"COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis" 7th Sep 2021
One Minute Overview
India's Hetero gets emergency use nod to make Roche's COVID-19 drug - Indian drug developer Hetero said on Monday it has received emergency use approval from the country's health authorities to make a generic version of Roche Holding AG's COVID-19 drug.
Vaccination of young linked to downward Covid trend - The impact of vaccination among young people is driving optimism among
senior Government figures and health chiefs that the level of Covid-19
infection in the country is on a downward trajectory. Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said on Sunday night that the number of cases among 15-24 year olds had been “coming down significantly and coming down for quite a while”. He told The Irish Times that cases in these
groups, “which were very, very high, have been falling markedly”.
Overwhelmed Morgues Belie U.S. Illusion of a Defanged Pandemic - The fast-spreading delta variant has flooded hospitals across the South. It’s killed more people in Florida and Louisiana than the darkest days of the pandemic winter, and left so many Covid-19 patients gasping for breath that some places face shortages of medical oxygen. This harsh
reality, likely fueled by a failure to adequately vaccinate the most
vulnerable, has undercut the best efforts of Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis and other Republican leaders to simply move past Covid.
Covid Cases Set To Rise In Schools In England, No.10 Admits - Covid cases are likely to rise as a result of millions of children heading back to school, Downing Street has admitted for the first time. The prime minister’s official spokesperson said it was “fair to say” there could be an increase as children head back into the classroom. Asked if it was inevitable that the number of cases in schools would rise, he replied: “I’m not a modeller or an epidemiological expert but I think it’s fair to say that the consensus is that there may be an increase due to the return of schools. We’ve seen cases rise in Scotland for example so we will need to monitor that carefully.”
Vietnam's capital ramps up testing after extending COVID-19 curbs - Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, extended COVID-19 restrictions on Monday for a
further two weeks, as authorities launched a plan to conduct tests on the city's 8 million people to try to curb a climb in infections that started in late April. The Southeast Asian country dealt successfully with the virus for much of the pandemic, but the virulent Delta variant
has proved more challenging in recent months.
Spread of Delta variant driven by immune escape and greater infectivity – study - The coronavirus Delta variant, which has become dominant in a number of countries including the UK, most likely spreads through its ability to evade antibodies and its increased infectivity, researchers have said. As the virus replicates, errors in its genetic make-up cause it to mutate. Some mutations make it more transmissible or more infectious, some help it evade the immune response, potentially making vaccines less effective, while others have little effect.
Chilean health regulator approves CoronaVac use among children over age 6 - The Chilean health regulator on Monday approved the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd for use in children over 6 years of age, allowing more people to be included in the country's rapid inoculation campaign.
Daily COVID-19 infections up more than 300 percent from Labor Day last year - Daily COVID infections are up more than 300 percent from Labor Day
weekend of last year, USA Today reported, citing data from Johns Hopkins
University. According to the data, COVID-19 cases have risen 316 percent since Labor Day 2020 and daily COVID-19-related deaths are twice as high. Hospitalizations are also up by 158 percent compared to Labor
Day weekend a year ago, according to data from Health and Human
Services.
Government plans October firebreak lockdown if Covid hospital admissions remain high - The Government has drawn up plans for an October “firebreak” Covid lockdown should hospitalisations continue at their current level and threaten to overload the NHS, a senior Government scientist has told i. The member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said the UK is about to enter “an extended peak” of infections and hospitalisations, which are in danger of pushing the NHS beyond breaking point and could force the Government to re-introduce restrictions over the school half term period at the end of next month.
NHS ‘ready to go’ with Covid jab booster programme, says vaccines minister - The NHS’s vaccine booster programme is “ready to go” and only waiting
for scientists to sign off on plans for third jabs, the vaccines
minister has said. Speaking in the House of Commons, Nadhim Zahawi, said getting booster vaccines into people’s arms would be a major part of ending the pandemic for good.
Lockdown Exit
Overwhelmed Morgues Belie U.S. Illusion of a Defanged Pandemic
The fast-spreading delta variant has flooded hospitals across the South. It’s killed more people in Florida and Louisiana than the darkest days of the pandemic winter, and left so many Covid-19 patients gasping for breath that some places face shortages of medical oxygen. This harsh reality, likely fueled by a failure to adequately vaccinate the most vulnerable, has undercut the best efforts of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders to simply move past Covid.
Vaccination of young linked to downward Covid trend
The impact of vaccination among young people is driving optimism among senior Government figures and health chiefs that the level of Covid-19 infection in the country is on a downward trajectory. Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said on Sunday night that the number of cases among 15-24 year olds had been “coming down significantly and coming down for quite a while”. He told The Irish Times that cases in these groups, “which were very, very high, have been falling markedly”.
India's Hetero gets emergency use nod to make Roche's COVID-19 drug
Indian drug developer Hetero said on Monday it has received emergency use approval from the country's health authorities to make a generic version of Roche Holding AG's COVID-19 drug.
Florida doctor says she will no longer accept in-person visits from unvaccinated patients
A Florida doctor says she will no longer accept in-person visits from patients who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus. In a letter to her patients, Lisa Marracini said she will no longer continue in-person services for unvaccinated patients beginning Sept. 15, NBC Miami reported. Marracini wrote that her practice will “no longer subject our patients and staff to unnecessary risks.” “This is a public health emergency — the health of the public takes priority over the rights of any given individual in this situation,” Marracini wrote, according to the news outlet.
Covid: School attendance fines 'could be unlawful'
The government is facing mounting legal pressure over its decision to continue fining medically vulnerable families for poor school attendance during the pandemic. The Good Law Project has said that education secretary Gavin Williamson could be "in breach of the law" over the issue.
Europe Denmark cancels tender for domestic coronavirus vaccine production
Denmark has cancelled its previously announced plans for a public tender to establish a national COVID-19 vaccine production facility as it bets on a vaccine already under development by a Danish firm, the Business Ministry said on Monday. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced in April that Denmark aimed to produce COVID-19 mRNA-vaccines by 2022, and that a tendering process would be initiated within a few weeks.
Getting jabbed in New York: Vaccines for a sick system?
Though I was born and raised in the US, I had abandoned it in 2003 in favour of global meandering through countries that, unlike my homeland, did not give me panic attacks – and where people behaved like human beings rather than alienated automatons. I had not so much as set foot in the US since 2015, in the interest of my mental health and of avoiding eternal debt in the event of some sort of medical emergency – such being the perils of life in capitalist civilisations where basic rights like healthcare are converted into punitive, for-profit enterprises. At the start of the pandemic in 2020, I had gotten stuck in a village on Mexico’s Oaxacan coast (not complaining), from where I had planned to travel to Cuba as soon as the Cuban government had finished vaccinating its domestic population and embarked on its promise to jab all foreign visitors to the island.
Two anchors of COVID safety net ending, affecting millions
Mary Taboniar went 15 months without a paycheck, thanks to the COVID pandemic. A housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort in Honolulu, the single mother of two saw her income completely vanish as the virus devastated the hospitality industry. For more than a year, Taboniar depended entirely on boosted unemployment benefits and a network of local foodbanks to feed her family. Even this summer as the vaccine rollout took hold and tourists began to travel again, her work was slow to return, peaking at 11 days in August — about half her pre-pandemic workload.
Rich countries to have 1.2bn surplus COVID vaccine doses
Wealthy countries could potentially have a surplus of more than one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses available by the end of the year that are not designated as donations to poorer nations, according to a new analysis Vaccine stock in Western countries has reached 500 million doses this month, with 360 million not earmarked for donations, according to new research by data analytics firm Airfinity. By the end of the year, these countries will have a potential of 1.2 billion surplus vaccine shots, with the overwhelming majority – 1.06 billion – not marked for donations, it said.
Virus pummels French Polynesia, straining ties with Paris
France’s worst coronavirus outbreak is unfolding 12 time zones away from Paris, devastating Tahiti and other idyllic islands of French Polynesia. The South Pacific archipelagos lack enough oxygen, ICU beds and morgue space – and their vaccination rate is barely half the national average. Simultaneous outbreaks on remote islands and atolls are straining the ability of local authorities to evacuate patients to the territory’s few hospitals. “The problem is, there are a lot of deaths before we get there,” lamented Vincent Simon, the head of the regional emergency service.
Exit Strategies
Why Vaccines Are Competitive Advantages for NFL Teams in 2021
When Tom Brady dusted confetti off his championship T-shirt for the seventh time at the end of the Super Bowl in February, the partially filled seats at Raymond James Stadium included 7,500 healthcare workers who were already vaccinated against Covid-19. Brady then went out and contracted Covid after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ raucous boat parade, in which he famously tossed the Lombardi Trophy from one vessel to another over open water.
Foxconn's Gou hopes for up to 9 mln BioNTech shots for Taiwan this year
Taiwan could get up to 9 million doses of BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine this year, the founder of Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn said on Monday, laying out a delivery timetable for a vaccine order that became heavily politicised. Taiwan had blamed China, which claims the island as its own territory, for nixing an original order from the German firm this year - charges Beijing has angrily denied.
Covid Cases Set To Rise In Schools In England, No.10 Admits
Covid cases are likely to rise as a result of millions of children heading back to school, Downing Street has admitted for the first time. The prime minister’s official spokesperson said it was “fair to say” there could be an increase as children head back into the classroom. Asked if it was inevitable that the number of cases in schools would rise, he replied: “I’m not a modeller or an epidemiological expert but I think it’s fair to say that the consensus is that there may be an increase due to the return of schools. We’ve seen cases rise in Scotland for example so we will need to monitor that carefully.”
COVID: Doctor calls for 12-year-olds to be allowed to overrule parents on coronavirus vaccine
Some children as young as 12 should be allowed to overrule their parents on whether they have the COVID vaccine, a senior doctor has said. Dr David Strain, a clinical lead for COVID services, told Sky News he believed there were 12-year-olds "mature enough" to decide to have the coronavirus jab without the consent of their legal guardians. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said parental consent will be required if the government decides that all 12 to 15-year-olds should be offered the jab
Telstra joins Qantas and Virgin planning to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for its staff Australia
Telstra has joined Qantas and Virgin Airlines in mandating coronavirus vaccines for all staff, with a cut-off date before employment termination. The telecommunications giant sent a memo to its 28,960 staff members on Monday morning saying frontline workers must have had their first jab by October 15th and their second by November 15th or face having their contracts torn up. The mandate refers to the 8,300 staff members who work instore and as technicians who regularly come face-to-face with their customers
Singapore opens Covid-19 travel bubble with Germany
Singapore is about to allow quarantine-free travel from Germany after vaccinating 80 per cent of its population in a taste of what's to come for Australians when the international borders finally open. The so-called 'vaccinated travel lane' will begin on Wednesday for fully jabbed travellers, but excludes under 12s for whom there are no approved vaccines. Instead of quarantining for 14 days, arrivals will have to get tested when they land in Singapore and isolate at home or in a hotel until their negative result.
Covid-19: Ireland takes next step in easing of restrictions
Ireland will continue with a major easing of Covid-19 restrictions on Monday, with live music returning and larger crowds allowed at indoor venues. The Irish Government confirmed last week that it would be embarking on a phased easing of Covid-19 restrictions, which will eventually see the removal of the vast majority of public health regulations by the end of October. The numbers permitted to attend outdoor sports events increases from Monday, while restrictions on indoor venues will be eased, with larger crowds permitted.
UK vaccine advisers ‘acted like medical regulators’ over Covid jabs for children
The UK’s vaccine advisory group behaved like a medical regulator in rejecting calls for all children aged 12-15 to be offered Covid jabs despite that not being its role, Prof Neil Ferguson has said. Last week the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the margin of benefit for older children, on health grounds alone, was too small for the committee to support jabs for the entire age group.
But it recommended that ministers seek further advice, taking into account factors such as the impact on disruption to education, with sources suggesting vaccines for older children could be recommended this week.
First responders nationwide resist COVID vaccine mandates
The resurgence of COVID-19 this summer in the U.S. and the national debate over vaccine requirements have created a fraught situation for the nation’s first responders, who are dying in larger numbers but pushing back against mandates. Despite the deaths, police officers and other first responders are among those most hesitant to get the vaccine and their cases continue to grow. No national statistics show the vaccination rate for America’s entire population of first responders but individual police and fire departments across the country report figures far below the national rate of 74% of adults who have had at least one dose.
Pfizer COVID vaccines arrive in Australia under UK swap deal
Nearly half a million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Australia overnight, officials have said, the first batch of a swap deal with Britain that Australia is using to speed up its inoculation programme as it battles a surge in cases that has put more than half its 25 million population in lockdown.
New Zealand COVID-19 cases steady ahead of decision on easing curbs
New Zealand reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 for a third day in a row on Monday, ahead of a decision on whether coronavirus restrictions would be eased in most of the country. All new cases were in Auckland, the epicentre of the current outbreak, and took the total number of infections to 821. The government is set to decide on Monday whether coronavirus restrictions enforced in the country will be eased
Rich countries to have 1.2bn surplus COVID vaccine doses
Wealthy countries could potentially have a surplus of more than one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses available by the end of the year that are not designated as donations to poorer nations, according to a new analysis. Vaccine stock in Western countries has reached 500 million doses this month, with 360 million not earmarked for donations, according to new research. By the end of the year, these countries will have a potential of 1.2 billion surplus vaccine shots, with the overwhelming majority – 1.06 billion – not marked for donations, it said.
Partisan Exits
Hundreds of health centres at risk of closure in Afghanistan - WHO
Hundreds of medical facilities in Afghanistan are at risk of imminent closure because the Western donors who finance them are barred from dealing with the new Taliban government, a World Health Organization official said on Monday.
Around 90% of 2,300 health facilities across the country might have to close as soon as this week, the UN health agency's regional emergency director, Rick Brennan, told Reuters in an interview.
Fake COVID-19 vaccine passports for sale online
Fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates are being sold online for hundreds of dollars. One user on the encrypted message app, Telegram, told 9News he was selling counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination certificates for $500 in Bitcoin. He even produced a dummy version of the document, which was close to the real thing
First responders nationwide resist COVID vaccine mandates
The resurgence of COVID-19 this summer and the national debate over vaccine requirements have created a fraught situation for the nation’s first responders, who are dying in larger numbers but pushing back against mandates. It’s a heartbreaking situation for Tokley’s widow, Octavia, as the 21st anniversary of their first date approaches on Sept. 10. She said she has moved beyond her anger at other police officers who are refusing the vaccine, and is now disappointed. Her husband’s life couldn’t be saved, but theirs still can. “I don’t want to have to be there to support your family for this,” she said. “Nobody deserves this, especially when it can be prevented.”
Continued Lockdown
Vietnam's capital ramps up testing after extending COVID-19 curbs
Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, extended COVID-19 restrictions on Monday for a further two weeks, as authorities launched a plan to conduct tests on the city's 8 million people to try to curb a climb in infections that started in late April. The Southeast Asian country dealt successfully with the virus for much of the pandemic, but the virulent Delta variant has proved more challenging in recent months.
Covid-19: India school closures 'catastrophic' for poor students
The prolonged closure of schools in India has led to "catastrophic consequences" for poor children, according to a recent survey. Only 8% of the children sampled were studying online regularly and 37% were not studying at all, the survey found.
Primary and upper-primary schools in India have been closed for 17 month to curb the spread of coronavirus. The survey, supervised by leading economists, spoke to 1,400 children across India in August. Researchers focused on households in relatively deprived villages and slums, where children generally attend government-run schools.
Philippines plans new COVID-19 lockdown strategy to help economy
The Philippines will relax some COVID-19 restrictions in the Manila region from Wednesday and also intends to outline plans to shift to smaller, localised lockdowns to support the economy, the presidential spokesperson said. The moves come despite the Southeast Asian country reporting record infection numbers as it battles the Delta variant. The government believed localised COVID-19 restrictions would be more effective in controlling outbreaks without constraining mobility and business activity too much, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque told a briefing.
Scientific Viewpoint
Why a Covid-19 Vaccine for Children Is Taking So Long
Researchers testing shots in children face serious challenges, starting with making the lower dose under study
South African Scientists Say New Covid Variant Slows Its Spread
South African scientists said a new variant, with a concerning number of mutations, spread at a slower rate last month than in July. The so-called C.1.2 variant accounted for just 1.5% of all virus samples sequenced in the country in August compared with 2.2% in July, according to the Network for Genomic Surveillance South Africa. The variant, first identified in South Africa, has been found in a number of countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Portugal, New Zealand and Switzerland.
Chilean health regulator approves CoronaVac use among children over age 6
The Chilean health regulator on Monday approved the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd for use in children over 6 years of age, allowing more people to be included in the country's rapid inoculation campaign.
Sinovac booster shot reverses drop in antibody activities against Delta-study
A booster dose of Sinovac Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine reversed a decline in antibody activities against the Delta variant, a study showed, easing some concerns about its longer-term immune response to the highly contagious strain of the virus. The study comes amid concerns about the Chinese vaccine's efficacy against Delta, which has become the dominant variant globally and is driving a surge in new infections even in the most vaccinated countries.
Brazil suspends use of millions of doses of China's Sinovac coronavirus vaccine
Brazil’s health regulator suspended the use of just over 12.1 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine manufactured by China’s Sinovac after learning that vials containing the shots were filled at an unauthorized production base. The suspension is for 90 days as an investigation is carried out, said Anvisa, the regulator, which announced the decision in a statement Saturday. The Butantan Institute, a Sao Paulo biomedical center that has partnered with Sinovac to fill the vaccine for local usage, notified Anvisa about the irregularity the prior day, the agency said.
Denmark cancels tender for domestic coronavirus vaccine production
Denmark has cancelled its previously announced plans for a public tender to establish a national COVID-19 vaccine production facility as it bets on a vaccine already under development by a Danish firm, the Business Ministry said on Monday. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced in April that Denmark aimed to produce COVID-19 mRNA-vaccines by 2022, and that a tendering process would be initiated within a few weeks.
China’s Sinopharm seeks to develop its own mRNA Covid vaccine
Sinopharm is developing a homegrown messenger RNA inoculation for Covid-19, becoming one of the first big Chinese pharmaceutical groups to pursue the technology to combat the disease. The state-owned pharma group’s move comes as concerns grow over the efficacy of conventional inactivated virus vaccines, which have dominated the rollout in China. Certain studies have shown the jabs produce fewer antibodies compared with mRNA shots. Inactivated vaccines, such as Sinopharm’s existing Covid vaccine, use dead viral particles to produce an immune response, while mRNA jabs contain genetic instructions that tell cells to make viral proteins that prime the immune system.
NHS ‘ready to go’ with Covid jab booster programme, says vaccines minister
The NHS’s vaccine booster programme is “ready to go” and only waiting for scientists to sign off on plans for third jabs, the vaccines minister has said. Speaking in the House of Commons, Nadhim Zahawi, said getting booster vaccines into people’s arms would be a major part of ending the pandemic for good.
Spread of Delta variant driven by immune escape and greater infectivity – study
The coronavirus Delta variant, which has become dominant in a number of countries including the UK, most likely spreads through its ability to evade antibodies and its increased infectivity, researchers have said. As the virus replicates, errors in its genetic make-up cause it to mutate. Some mutations make it more transmissible or more infectious, some help it evade the immune response, potentially making vaccines less effective, while others have little effect.
EU watchdog studying data on Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster dose
Europe's medicines regulator said on Monday it was evaluating data on a booster dose for Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, to be given six months after the second dose in people 16 years of age and older.
Sinovac booster shot reverses drop in antibody activities against Delta-study
A booster dose of Sinovac Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine reversed a decline in antibody activities against the Delta variant, a study showed, easing some concerns about its longer-term immune response to the highly contagious strain of the virus. The study comes amid concerns about the Chinese vaccine's efficacy against Delta, which has become the dominant variant globally and is driving a surge in new infections even in the most vaccinated countries.
Coronavirus Resurgence
Government plans October firebreak lockdown if Covid hospital admissions remain high
The Government has drawn up plans for an October “firebreak” Covid lockdown should hospitalisations continue at their current level and threaten to overload the NHS, a senior Government scientist has told i. The member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said the UK is about to enter “an extended peak” of infections and hospitalisations, which are in danger of pushing the NHS beyond breaking point and could force the Government to re-introduce restrictions over the school half term period at the end of next month.
United States eclipses more than 1,500 COVID-19 deaths per day - the highest in six months
The United States eclipsed a 1,500 deaths per day average over the weekend, the first time that mark has been reached in six months. More than 100,000 Americans are hospitalized with the virus as well, and hospitalizations doubled in August when compared to July. Florida currently leads the nation with the most total deaths and deaths per 100,000 residents. Louisiana is struggling to handle its COVID-19 situation in the wake of Hurricane Ida
Covid-19: NI records nine coronavirus-linked deaths, 1,764 cases
Nine coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland on Monday. Deaths are measured by recording those who died within 28 days of receiving a positive result in a test for coronavirus. The total number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland since the start of the pandemic is 2,417.
Another 1,764 cases of coronavirus were reported on Monday, up from 1,248 on Sunday.
'Surprised and disappointed.' Doctors in Covid-19 hotspots last year are dealing with new record hospitalizations
With the more contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 sweeping across the country this summer, health care workers and officials are finding themselves returning to a crisis experienced last year when hospitals struggled to handle an influx of patients.
In the Southeast, Georgia is now seeing its highest number of hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic, matching peaks experienced in January, according to US Health and Human Services Department (HHS) data.
Emergency covid-19 mental health pop-up clinics set up in Sydney
Ten new pop-up mental health clinics have opened to assist NSW residents. Most are in the hard-hit western Sydney suburbs ravaged by coronavirus. Anyone in distress can seek advice and support through Lifeline (13 11 14)
Britain records 37011 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday
Britain recorded 37,011 new daily COVID-19 cases on Sunday, similar to the previous day's total of 37,578, government statistics showed. There were 68 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test reported, down from Saturday's figure of 120. Figures can fluctuate due to hospital reporting patterns over the weekend.
Covid-19: Malaysia hit by record cases despite prolonged lockdown
Having overtaken India in infections and deaths, how will Malaysia exit the new deadly wave sweeping Asia? Rachael Lum reports On 23 May 2021, Malaysia surged past India to record one of South East Asia’s highest covid-19 infection rates, with deaths per capita now exceeding India and neighbouring Indonesia.
Since then, the numbers have only grown, despite the nation being in a state of emergency for seven months and in lockdown since June. Malaysia reported a record high of 22 242 daily cases on 18 August 2021, with a total of 1.47 million cases and 13 302 deaths during the pandemic. Doctors in east Malaysia and the southern state of Johor told The BMJ that emergency departments are seeing a surge in cases and have reached maximum capacity. The situation has been worsened by insufficient ventilators and staff.
Sydney COVID cases seen topping 2000 a day; Australia ramps up vaccinations
More pressure on health system in next few weeks, premier says. Daily cases in Sydney hotspots to rise as high as 2,000. First vaccine shipments from Britain arrive
Daily COVID-19 infections up more than 300 percent from Labor Day last year | TheHill
Daily COVID infections are up more than 300 percent from Labor Day weekend of last year, USA Today reported, citing data from Johns Hopkins University. According to the data, COVID-19 cases have risen 316 percent since Labor Day 2020 and daily COVID-19-related deaths are twice as high. Hospitalizations are also up by 158 percent compared to Labor Day weekend a year ago, according to data from Health and Human Services.