Israel's Covid Surge Shows the World What's Coming Next - Epidemiologists say cases among the over 30s are already declining thanks to the boosters and restrictions on bars and restaurants to the fully vaccinated. The highest rate of new cases in recent weeks is among children under the age of 12, according to Ran Balicer, chair of the expert advisory panel to the government. There’s also a record level of testing. “Waning immunity is a real challenge that every country needs to prepare a contingency plan to tackle,” said Balicer, who is also chief innovation officer for Israeli health maintenance organization Clalit. The data coming from Israel in the coming weeks will allow the world to assess the efficacy of the booster shot program, he said.

Boris Johnson faces a battle to achieve buy-in for vaccine passports - The pandemic is far from over. The UK is in the throes of a wave that could overwhelm the NHS if hospitalisations rise too rapidly. Newly reported Covid cases are running above 35,000 a day, with daily patient admissions close to 1,000 every 24 hours. The optimists hope that the wave is peaking and will eventually fizzle out. The pessimists fear worse is to come. Discussions in Whitehall focus on how to get through the winter under the combined pressure of coronavirus, flu and long NHS waiting lists. The mooted idea of an October “firebreak” lockdown to ease the pressure has “almost zero chance”, says one minister. If the situation worsens, Johnson would first try everything else, starting with mandatory masks, then social distancing, then restrictions on indoor gatherings.

U.K. Is Among First Western Nations to Increase Taxes to Cover Covid-19 Costs - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tuesday announced tax increases to support the country’s state-funded National Health Service as it struggles to manage a backlog of millions of patients in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the announcement, Mr. Johnson is renouncing an election pledge not to raise payroll taxes, a move that sparked criticism from within his own Conservative Party and underscored the pressure the pandemic has put on governments to find funding for social services stretched by Covid-19 and aging populations.

Biden to outline plan to curb coronavirus Delta variant as cases grow - White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters traveling with Biden aboard Air Force One that he will lay out the six-pronged strategy 'working across the public and private sectors to help continue to get the pandemic under control.' Asked about possible new mandates, Psaki said the White House would offer more details later about the plan and acknowledged that the federal government cannot broadly mandate that Americans get vaccinated.

CEPI warns of major hurdle to developing new Covid-19 vaccines and studying best booster approaches - The world still needs more — and better — Covid-19 vaccines. But a major hurdle stands in the way of the development of new vaccines, as well as the critical studies needed to determine the best way to use these important tools, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) warned in a letter published Tuesday in the journal Nature.

Covid in Scotland: 'I'm double-vaccinated but can't show the proof' - A woman who was vaccinated in England and Scotland says she cannot get an accurate vaccination certificate because of issues with data-sharing across health services. Maura McGoldrick, 21, received her first dose in London and her second in Glasgow, where she lives. However, her vaccination record only shows her having received one dose. The fourth-year student at the University of Edinburgh is concerned others may be similarly affected.

Covid-19 Australia: Victoria's coronavirus crisis worsens as 246 new cases are recorded - Victoria recorded 246 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday - one more than Monday's figure - as the state rushes to vaccinate its Year 12 students before their end-of-year exams begin. The state's Department of Health on Tuesday morning said only 90 of the 246 cases were linked to known cases and outbreaks and 156 are still under investigation. Victoria is aiming to get all students in their final year of high school injected with at least one vaccination dose before their final exams, as part of a 10-day priority access scheme beginning on Tuesday

In Vietnam’s COVID epicentre, ‘everyone is struggling to survive’ - Home to nine million people, Ho Chi Minh City has been under a total lockdown since August 23, with residents forbidden from leaving their homes even to shop for food. With the restrictions set to last until September 15, newly elected Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered mass testing for the city’s residents and deployed soldiers to enforce the stay at home orders and help with the delivery of food. But despite the strict measures, the number of infections continue to rise in Ho Chi Minh City and more than 200 people are dying every day. On Monday, the city reported more than 7,000 new cases and 233 deaths, rising from a caseload of 5,889 a week ago.

Nigeria's Delta region oil hub may need new COVID lockdown, governor says - The governor of Rivers State in Nigeria's oil-producing Delta region said he may be forced to reimpose COVID-19 lockdown measures if residents did not comply with prevention protocols amid a rise in cases. Governor Nyesom Wike implored residents to get vaccinated and comply with safety and social distancing rules amid a consistent rise in COVID-19 infections over the past two weeks.

Getting a Covid-19 Vaccine Can Still Save Your Life - News stories tend to freak people out by focusing on “breakthrough cases,” in which people get Covid despite vaccines. Most official data cover the whole period since vaccinations began, so they obscure the more recent effect of delta. Just looking at the share of vaccinated among the hospitalized and dead isn’t great, either: If everyone were vaccinated, it would be 100%. In the absence of good data, the message about vaccines keeps getting foggier. The information that filters through often ends up providing fodder for anti-vaxxers. What people hear is, don’t bother getting vaccinated because you can still get Covid and even die.