l’opportunité pour Zoom dans les centres de contact, la situation financière, les résultats des opérations et activités de Zoom ou Five9, et le calendrier prévu pour la clôture de la transaction proposée.

Les risques et incertitudes comprennent, entre autres, les risques liés à la capacité de Zoom à réaliser la transaction proposée en temps voulu ou à la réaliser tout court  ; la capacité de Zoom à intégrer avec succès les opérations et le personnel de Five9 ; la capacité de Zoom à mettre en œuvre son plan, ses prévisions et autres attentes concernant les activités de Five9 après l’achèvement de la transaction et à réaliser les synergies attendues ; la satisfaction aux conditions préalables à la réalisation de la transaction proposée ; la capacité de Zoom à obtenir les approbations réglementaires selon les conditions attendues dans les délais impartis ou pas du tout, en particulier à la lumière de l’évolution récente de la réglementation aux États-Unis et ailleurs ; la capacité à obtenir les bénéfices escomptés de la transaction proposée, y compris la possibilité que les bénéfices escomptés de la transaction proposée ne soient pas obtenus ou ne le soient pas dans les délais prévus ; toute perturbation découlant de la transaction rendant plus difficile le maintien de relations commerciales et opérationnelles ; tout effet négatif de l’annonce ou de la réalisation de la transaction proposée sur le cours des actions ordinaires de classe A de Zoom sur le marché, ou sur les résultats d’exploitation de Zoom ; l’impact de coûts de transaction importants et de passifs inconnus sur les résultats d’exploitation de Zoom ; le risque de litiges et/ou de mesures réglementaires liées à la transaction proposée ; le temps passé par la direction et les dépenses en ressources de Zoom, ainsi que les autres dépenses engagées dans le cadre de tout consentement ou toute approbation réglementaire ou gouvernemental(e) concernant la transaction ; la possibilité que des offres concurrentes soient faites pour acquérir Five9 ; l’effet de l’annonce ou de la mise en attente de la transaction sur les relations commerciales, les résultats d’exploitation et les activités de Zoom et Five9 en général ; l’impact de la pandémie de COVID-19 et des mesures de santé publique connexes sur les activités de Zoom et Five9 et les conditions économiques générales ; l’impact des événements géopolitiques ; la performance et la sécurité des services de Zoom, y compris les ressources et les coûts nécessaires pour éviter les interruptions imprévues et éviter, détecter et remédier aux éventuelles atteintes à la sécurité ; des cyberattaques et des vulnérabilités en matière de sécurité qui pourraient conduire à une réduction des revenus, une augmentation des coûts, des demandes de responsabilité, ou nuire à la réputation ou à la position concurrentielle de Zoom ; des interruptions et des perturbations excessives des services en ligne de Zoom si Zoom ne parvient pas à maintenir une infrastructure opérationnelle adéquate ; des facteurs de concurrence, y compris de nouveaux arrivants sur le marché et des changements dans l’environnement concurrentiel ainsi qu’une concurrence accrue ; la demande des clients en produits et services de Zoom ; la capacité de Zoom et Five9 à attirer, intégrer et retenir du personnel qualifié ; la capacité de Zoom à protéger ses droits de propriété intellectuelle et à développer sa marque ; la capacité de Zoom à développer de nouveaux services et de nouvelles caractéristiques de produits ; les résultats d’exploitation et le flux de trésorerie de Zoom ; l’impact de la transaction sur la stratégie de Zoom consistant à acquérir ou à réaliser des investissements dans des activités complémentaires, des coentreprises, des services, des technologies et des droits de propriété intellectuelle ; des changements des lois fiscales et autres, réglementations, tarifs et politiques ; ainsi que l’impact de nouvelles déclarations comptables.

Ces risques, ainsi que d’autres risques liés à la transaction proposée, seront décrits dans la déclaration d’enregistrement sur le formulaire S-4 et dans la déclaration de procuration/le prospectus qui seront déposés auprès de la SEC dans le cadre de la transaction proposée. Bien que la liste des facteurs présentée ici et la liste des facteurs qui seront présentés dans la déclaration d’enregistrement sur le formulaire S-4 soient considérées comme représentatives, aucune de ces listes ne doit être considérée comme une déclaration complète de tous les risques et incertitudes potentiels. Pour tout complément d’information sur d’autres facteurs qui pourraient entraîner un écart sensible entre les résultats réels et ceux décrits dans les énoncés prospectifs, veuillez vous reporter aux rapports périodiques respectifs de Zoom et de Five9 et aux autres documents déposés auprès de la SEC, y compris les facteurs de risque identifiés dans les rapports trimestriels sur formulaire 10-Q et les rapports annuels sur formulaire 10-K les plus récents de Zoom et de Five9.

Les énoncés prospectifs inclus dans le présent communiqué de presse sont établis uniquement à la date du présent communiqué. Zoom n’assume aucune obligation et n’a pas l’intention de mettre à jour ces énoncés prospectifs, sauf si la loi l’exige.

Informations complémentaires et où les trouver

Dans le cadre de la fusion proposée, Zoom a l’intention de déposer auprès de la SEC une déclaration d’enregistrement sur formulaire S-4, qui inclura un document servant de prospectus de Zoom et de déclaration de procuration de Five9 (« déclaration de procuration/prospectus »). Une fois la déclaration d’enregistrement déclarée effective par la SEC, le document « déclaration de procuration/prospectus » sera remis aux actionnaires de Five9. AVANT DE PRENDRE UNE DÉCISION DE VOTE OU D’INVESTISSEMENT, LES PORTEURS DE TITRES DE ZOOM ET FIVE9 SONT INVITÉS À LIRE LA DÉCLARATION DE PROCURATION / LE PROSPECTUS (Y COMPRIS TOUS LEURS AMENDEMENTS ET SUPPLÉMENTS) ET LES AUTRES DOCUMENTS RELATIFS À LA FUSION QUI SERONT DÉPOSÉS AUPRÈS DE LA SEC LORSQU’ILS SERONT DISPONIBLES CAR ILS CONTIENDRONT DES INFORMATIONS IMPORTANTES SUR LA FUSION PROPOSÉE. Les investisseurs et les porteurs de titres pourront obtenir gratuitement des exemplaires du document « déclaration de procuration/prospectus » (lorsqu’il sera disponible) et d’autres documents déposés par Zoom et Five9 auprès de la SEC, par l’intermédiaire du site Internet géré par la SEC à l’adresse http://www.sec.gov. Des exemplaires des documents déposés auprès de la SEC par Zoom seront disponibles gratuitement dans la rubrique « Dépôts auprès de la SEC » de la section « Relations avec les investisseurs » du site Internet de Zoom à l’adresse :https://investors.Zoom.us/. Des exemplaires des documents déposés auprès de la SEC par Five9 seront disponibles gratuitement dans la rubrique « Finances et dépôts » de la section « Relations avec les investisseurs » du site Internet de Five9 à l’adresse :https://investors.five9.com/.

Participants à la sollicitation

Zoom et Five9 et leurs administrateurs et dirigeants respectifs peuvent être considérés comme des participants à la sollicitation des procurations concernant la transaction proposée. Les informations sur les administrateurs et les dirigeants de Zoom sont énoncées dans le formulaire 10-K de Zoom pour l’exercice clos le 31 janvier 2021 et dans la déclaration de procuration pour l’assemblée annuelle des actionnaires 2021 de Zoom, qui ont été déposés auprès de la SEC le 18 mars 2021 et le 5 mai 2021, respectivement. Les informations sur les administrateurs et les dirigeants de Five9 sont énoncées dans le formulaire 10-K de Five9 pour l’exercice clos le 31 décembre 2020 et dans la déclaration de procuration pour l’assemblée annuelle des actionnaires 2021 de Five9, qui ont été déposés auprès de la SEC le 1er mars 2021 et le 29 mars 2021, respectivement. Les actionnaires peuvent obtenir des informations supplémentaires concernant les intérêts de ces participants en lisant la déclaration d’inscription, la déclaration de procuration / le prospectus et d’autres documents pertinents qui seront déposés auprès de la SEC concernant la fusion proposée lorsqu’ils seront disponibles. Les investisseurs sont invités à lire attentivement la déclaration de procuration/prospectus lorsque ce document sera disponible avant de prendre des décisions en matière de vote ou d’investissement.

Aucune offre ou sollicitation

Le présent communiqué de presse ne constitue pas une offre de vente ni une sollicitation d’une offre d’achat de titres ni une sollicitation de vote ou d’approbation, et aucune vente de ces titres n’aura lieu dans une juridiction au sein de laquelle une telle offre, sollicitation ou vente serait illégale avant son enregistrement ou sa qualification en vertu des lois sur les valeurs mobilières dans une telle juridiction. Aucune offre de titres ne sera faite sauf au moyen d’un prospectus satisfaisant aux exigences de la Section 10 du Securities Act de 1933, tel que modifié.

Relations de Zoom avec la presse
Colleen Rodriguez
Responsable des relations mondiales avec les médias
press@zoom.us

Relations de Zoom avec les investisseurs
Tom McCallum
Responsable des relations avec les investisseurs
investors@zoom.us

Relations de Five9 avec la presse
Allison Wilson
352-502-9539
allison.wilson@five9.com

Relations de Five9 avec les investisseurs
Barry Zwarenstein
Directeur financier
925-201-2000 poste 5959
ir@five9.com

The Blueshirt Group for Five9, Inc.
Lisa Laukkanen
415-217-4967
lisa@blueshirtgroup.com

Zoom Adquire Five9

A união da robusta plataforma de comunicações Zoom com a central de atendimento inteligente na nuvem da Five9 permitirá que as duas empresas reimaginem o envolvimento com seus clientes

SAN JOSE e SAN RAMON, Califórnia, July 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) divulgou hoje que fechou um acordo definitivo de aquisição da Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN), provedora líder de centro de contato inteligente na nuvem, em uma transação de ações avaliada em aproximadamente US$14,7 bilhões. A união da solução Contact Center as a Service (“CCaaS”) da Five9 com a ampla plataforma de comunicações da Zoom irá transformar a forma como as empresas se conectam com seus clientes, permitindo a criação da plataforma de engajamento do cliente do futuro.

A aquisição deve ajudar a aumentar a presença da Zoom com clientes corporativos e permitir que ela acelere sua oportunidade de crescimento a longo prazo, com a adição ao mercado de centro de contato de US$24 bilhões. A Five9 é pioneira em software de centro de contato com base na nuvem. Seu centro de atendimento na nuvem altamente escalável e seguro oferece um conjunto abrangente de aplicativos fáceis de usar que permite o gerenciamento e a otimização das interações com o cliente em muitos canais diferentes.

“Estamos sempre em busca de maneiras de aprimorar a nossa plataforma, e a adição da Five9 naturalmente irá proporcionar ainda mais alegria e valor aos nossos clientes”, disse Eric S. Yuan, Diretor Executivo e Fundador da Zoom. “A Zoom acredita em uma tecnologia de comunicações robusta e confiável que viabilize interações que criem maior empatia e confiança, e acreditamos que isso seja particularmente essencial para o envolvimento do cliente. As empresas se comunicam com seus clientes principalmente através do centro de contato, e acreditamos que essa aquisição venha a criar uma plataforma líder de engajamento do cliente para ajudar a redefinir como as empresas de todos os tamanhos venham a se conectam com seus clientes. Estamos contentíssimos em unir forças com a equipe Five9, e prontos para recebê-los na família Zoom.”

“As empresas gastam recursos substanciais todos os anos nos seus centros de contato, mas ainda lutam para oferecer uma experiência perfeita com seus clientes”, disse Rowan Trollope, Diretor Executivo da Five9. “A Five9 tem por missão tornar mais fácil para as empresas resolver esse problema e se envolverem com seus clientes de uma forma mais significativa e eficiente. A união de forças com a Zoom irá fornecer aos clientes empresariais da Five9 acesso às melhores soluções, particularmente o Zoom Phone, que irá permitir a obtenção de mais valor e entregar resultados reais para suas empresas. Isso tudo, juntamente com a filosofia de “facilidade de uso” e o amplo portfólio de comunicação da Zoom, irão permitir verdadeiramente que os clientes se envolvam por meio do seu canal preferido.”

A aquisição da Five9 pela Zoom é um complemento à crescente popularidade da oferta do Zoom Phone. O Zoom Phone é um sistema de telefone moderno na nuvem que oferece uma alternativa digital às ofertas de telefone legadas, permitindo que as empresas se conectem e interajam de maneiras novas e convenientes para manter as empresas em movimento.

Esta união também oferece oportunidades significativas de venda cruzada para as respectivas bases de clientes de ambas as empresas. Como resultado da aquisição, a Zoom irá desempenhar um papel ainda maior na condução do futuro digital e na aproximação entre as empresas e seus clientes.

Após o fechamento da transação, a Five9 passará a ser uma unidade operacional da Zoom, com Rowan Trollope sendo o presidente da Zoom e continuado a ser CEO da Five9, reportando-se a Eric Yuan.

Detalhes sobre a Transação Proposta
Como parte do acordo, os acionistas da Five9 irão receber 0,5533 ações ordinárias de Classe A da Zoom Video Communications, Inc. para cada ação da Five9, Inc. Com base no preço de fechamento das ações ordinárias de Classe A da Zoom no dia 16 de julho de 2021, isso representa um preço por ação ordinária da Five9 de US$200,28 e um valor total implícito da transação de aproximadamente US$14,7 bilhões.

As Diretorias da Zoom e da Five9 aprovaram a transação. A Diretoria da Five9 recomenda que os acionistas da Five9 aprovem a transação e adotem o contrato de incorporação. A transação, que deverá ser encerrada no primeiro semestre do ano civil de 2022, está sujeita à aprovação dos acionistas da Five9, ao recebimento das aprovações regulatórias necessárias e a outras condições habituais de fechamento.

Detalhes e informações adicionais sobre os termos e condições da aquisição estarão disponíveis nos relatórios atuais no Formulário 8-K a ser protocolado pela Zoom e Five9 na Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (SEC).

Consultores
A Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC está atuando como consultora financeira exclusiva e a Cooley LLP está atuando como consultora jurídica da Zoom. A Qatalyst Partners está atuando como consultora financeira exclusiva e a Latham e Watkins LLP está atuando como consultora jurídica da Five9.

Chamada de Conferência de Informação da Transação
A Zoom e a Five9 farão um Webinar Zoom Video para investidores na segunda-feira, 19 de julho de 2021 às 5h30 Horário do Pacífico/8h30 Horário do Leste. Os investidores são convidados a participar do Webinar Zoom Video visitando: https://investors.zoom.us/. Um replay estará disponível logo após o encerramento da chamada.

Sobre o Zoom
O Zoom é para você. Ajudamos você a expressar ideias, se conectar a outras pessoas e se preparar para um futuro limitado apenas pela sua imaginação. Nossa plataforma de comunicações sem atrito é a única que teve início com o vídeo como base, e que nos permitiu o padrão da inovação. É por isso que somos uma escolha intuitiva, escalonável e segura para pessoas e pequenas e grandes empresas. Fundada em 2011, as ações da Zoom são negociadas publicamente (NASDAQ: ZM) e a empresa está localizada em San Jose, Califórnia. Visite zoom.com e siga @zoom.

Sobre a Five9
A Five9 é uma fornecedora líder do setor de soluções de centro de contato na nuvem, levando o poder da inovação na nuvem para mais de 2.000 clientes em todo o mundo e facilitando bilhões de engajamentos de clientes todos os anos. O Five9 Intelligent Cloud Contact Center fornece engajamento digital, funções analíticas, automação de fluxo de trabalho, otimização da força de trabalho e IA prática para ajudar os clientes a reimaginar a experiência dos seus clientes. Projetada para ser confiável, segura, compatível e escalável, a plataforma Five9 ajuda a aumentar a produtividade do agente e do supervisor, conecta o centro de contato à empresa e, em última análise, fornece resultados de negócios tangíveis, incluindo maior receita e maior confiança e lealdade do cliente.

Declarações de Previsão
Este comunicado contém informações de previsão relacionadas à Zoom, Five9 e à aquisição da Five9 pela Zoom que envolvem riscos, incertezas e suposições substanciais que podem fazer com que os resultados reais sejam substancialmente diferentes dos resultados expressos ou implícitos em tais declarações. As declarações de previsão neste comunicado incluem, entre outras coisas, declarações sobre os benefícios potenciais da transação proposta para a Zoom, a Five9 e seus respectivos clientes, planos, objetivos, expectativas e intenções da Zoom em relação à empresa conjunta, tamanho da oportunidade para a Zoom nas centrais de contato, condição financeira, resultados das operações e negócios da Zoom ou da Five9, e o cronograma antecipado de fechamento da transação proposta.

Os riscos e incertezas incluem, entre outras coisas, riscos relacionados à capacidade da Zoom de consumar a transação proposta em tempo hábil ou de forma alguma; a capacidade da Zoom de integrar com sucesso as operações e o pessoal da Five9; a capacidade da Zoom de implementar seu plano, previsões e outras expectativas com relação aos negócios da Five9 após a conclusão da transação, e de realizar as sinergias esperadas; a satisfação das condições precedentes à consumação da transação proposta; a capacidade da Zoom de garantir aprovações regulatórias nos termos esperados em tempo hábil ou de forma alguma, especialmente à luz dos recentes desenvolvimentos regulatórios nos Estados Unidos e em outros lugares; a capacidade de alcançar os benefícios previstos da transação proposta, incluindo a possibilidade de que os benefícios esperados da transação proposta não sejam realizados ou não sejam realizados dentro do período de tempo esperado; interrupção da transação tornando mais difícil manter relações comerciais e operacionais; quaisquer efeitos negativos do anúncio ou da consumação da transação proposta no preço de mercado das ações ordinárias Classe A da Zoom ou nos resultados operacionais da Zoom; o impacto de custos significativos da transação e passivos desconhecidos nos resultados operacionais da Zoom; o risco de litígios e/ou ações regulatórias relacionadas à transação proposta; o empenho do tempo da administração e dos recursos da Zoom, e outras despesas incorridas em conexão com quaisquer consentimentos ou aprovações regulatórias ou governamentais para a transação; a possibilidade de ofertas de concorrentes para a aquisição da Five9; o efeito do anúncio ou pendência da transação nas relações comerciais da Zoom e da Five9, nos resultados operacionais e nos negócios em geral; o impacto da pandemia da COVID-19 e das medidas de saúde pública relacionadas nos negócios da Zoom e da Five9, e nas condições econômicas gerais; o impacto de eventos geopolíticos; desempenho e segurança do serviço da Zoom, incluindo os recursos e custos necessários para evitar paradas imprevistas e prevenir, detectar e remediar possíveis violações de segurança; ataques cibernéticos e vulnerabilidades de segurança que possam levar à redução da receita, aumento dos custos, reivindicações de responsabilidade ou prejudicar a reputação ou posição competitiva da Zoom; paradas e interrupções excessivas nos serviços online da Zoom se a Zoom não mantiver uma infraestrutura operacional adequada; fatores competitivos, incluindo novos participantes no mercado e mudanças no ambiente competitivo e aumento da concorrência; demanda do cliente pelos produtos e serviços da Zoom; capacidade da Zoom e da Five9 de atrair, integrar e reter pessoal qualificado; capacidade de proteger seus direitos de propriedade intelectual e desenvolver sua marca; capacidade da Zoom de desenvolver novos serviços e recursos para seu produto; resultados operacionais e fluxo de caixa da Zoom; o impacto da transação na estratégia da Zoom de adquirir ou fazer investimentos em negócios complementares, joint ventures, serviços, tecnologias e direitos de propriedade intelectual; mudanças nas leis, regulamentos, taxas e políticas fiscais e outras; e o impacto de novos pronunciamentos contábeis.

Esses riscos, bem como outros riscos relacionados à transação proposta, serão descritos na declaração de registro no Formulário S-4 e no relatório aos acionistas/prospecto que será protocolado no SEC em conexão com a transação proposta. Embora a lista de fatores aqui apresentada e a lista de fatores a ser incluída na declaração de registro no Formulário S-4 sejam consideradas representativas, nenhuma lista deve ser considerada uma declaração completa de todos os riscos e incertezas potenciais. Para obter informações adicionais sobre outros fatores que possam fazer com que os resultados reais sejam substancialmente diferentes dos descritos nas declarações prospectivas, consulte os respectivos relatórios periódicos da Zoom e da Five9 e outros registros na SEC, incluindo os fatores de risco identificados nos Relatórios Trimestrais mais recentes da Zoom e da Five9 no Formulário 10-Q e nos Relatórios Anuais no Formulário 10-K.

As declarações de previsão incluídas neste comunicado de imprensa representam a nossa opinião somente a partir da presente data. A Zoom não assume nenhuma obrigação e não pretende atualizar essas declarações de previsão, exceto conforme exigido por lei.

Informações Adicionais e Onde Encontrá-las

Em conexão com a incorporação proposta, a Zoom pretende protocolar no SEC uma declaração de registro no Formulário S-4, que incluirá um documento que serve como um prospecto da Zoom e uma relatório aos acionistas da Five9 (a “relatório aos acionistas/prospecto”). Após a declaração de registro ter sido declarada efetiva pelo SEC, o relatório aos acionistas/prospecto será entregue aos acionistas da Five9. ANTES DE TOMAR QUALQUER DECISÃO DE VOTO OU INVESTIMENTO, OS DETENTORES DE VALORES MOBILIÁRIOS DA ZOOM E DA FIVE9 DEVEM LER A DECLARAÇÃO AOS ACIONISTAS/PROSPECTO (INCLUINDO TODAS AS ALTERAÇÕES E SUPLEMENTOS) E OUTROS DOCUMENTOS RELACIONADOS À INCORPORAÇÃO QUE SERÃO PROTOCOLADOS NO SEC QUANDO ESTIVEREM DISPONÍVEIS, POIS CONTERÃO INFORMAÇÕES IMPORTANTES SOBRE A INCORPORAÇÃO PROPOSTA. Investidores e detentores de valores mobiliários poderão obter cópias do relatório aos acionistas/prospecto (quando disponível) e outros documentos protocolados pela Zoom e pela Five9 no SEC, sem custo, através do site mantido pelo SEC em http://www.sec.gov. Cópias dos documentos protocolados no SEC pela Zoom estarão disponíveis gratuitamente no título Filings do SEC da seção Investor Relations do site da Zoom em https://investors.Zoom.us/. Cópias dos documentos protocolados no SEC pela Five9 estarão disponíveis gratuitamente no título Financials & Filings da seção Investor Relations do site da Five9 em https://investors.five9.com/.

Participantes da Solicitação

A Zoom e a Five9 e seus respectivos diretores e executivos podem ser considerados participantes da solicitação de procurações em relação à transação proposta. As informações sobre os diretores e executivos da Zoom estão incluídas no Formulário 10-K da Zoom para o exercício encerrado em 31 de janeiro de 2021 e no relatório aos acionistas da Assembleia Anual de Acionistas da Zoom de 2021, que foram protocolados no SEC em 18 de março de 2021 e 5 de maio de 2021, respectivamente. As informações sobre os diretores e executivos da Five9 estão incluídas no Formulário 10-K da Five9 para o exercício encerrado em 31 de dezembro de 2020 e no relatório aos acionistas da Assembleia Anual de Acionistas da Five9 de 2021, que foram protocoladas no SEC em 1º de março de 2021 e 29 de março de 2021, respectivamente. Os acionistas podem obter informações adicionais sobre os interesses de tais participantes lendo a declaração de registro e o relatório aos acionistas/prospecto e outros materiais relevantes a serem protocolados no SEC sobre a incorporação proposta quando estiverem disponíveis. Os investidores devem ler atentamente o relatório aos acionistas/prospeto quando disponível antes de tomarem qualquer decisão de voto ou investimento.

Sem Oferta ou Solicitação

Este comunicado não constitui uma oferta de venda nem uma solicitação de uma oferta de compra, nem deverá haver qualquer venda desses valores mobiliários em qualquer estado ou outra jurisdição onde tal oferta, venda ou solicitação seja ilegal antes do registro ou qualificação sob as leis de valores mobiliários de qualquer estado ou jurisdição. Nenhuma oferta de valores mobiliários será feita, exceto por meio de um prospecto que atenda aos requisitos da Seção 10 da Lei de Valores Mobiliários de 1933, conforme alterada.

Relações com a Imprensa da Zoom
Colleen Rodriguez
Líder de Relações com a Mídia Global
press@zoom.us

Relações com Investidores da Zoom
Tom McCallum
Dirigente de Relações com Investidores
investors@zoom.us

Relações com a Imprensa da Five9
Allison Wilson
352-502-9539
allison.wilson@five9.com

Relações com Investidores da Five9
Barry Zwarenstein
Diretor Financeiro
925-201-2000 ramal 5959
ir@five9.com

The Blueshirt Group em nome da Five9, Inc.
Lisa Laukkanen
415-217-4967
lisa@blueshirtgroup.com

Suspect in 2020 High-profile Twitter Hack Arrested in Spain

A person allegedly involved in a high-profile Twitter hack in July 2020 has been arrested.

The U.S. Justice Department said British citizen Joseph O’Connor, 22, was arrested Wednesday in Spain. He faces conspiracy and computer intrusion charges.

O’Connor allegedly participated in the hijacking of more than 130 verified accounts, including those of SpaceX’s Elon Musk, former U.S. President Barack Obama and current President Joe Biden, to ask for Bitcoin.

Twitter’s immediate response was to prevent many verified accounts from tweeting for several hours.

O’Connor also is suspected of taking control of TikTok and Snapchat accounts and of cyberstalking.

As part of the same investigation, the DOJ last year charged Graham Ivan Clark of Florida, then 17, who was said to be the mastermind of the Twitter attack. He pleaded guilty to fraud charges and was sentenced in March to three years in prison.

Two others, Florida resident Nima Fazeli and a Briton, Mason Sheppard, also have been charged in the case, MSN reported.

Source: Voice of America

Report: China Considering Foreign Booster Shot to Improve Efficacy of Its Vaccines

China is reportedly considering using a foreign vaccine as a booster shot for people who have been fully inoculated with Chinese vaccines such as Sinovac and Sinopharm.

According to Caixin, a respected Chinese financial magazine, drug regulators in China have completed an expert panel review of the booster vaccine jointly developed by China’s Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Fosun Pharma) and German company BioNTech. The booster shot, Fosun-BioNTech COVID-19, is now in the administrative review stage.

The report came days after Thailand and Indonesia announced they would switch from doses made in China to Western vaccines.

For Beijing, which has been touting the effectiveness of its vaccines for months and donating and selling doses to low- and middle-income countries eager for protection in an effort often referred to as “vaccine diplomacy,” the possibility of a booster shot may be seen as a blow.

“It is implicitly an admission that they are not doing well with their own vaccines,” Steve Morrison told VOA Mandarin. Morrison is the senior vice president and director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank.

VOA Mandarin contacted the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Foreign Ministry in Beijing for further comment on the possibility of a booster for Chinese-made vaccines. Embassy staff referred VOA to the two companies as well as “competent authorities in China.” VOA did as suggested but received no responses.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a virologist and an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told VOA Mandarin in a virtual online interview that although the data on the Chinese vaccines are not widely available and China has yet to publish its phase 3 data in a peer-reviewed journal, “We’ve anecdotally seen lower efficacy with Chinese-made vaccines, and that may be prompting the need for a booster.”

Shih Shin-ru, director of the Research Center for Emerging Viral Infections and professor at the department of medical biotechnology and laboratory science at Chang Gung University in Taiwan, said a “good” vaccine should be safe and immunogenic (able to produce enough neutralizing antibody) and protect against real infection. At the start of developing any vaccine, scientists cannot know “how good” the vaccine in development might be, she said. But recently, as more studies have been conducted, scientists can correlate immunogenicity to?protection rate, Shih added.

“Therefore, I think scientists in China also realized the fact of low antibody [levels] in the serum of Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines. Therefore, they may suggest the Chinese government has another shot as a booster,” Shih told VOA Mandarin in an email.

According to a World Health Organization study published early last month, in a large phase 3 trial in Brazil, two doses of?the vaccine developed by Sinovac/China National Pharmaceutical Group,?administered 14 days apart, had an efficacy rate of 51% against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, 100% against severe COVID-19 and 100% against hospitalization, with protection starting 14 days after the second dose.

Earlier this month, the American news outlet CNBC reported that of the six countries worldwide with the highest rates of inoculation, adjusted for population, five countries that relied on vaccines from China showed elevated weekly numbers of COVID-19 cases.

In contrast, real-world data gathered by Israel’s Ministry of Health show that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine’s effectiveness was at least 97% in preventing symptomatic disease,?severe-to-critical disease and death, according to an article on Pfizer’s website in March.

The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine had an efficacy rate of 94.1% after two doses, according to U.S. ?Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research published on January 1.

Earlier this month, however, as the delta variant caused an increase in Israel’s number of COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Health announced that the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine dropped to 64% against all coronavirus infections from about 95% in May. Israel has more than 852,940 confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center, and 6,450 deaths as of Tuesday.

Jin Dong-Yan, a professor at Hong Kong University’s School of Biomedical Sciences, said in a phone interview with VOA Mandarin that the plummeting effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the face of variants meant that Chinese vaccine efficacy could drop to well under 50% in preventing infections by new variants. This, he said, would make booster shots “imperative.”

Jason Li, a research associate with the East Asia program at the Stimson Center in Washington, told VOA Mandarin in an email that “China’s move [to consider a Pfizer booster] could be a positive sign against the worst fears of unproductive ‘vaccine diplomacy’ competition — at least from the Chinese side” and could indicate that “the Chinese authorities may be putting public health above politics, for now.”

On June 2, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs,?said during a news conference that China had provided “more than 350 million doses of vaccines to the international community, including vaccine assistance to over 80 countries and vaccine exports to more than 40 countries.”

China provided vaccines either by donation or sale to 102 countries in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Latin America, according to a vaccine tracker published by BridgeBeijing.com, a global health advocacy group affiliated with the New York-based Global Health Strategies group. In the Asia-Pacific region, 38 countries have received Chinese vaccines, and in Latin America, 19 countries. In Africa, 35 countries received vaccines from China, but the number of doses was the lowest.

China expert Ian Chong of the National University of Singapore told the BBC that Beijing’s push to sell or donate vaccines worldwide had been “an effort to change the narrative away from the fact that infections were first detected in Wuhan, and to show that [China is] a scientific powerhouse.”

Health experts expect those countries will need booster shots if China’s plan moves forward.

Thailand, which has used Sinovac vaccines, is now experiencing new highs in cases and fatalities. In Indonesia,?where cases are surging, less than 7% of the population of 271 million has been vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins. Indonesia had placed one of the world’s biggest orders for Sinovac vaccines, purchasing 125 million doses.

COVID-19 is taking a devastating toll on medical professionals in Indonesia, where 114 doctors have died so far this month, more than double the number of doctors who died in June, according to a physicians’ network known as the Mitigation Team of the Indonesian Medical Association, or IDI.

The rising number of doctor deaths comes as the government notes that 95% of health workers have received COVID-19 vaccines.

On Sunday, the chief of the mitigation team, Mahesa Paranadipa Maikel, told the press in Jakarta that the doctor monthly death toll is the highest since the start of the pandemic in March of 2020. The record was last set in January 2021, when 65 doctors died.

A total of 545 doctors in Indonesia have died since the beginning of the pandemic. The highest death toll is in East Java with 110, followed by Jakarta with 83 and central Java with 81.

In all of June, 51 doctors died, but that toll has jumped 123% so far this month.

“These numbers might be higher since there are hospitals or clinics that have not reported to us,” said Mahesa.

Most of the doctors who died due to COVID-19 were general practitioners, obstetricians, internists and surgeons. COVID-19 is the illness caused by the coronavirus.

The team also noted that hundreds of others health workers have died as a result of the pandemic, including 445 nurses, 42 pharmacists, 223 midwives and 25 laboratory workers.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin says the government has started to use a batch of Moderna vaccines as booster shots to health workers who already received China’s Sinovac vaccine. Sinovac is one of seven coronavirus vaccines that have received emergency use approval by the World Health Organization. Studies on the vaccine’s efficacy rate are ongoing, but Sinovac appears to be less powerful against the coronavirus than other COVID-19 vaccines.

Meanwhile, in the past week the number of daily infections among Indonesians has increased to more than five thousand, with more than a thousand new deaths.

Indonesia currently has more than 2.8 million confirmed cases and 72,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the global outbreak. Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country, with more than 275 million people.

Windhu Purnomo is an epidemiologist who serves on the faculty of public health at Airlangga University. He told VOA that the situation might worsen due to three factors: the slow pace of vaccinations, the failure to curb people’s mobility and the spread of the more virulent delta variant.

“We have just got many new vaccines like from the U.S., Japan, etc., so even if we increase the vaccinations program, it is still not optimal,” Purnomo said.

The country can’t impose a lockdown as has happened in other nations, because it doesn’t have the money to pay people to stay home. And the delta variant, which is sweeping the world, is hitting Indonesia hard as well.

“Our burden is too heavy,” he added.

The government imposed strict curbs on movements on July 3 to slow the spread of COVID-19. They include a work-from-home order for non-essential workers and the closure of shopping malls, markets, and all public facilities on the islands of Java, Bali, and 15 other cities across the archipelago.

Luhut Pandjaitan, senior minister who coordinates pandemic restrictions, told VOA on Friday that the government will decide within days whether to extend the timeline for lifting the restrictions, which are set to end on July 20.

“It is not easy and there are several other options. But we will most likely extend it because it’s impossible to reduce or control the spread of the delta variant in two weeks, he said. “But we’ll see what happens first.”

Health facilities may break down, the mitigation team warned, because there may be too many people needing care, limited medicine and medical equipment available and a lack of doctors, nurses and other medical staff available to provide care.

“We are worried about the potential of a functional collapse. We must create a mapping to see the capabilities of each local health facility,” said Adib Khumaidi, another leader on the team.

The government says it plans to speed up the opening of a number of field hospitals, as well as mobilize 2,000 doctors and 20,000 nurses to cope with the surge in cases.

Source: Voice of America