"COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis" 21st Sep 2021
India to resume exports of coronavirus vaccines in October - India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, will resume exports and donations of surplus coronavirus vaccines in October after halting them during a devastating surge in domestic infections in April, the health minister said Monday. Mansukh Mandaviya said the surplus vaccines will be used to fulfill India’s “commitment towards the world for the collective fight against COVID-19,” but vaccinating Indians will remain the government’s “topmost priority.” India was expected to be a key supplier for the world and for the U.N.-backed initiative aimed at vaccine equity known as COVAX. It began exporting doses in January but stopped doing so to inoculate its own population during a massive surge in infections in April that pushed India’s health system to the breaking point
COVID has killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 flu - COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000. The U.S. population a century ago was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the COVID-19 crisis is by any measure a colossal tragedy in its own right, especially given the incredible advances in scientific knowledge since then and the failure to take maximum advantage of the vaccines available this time. “Big pockets of American society — and, worse, their leaders — have thrown this away,” medical historian Dr. Howard Markel of the University of Michigan said of the opportunity to vaccinate everyone eligible by now.
US Lifts Ban For Fully Vaccinated Travellers From UK And Europe - The White House is to lift the US travel Covid ban and allow fully vaccinated arrivals from the UK and Europe to enter the country from early November. Other countries including Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland and South Africa will also be included in the new policy. Passengers will not need to quarantine upon arrival but will need to prove they were vaccinated before boarding a flight and provide a negative Covid test which was taken within the last three days.
Coronavirus digest: Germany to offer vaccines to children in 2022 - German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that a vaccine for children under 12 will likely be available from the first quarter of 2022. Spahn also expects approval for a vaccine for youth to go through by the beginning of next year. 'I am assuming that the approval for a vaccine for children under 12 years of age will come in the first quarter of 2022,' Spahn told Funke media group. 'Then we could protect the younger ones even better.' 'A recommendation from the Standing Committee on Vaccination [STIKO] will also come a little later in this case,' he added. BioNTech, for example, announced a few days ago that it would apply for approval of its coronavirus vaccine for children between the ages of five and eleven in the coming weeks.
Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Falters in Bulgaria Amid ‘Perfect Storm’ of Mistrust, Fake News - As a European Union member state, Bulgaria has access to Western-approved Covid-19 vaccines and enough doses for its population. But a mix of misinformation, low trust in authorities and conflicting messaging means less than a fifth of Bulgarians are fully vaccinated. With few takers at home and some shots soon expiring, the government recently donated 172,500 doses to the Kingdom of Bhutan, nearly 4,000 miles away. Some expired shots are being thrown away. Bulgaria, a country of some seven million people, has fully vaccinated far less of its population than the EU average of 61% and the U.S. rate of 54%, according to Our World in Data, a project based at Oxford University. It has emerged as an extreme case study of the challenge to convince vaccine holdouts to get the shot.
Unvaccinated Jair Bolsonaro to test UN General Assembly coronavirus 'honor system' - The United Nations is demanding world leaders arriving in New York for its General Assembly adhere to an “honor system” to attest they are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. But that mandate will be tested in the general debate’s very first moments. Jair Bolsonaro, who contracted the virus last year and as recently as last week said publicly that he does not need to be vaccinated because he has naturally acquired antibodies, is scheduled to kick off the 76th U.N. General Assembly’s general debate on Tuesday.
Pfizer, BioNTech Say Covid-19 Vaccine Is Safe for Children Aged 5 to 11 - The companies said the Covid-19 vaccine generated levels of antibodies that were similar to those of younger adults. Pfizer will seek emergency use authorization in the U.S. as early as the end of the month.
The search for antivirals for covid-19 - Antivirals are one of the most sought after, yet missing, tools to control SARS-COV-2. Chris Stokel-Walker asks what was learnt from a similar search nearly 20 years ago. Antiviral drugs are among the most researched tools for treating covid-19. They either prevent a virus entering a host cell or prevent it from being able to replicate once it is inside. And yet, over 18 months into the pandemic, finding ones that are effective against SARS-CoV-2 has proved challenging. Remdesivir was an early frontrunner—and many governments were desperate enough to grant it emergency use approval despite limited evidence. Those early hopes were ultimately dashed when major studies, notably the World Health Organization’s Solidarity trial, found it to be ineffective at preventing death (although it did help patients already recovering do so marginally faster). Doctors in Japan have treated covid-19 patients with favipiravir, an influenza antiviral, but the drug has previously been linked to birth defects
Covid Vaccine for Kids Age 5-11 Likely Available by Halloween, Fauci Says - The U.S. death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic surpassed the number of fatalities in the 1918 influenza pandemic, a milestone many experts say was avoidable after the arrival of vaccines. The White House announced the most sweeping change to U.S. travel policies in months, widening the gap in rules between vaccinated people -- who will see curbs relaxed -- and the unvaccinated. The regulations will replace existing bans on foreigners’ travel to the U.S. from certain regions, including Europe. Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE said their vaccine was safe and produced strong antibody responses in younger children in a large-scale trial. The shot may be available by the end of next month, Anthony Fauci said.
End of working from home 'fuelled England's third Covid wave': Government figures show infection rates were highest among white-collar workers after No10 dropped WFH guidance - There were some 235 cases per 100,000 person-weeks among white people during third Covid wave. Meanwhile, the figure was as low as 98 in other ethnic groups suggesting white people drove cases up. And cases were higher among office-based jobs during, Office for National Statistics data shows
India to resume exports of coronavirus vaccines in October
India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, will resume exports and donations of surplus coronavirus vaccines in October after halting them during a devastating surge in domestic infections in April, the health minister said Monday. Mansukh Mandaviya said the surplus vaccines will be used to fulfill India’s “commitment towards the world for the collective fight against COVID-19,” but vaccinating Indians will remain the government’s “topmost priority.” India was expected to be a key supplier for the world and for the U.N.-backed initiative aimed at vaccine equity known as COVAX. It began exporting doses in January but stopped doing so to inoculate its own population during a massive surge in infections in April that pushed India’s health system to the breaking point
COVID has killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 flu
COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000. The U.S. population a century ago was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the COVID-19 crisis is by any measure a colossal tragedy in its own right, especially given the incredible advances in scientific knowledge since then and the failure to take maximum advantage of the vaccines available this time. “Big pockets of American society — and, worse, their leaders — have thrown this away,” medical historian Dr. Howard Markel of the University of Michigan said of the opportunity to vaccinate everyone eligible by now.
U.S. to Require Most Foreign Travelers Be Vaccinated for Entry
The U.S. will soon allow entry to most foreign air travelers as long as they’re fully vaccinated against Covid-19 -- while adding a testing requirement for unvaccinated Americans and barring entry for foreigners who haven’t gotten shots. The measures announced Monday by the White House are the most sweeping change to U.S. travel policies in months, and widen the gap in rules between vaccinated people -- who will see restrictions relaxed -- and the unvaccinated. The new rules will replace existing bans on foreigners’ travel to the U.S. from certain regions, including Europe.
New Zealand eases coronavirus curbs in Auckland amid hope Delta variant outbreak now under control
New Zealand eased coronavirus curbs slightly in Auckland on Monday, as the government expressed confidence that there was no widespread regional transmission of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. But tough restrictions will continue even after midnight on Tuesday, when the alert level drops to 3 from 4 in the city of about 1.7 million at the centre of the latest Delta outbreak. Schools and offices must still keep closed, for instance, with businesses limited to offering only contactless services.
Qatar wants mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for all World Cup footballers
World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar are pushing to make it mandatory for all players who compete at next year’s tournament to have had both Covid-19 vaccinations. The Qatari government has already announced that any fans who attend the tournament next November will need to be fully vaccinated, and now that ruling could also extend to the players – and coaching staffs – taking part too. According to The Athletic, Qatari medical authorities have been in talks with FIFA and other stakeholders in an effort to ensure all participating players are double jabbed.
Can we live with COVID-19? Singapore tries to blaze a path
Only 60 people in Singapore have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic first emerged, and some 82 percent of its population is now fully vaccinated against the disease. In June, the government announced it would move towards a “living with COVID-19” strategy, focusing on tracking and treating outbreak clusters with vaccinations and hospital admissions – but without the strict lockdowns, border closures, and work-from-home orders that have been the defining feature of much of the pandemic across the world.
US Lifts Ban For Fully Vaccinated Travellers From UK And Europe
The White House is to lift the US travel Covid ban and allow fully vaccinated arrivals from the UK and Europe to enter the country from early November. Other countries including Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland and South Africa will also be included in the new policy. Passengers will not need to quarantine upon arrival but will need to prove they were vaccinated before boarding a flight and provide a negative Covid test which was taken within the last three days.
India to Resume Covid-19 Vaccine Exports to Developing Nations
India will resume exports of Covid-19 vaccines starting next month, government officials said Monday, in a move likely to aid developing nations that have struggled to vaccinate their populations after New Delhi restricted shipments amid resurgence of cases at home. The exports would be a mix of donations and commercial deals, and would include shipments to Covax, a World Health Organization-supported facility aimed at getting vaccines to developing countries. India has been a major supplier to Covax. When it resumes exporting, India will accord priority to neighboring countries, Africa, and Latin America, according to an Indian government official familiar with the plan. The official declined to detail how many vaccines India plans to export. India exported 66 million doses to 95 countries before temporarily restricting the shipments in early April to help ease supply shortages as Covid-19 cases rose rapidly in the country last spring.
Russia Vaccinates Indigenous Yamal Herders Against COVID-19
The Nenets are one of the few Indigenous minorities on the Yamal Peninsula in northwestern Siberia. Their lifestyle is nomadic, following the seasonal migrations of the reindeer they herd. While Covid brought travel to a halt in much of the world, the Nenets of Yamal kept moving. From December to April, the herders deploy their camps and pasture their reindeer in the Nadymski district, a region of some 40,000 square miles at the base of the Yamal Peninsula and centered on the city of Nadym. In mid-April they begin “kaslanie,” a season of nomadism, traveling with their herds some 400 miles up the peninsula and moving camp 30 to 100 times during the year.
New body launched to self-regulate Covid testing amid No10's crackdown on 'exploitative' firms
New body promises to put a stop to unfair, late, and overpriced Covid travel tests. It comes after the Government promised to crackdown on 'Covid cowboys.' However one member of the new group appears to be in breach of its own rules
Slow but steady has seen the EU win out in the vaccine race
In March, WHO compared Europe’s Covid vaccine rollout unfavourably with the UK’s, calling it “unacceptably slow”. As late as April, only 11% of the bloc’s population had received at least one shot, compared with 29% in the US and 46% in Britain. But last week, according to Our World in Data, the picture looked different. Nine EU countries, including Portugal, Spain, Ireland, France, Belgium and Italy, have now administered one or both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine to a larger share of their populations than the UK, with a further five having overtaken the US.
Gordon Brown calls for urgent action to avert ‘Covid vaccine waste disaster’
More than 100m Covid vaccine doses are due to expire and be “thrown away” unless global leaders urgently share surplus supplies with the world’s poorest countries, Gordon Brown has warned. The “staggering” number of stockpiled “use now” jabs will be of no use to anyone by December, according to a new report from the research group Airfinity. The former prime minister said the failure of Boris Johnson, Joe Biden and EU leaders to agree on a plan to distribute the spare doses meant the world was facing a “vaccine waste disaster”. Brown has sent Airfinity’s research to leading politicians, including the US president, the UK prime minister, and senior figures in Brussels, before a global vaccine summit on Wednesday.
Coronavirus digest: Germany to offer vaccines to children in 2022
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that a vaccine for children under 12 will likely be available from the first quarter of 2022. Spahn also expects approval for a vaccine for youth to go through by the beginning of next year. "I am assuming that the approval for a vaccine for children under 12 years of age will come in the first quarter of 2022," Spahn told Funke media group. "Then we could protect the younger ones even better." "A recommendation from the Standing Committee on Vaccination [STIKO] will also come a little later in this case," he added. BioNTech, for example, announced a few days ago that it would apply for approval of its coronavirus vaccine for children between the ages of five and eleven in the coming weeks.
India to resume exports of coronavirus vaccines in October
India will resume exports and donations of surplus coronavirus vaccines in October after halting them during a devastating surge in domestic infections in April, the health minister said. Mansukh Mandaviya said the surplus vaccines will be used to fulfill India's "commitment towards the world for the collective fight against COVID-19,” but vaccinating Indians will remain the government's "topmost priority.”
COVID-19: Coronavirus vaccine rollout reaches 12 to 15-year-olds
Children aged between 12 and 15 have started receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations. Up to three million youngsters are eligible for coronavirus jabs across the UK. Quinn Foakes, 15, was one of the first children in England to get the vaccine. Speaking after receiving his jab at Belfairs Academy secondary school in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, he said: "I was pretty nervous at first but once I'd got it done it was all good and I'm glad that I've done it." His mother Janine Lilleker, a teacher at the school, said: "Their education has been hindered since COVID and by getting their vaccination done it's a way of them protecting themselves and also protecting the wider community of the school."
Thailand to try alternative COVID-19 vaccination method to stretch supplies
Doctors in Thailand have been given the go-ahead to start giving COVID-19 booster shots under the skin, rather than injecting them into muscles, officials said, in an effort to strengthen immunity and stretch vaccine supplies. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the method, which doctors began exploring last month, could be used at the discretion of medical professionals, providing it was supported by evidence. Chalermpong Sukonthaphon, director of the Vachira Hospital in Phuket, said his hospital had been given the green light to use the technique from Friday, as trials had showed it triggered a similar immune response to the regular method.
ACT records seven new COVID-19 cases, as 'detailed roadmap' out of lockdown not yet finalised
The ACT has recorded seven new locally acquired cases of COVID-19. At least four of those cases spent some time infectious in the community. However, all seven cases are able to be linked to other known cases, with six of those being household contacts. Five people are in hospital with the virus — two in intensive care. There are currently 223 active COVID-19 cases in the territory. Mr Barr said the territory would today hit an 80 per cent single-dose vaccination rate for Canberrans aged 12 and above, as appointments for Pfizer opened up to more 12-15-year-olds
COVID-19: Booster jab invitations to 'strengthen wall of defence' will be sent out across England this week
More than a million people in England will receive an invitation to book their COVID-19 booster jab. Texts will be sent out on Monday, while letters will be posted to those who are eligible for a third coronavirus vaccine dose later in the week, NHS England said. Around 1.5 million people will be contacted and encouraged to use the National Booking Service. Those eligible for booster jabs include those aged 50 and over, people living and working in care homes for the elderly and frontline health and social care workers.
Sydney COVID-19 cases fall as curbs ease in virus hotspots
Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state on Monday reported its lowest rise in daily COVID-19 cases in more than three weeks as some lockdown restrictions were eased in Sydney, the state capital, amid higher vaccination levels. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said 935 new cases had been detected in the state, the lowest daily tally since Aug. 27, and down from 1,083 on Sunday. The state reported four more deaths.
New Zealand eases COVID-19 curbs slightly in biggest city
New Zealand eased coronavirus curbs slightly on Monday in its largest city of Auckland, as the government expressed confidence that there was no widespread regional transmission of the Delta variant. But tough restrictions will continue even after midnight on Tuesday, when the alert level drops to 3 from 4 in the city of about 1.7 million at the centre of the latest Delta outbreak.
Vietnam capital Hanoi to ease coronavirus curbs this week
Vietnam's capital Hanoi will further ease its coronavirus restrictions from this week, the government said, with new cases on the decline and the majority of its adult population partially vaccinated. Most construction projects can resume from Wednesday, authorities said late on Sunday, adding further easing would follow, with average new daily cases down to just 20.
Get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face ejection from caucus, Ford's office tells PC MPPs
Premier Doug Ford has given MPPs in his Progressive Conservative government until Thursday afternoon to get a shot of COVID-19 vaccine or face ejection from caucus. In a letter to MPPs obtained by Radio-Canada, chief government whip Lorne Coe said that it is up to the PC caucus to "show leadership" and "ensure every eligible Ontarian who can" receives a vaccine. Radio-Canada has not confirmed how many members of caucus received the letter. Coe goes on to say that there is a deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday to provide either proof of vaccination against the virus or a medical exemption from a doctor or registered nurse
Melbourne construction sites shut down after anti-vaccine mandate protest
Australian authorities shut down construction sites in Melbourne for two weeks from Tuesday after an anti-vaccine mandate protest in the city turned violent and COVID-19 infections in the state of Victoria surged. Hundreds of people clashed with union officials with bottles and a crate thrown at them, footage on social media showed, after the Victorian government required all construction workers to have at least one vaccine dose by Friday.
Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Falters in Bulgaria Amid ‘Perfect Storm’ of Mistrust, Fake News
As a European Union member state, Bulgaria has access to Western-approved Covid-19 vaccines and enough doses for its population. But a mix of misinformation, low trust in authorities and conflicting messaging means less than a fifth of Bulgarians are fully vaccinated. With few takers at home and some shots soon expiring, the government recently donated 172,500 doses to the Kingdom of Bhutan, nearly 4,000 miles away. Some expired shots are being thrown away. Bulgaria, a country of some seven million people, has fully vaccinated far less of its population than the EU average of 61% and the U.S. rate of 54%, according to Our World in Data, a project based at Oxford University. It has emerged as an extreme case study of the challenge to convince vaccine holdouts to get the shot.
Perspective | Doubters' push for religious exemptions from coronavirus vaccination may not work
Compulsory coronavirus vaccination has been a specter hovering over vaccine skeptics throughout the pandemic, but the issue is coming to a head, after President Biden announced federal mandates affecting up to 100 million Americans and such enormous institutions as the Los Angeles Unified School District mandated vaccinations, too. Opponents of vaccination mandates are ready to fight and are aiming to use religious, philosophical and personal-belief exemptions to abstain from required vaccinations. The history behind the process for gaining such an exemption suggests that those seeking religious exemptions to the coronavirus vaccination mandates will not be widely successful. In recent years, many states, including California, Connecticut, New York, Maine and Vermont, rolled back personal-belief exemptions from mandatory vaccination, making it nearly impossible to claim that individual convictions prevent you from being vaccinated.
Unvaccinated Jair Bolsonaro to test UN General Assembly coronavirus 'honor system'
The United Nations is demanding world leaders arriving in New York for its General Assembly adhere to an “honor system” to attest they are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. But that mandate will be tested in the general debate’s very first moments. Jair Bolsonaro, who contracted the virus last year and as recently as last week said publicly that he does not need to be vaccinated because he has naturally acquired antibodies, is scheduled to kick off the 76th U.N. General Assembly’s general debate on Tuesday.
Covid-19 Australia: Melbourne construction workers protest over mandatory jabs
Melbourne construction workers protested outside CFMEU office on Monday
Workers wearing hi-vis hurled verbal abuse at union officials in front of building
One demonstrator hurled a plastic bread crate as tensions continued to escalate
Covid-19: 'Vaccine misinformation a dilemma for young people'
"Misinformation" is creating a "real dilemma" for young people considering whether they should take the Covid-19 vaccine, Northern Ireland's mental health champion has said. Prof Siobhán O'Neill said it had left young people questioning "whether the vaccine is safe". There should not be that level of "uncertainty", she added. She said trust needed to be put in the "experts and the scientists who are making the decisions". "We have to look to the scientific consensus and the public health leaders and the doctors and the main organisations, " she said.
Regulators could OK Pfizer boosters for older Americans this week
U.S. regulators could authorize a booster shot of the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine for older and some high-risk Americans early this week in time for the government to roll them out by Friday. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to give the nod to the third shots for at least this group before advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are due to meet on Wednesday. The CDC panel will discuss more precise recommendations for how to administer the shots.
Pfizer, BioNTech Say Covid-19 Vaccine Is Safe for Children Aged 5 to 11
The companies said the Covid-19 vaccine generated levels of antibodies that were similar to those of younger adults. Pfizer will seek emergency use authorization in the U.S. as early as the end of the month.
Covid Vaccine for Kids Age 5-11 Likely Available by Halloween, Fauci Says
The U.S. death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic surpassed the number of fatalities in the 1918 influenza pandemic, a milestone many experts say was avoidable after the arrival of vaccines. The White House announced the most sweeping change to U.S. travel policies in months, widening the gap in rules between vaccinated people -- who will see curbs relaxed -- and the unvaccinated. Ther regulations will replace existing bans on foreigners’ travel to the U.S. from certain regions, including Europe. Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE said their vaccine was safe and produced strong antibody responses in younger children in a large-scale trial. The shot may be available by the end of next month, Anthony Fauci said.
Pfizer Vaccine Safe for 5 to 11 Year Olds, Large Trial Finds
Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE said their Covid-19 vaccine was safe and produced strong antibody responses in children ages 5 to 11 in a large-scale trial, findings that could pave the way to begin vaccinating grade-school kids within months. The long-awaited results offer one of the first looks at how well a Covid vaccine could work for younger children. Pressure to immunize kids has been on the climb in the U.S., where a new school year has started just as the delta variant is fueling a surge in cases.
Though lagging behind, Israel’s COVID-19 jab hopes to ‘find its place in market’
Nearly two years after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Israel may soon finally see its own homegrown vaccine become commercially available. The jab will be a very late newcomer — lagging behind the first wave of COVID vaccines by almost a year — but its backers believe that it will find its rightful place in the global vaccine market, and may even prove in the long run to be more effective than existing jabs against coronavirus variants. These beliefs were offered this month by Dr. Jonathan Javitt, chairman of NRx Pharmaceuticals, the American-Israeli clinical-stage pharmaceutical company tapped two months ago by the Israeli Defense Ministry to manufacture and market the country’s vaccine developed by the government-run Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) in Ness Ziona.
COVID-19: Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine trial for children aged under 12 shows 'robust immune response'
A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine trial for children aged between five and 11 has produced "positive results" and has shown a "robust immune response", the two firms have said. They said the results are the first to emerge from any vaccine trial for children aged below 12 and would "provide a strong foundation" for seeking the authorisation of its potential rollout across the world. Pfizer and BioNTech said the data will be submitted to health regulatory bodies and that they believe the trial provides a "great opportunity" to prevent COVID-19 in younger age groups.
Cambodia bat researchers on mission to track origin of COVID-19
Researchers are collecting samples from bats in northern Cambodia in a bid to understand the coronavirus pandemic, returning to a region where a very similar virus was found in the animals a decade ago. Two samples from horseshoe bats were collected in 2010 in Stung Treng province near Laos and kept in freezers at the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC) in Phnom Penh. Tests done on them last year revealed a close relative to the coronavirus that has killed more than 4.6 million people worldwide.
COVID-19 antibody drug Ronapreve rolled out to vulnerable patients
Thousands of vulnerable NHS patients in hospital due to COVID-19 are set to benefit from a ground-breaking new antibody treatment Ronapreve. The drug is the first neutralising antibody medicine specifically designed to treat COVID-19 to be authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for use in the UK. Ronapreve, a combination of two monoclonal antibodies, will be targeted initially at those in hospital who have not mounted an antibody response against COVID-19. This includes people who are immunocompromised, for example those with certain cancers or autoimmune diseases, and therefore have difficulty building up an antibody response to the virus, either through being exposed to COVID-19 or from vaccination.
Key data on U.S. J&J, Moderna COVID-19 boosters weeks away, Fauci says
Data needed to determine the advisability of booster shots of the Moderna Inc and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines is just weeks away, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on Sunday. Health officials signaled they expected boosters would ultimately be recommended for a broad swath of the population, but urged Americans not to seek booster doses until they have FDA approval. "We recommend that people wait until you get to the point where you fall into the category where it's recommended," he told CNN.
Winter is coming, again: What to expect from Covid-19 in the new season
“We’re experiencing a new virus, a newly emerged pathogen, and we’re trying to fight it with new tools that we don’t have a lot of experience with,” he said. “And we’re dealing with unpredictable human behavior … which is a very important factor as well, and environmental factors that may influence the severity of Covid outbreaks and how well it transmits.” “There’s a lot of moving parts,” said Duchin, who is also an infectious diseases professor at the University of Washington. Among them: the questions of when Covid vaccines will be approved for use in children and what percentage of parents will agree to vaccinate their kids. While the crystal ball may be cloudy, who can resist taking a peek? Let’s talk about some things we might face in the months ahead.
The search for antivirals for covid-19
Antivirals are one of the most sought after, yet missing, tools to control SARS-COV-2. Chris Stokel-Walker asks what was learnt from a similar search nearly 20 years ago Antiviral drugs are among the most researched tools for treating covid-19. They either prevent a virus entering a host cell or prevent it from being able to replicate once it is inside. And yet, over 18 months into the pandemic, finding ones that are effective against SARS-CoV-2 has proved challenging. Remdesivir was an early frontrunner—and many governments were desperate enough to grant it emergency use approval despite limited evidence. Those early hopes were ultimately dashed when major studies, notably the World Health Organization’s Solidarity trial, found it to be ineffective at preventing death (although it did help patients already recovering do so marginally faster). Doctors in Japan have treated covid-19 patients with favipiravir, an influenza antiviral, but the drug has previously been linked to birth defects
Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine generates robust antibody response in children, without serious safety issues, company says
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said Monday that they would file for authorization of their Covid-19 vaccine for use in children after clinical trial results showed encouraging antibody levels in volunteers and side effects similar to those in teens and young adults. The pediatric study, in children ages 5 to 11, is the first to disclose results in young children. It used a lower dose of the vaccine than the one currently being administered, because earlier studies showed that the adult dose could cause more side effects. Adults receive two 30 microgram doses of the vaccine three weeks apart. In school-aged children, this was lowered to 10 micrograms.
‘I felt this huge relief’: how antibody injections could free the immunosuppressed under Covid
But as with so many other simple pleasures in the age of Covid-19, nothing is that simple for Brown. The 47-year-old Missouri resident takes immunosuppressant medication for lupus. Consequently, her body has mounted virtually no antibody response to the coronavirus vaccine – leaving her in persistent peril. Brown is among the estimated 3% of American adults who have immunosuppression, including transplant recipients and people with cancer and autoimmune disorders such as lupus.
Indonesia logs fewest daily COVID-19 cases in over a year
Indonesia on Monday reported 1,932 new daily coronavirus infections, the lowest since August 2020, data from country's COVID-19 task force showed, and the government further eased restrictions in Java and on its resort island Bali. Indonesia, once Asia's coronavirus epicentre, has reported nearly 4.2 million infections overall and over 140,000 deaths, but new cases have dropped 98% from their peak in July, senior cabinet minister Luhut Pandjaitan said. Its average positivity rate - the percentage of tests that are positive - was just below 4% this month, under the World Health Organization's 5% threshold for determining whether an outbreak is under control.
Premier warns COVID-19 cases will 'go through the roof' when state reopens as NSW records 935 new infections
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned COVID-19 cases will "go through the roof" once the state opens up next month after NSW recorded 935 new infections. It is the first time new case numbers have dropped below 1,000 since August 27. Four more people died during the reporting period, bringing the total number of fatalities in NSW to 301 since the start of the pandemic. On Monday evening, a positive case in northern NSW was confirmed. The person, who was not a local, travelled to the area from Sydney on September 18.
Covid-19 cases forcing hospitals to ration care is unfair and unacceptable, expert says
The magnitude of Covid-19 patients filling hospital beds is avoidable, doctors say. But in some hospitals, patients with or without coronavirus are paying the price.
"We are at the point where not every patient in need will get the care we might wish we could give," said Dr. Shelly Harkins, chief medical officer of St. Peter's Health in Helena, Montana. It's one of the latest hospitals to resort to crisis standards of care, meaning emergency medicine personnel must ration care.
End of working from home 'fuelled England's third Covid wave': Government figures show infection rates were highest among white-collar workers after No10 dropped WFH guidance
There were some 235 cases per 100,000 person-weeks among white people during third Covid wave. Meanwhile, the figure was as low as 98 in other ethnic groups suggesting white people drove cases up. And cases were higher among office-based jobs during, Office for National Statistics data shows
Covid cases surge nearly 20% in a week as 36,000 new infections are recorded
Coronavirus cases have shot up by 17% in just a week following a week of steadying infection levels. Today a further 36,100 cases and 49 deaths were suffered in the UK, government data shows. In comparison, last Monday 30,825 new infections and 61 new deaths were clocked. In the past few days the increase of daily cases had been slowing significantly, despite the recent return to school and easing of restrictions. On August 18, a month and two days ago, there were 111 new Covid deaths recorded, making Saturday's rise of 30,144 new Covid cases and more 164 more an increase of 47%.