"COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis" 25th Aug 2022
Lockdown Exit
Pandemic sets back fight against poverty in Asia by at least 2 years
The Covid-19 pandemic has set back the fight against poverty in Asia and the Pacific by at least 2 years, and many in the region will likely find it harder than before to escape poverty, according to a report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The region's economic growth this year is expected to reduce extreme poverty—defined as living off less than $1.90 a day—to a level that would have been achieved in 2020 had the pandemic not happened, according to Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2022, released today. Data simulations also show that people in the region with lower pre-pandemic levels of social mobility—the ability to escape poverty—may experience longer-lasting setbacks.
Covid 19: How many lives did NZ's pandemic response save?
A new analysis has shown how New Zealand's pandemic response left it with one of the lowest rates of excess mortality in the world – sparing it the thousands of extra deaths seen even in "elimination" countries like Taiwan and Australia. But the Otago University public health experts who crunched the data say that, with the Zero-Covid era now well behind us, there's much more the Government could be doing to keep Kiwis safer. It comes as the Ministry of Health announced another 17 virus-related deaths today, and 3140 new Covid-19 cases.
China reopens doors for foreign students as pandemic concerns ease
China is easing its tight restrictions on visas after it largely suspended issuing them to foreign students and others more than two years ago at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The website of the Chinese Embassy in India said the updated procedures would take effect from Wednesday, without making a specific mention of vaccine requirements or proof of a negative test for the virus. China still requires those arriving from abroad be quarantined at a hotel or private home and proof of a negative test is required for entry to many public and commercial spaces.
COVID-19 pandemic fallout worse for women
Researchers from The University of Queensland have found the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia has had a greater financial and psychological impact on women than men. A study conducted by the UQ Business School shows women have experienced more significant impacts on their overall employment, hours of work, domestic labor and mental health and well-being.
Bulgaria to treat COVID-19 as influenza – EURACTIV.com
Bulgaria will start considering COVID-19 as influenza and other respiratory viruses, Professor Radka Argirova announced after the expert group at the Ministry of Health meeting, which monitors the epidemic situation in the country. This approach, to be adopted as the school year starts in September, would mean that those infected with coronavirus and their contacts would not be subject to the mandatory quarantine. Spain was the first country in the EU to consider COVID-19 as seasonal flu at the end of March when the mandatory quarantine for the infected was lifted.
Leaving no one behind in the fight against COVID-19
Domestic travel in Europe this summer is projected to fully return to 2019 levels, and many countries have been easing COVID-19 restrictions since spring. While this state of “normality” is a huge relief for many, it is a cause for greater concern among the immunocompromised community. COVID-19 continues to circulate, with infections increasing in many European countries — including Germany, France, Italy, Greece and Austria.
Japan to ease COVID-19 border controls from Sept. 7
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced plans to ease border controls from early September by eliminating requirements for pre-departure COVID-19 tests for travelers who have received at least three vaccine doses, and he will also consider increasing daily entry caps as soon as next month. Japan, which has imposed some of the toughest border measures for the coronavirus, currently requires negative PCR test results within 72 hours of departure for all entrants, a practice that has been criticized as cumbersome.
German health minister expects renewed coronavirus wave in autumn
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Wednesday he expects a wave of COVID-19 infections this autumn but ruled out further lockdowns or school closures. He made the comments after a cabinet meeting during which the government approved stricter mask rules on trains and planes from October.
Japan to waive pre-departure COVID tests for vaccinated travellers
Japan will waive pre-departure COVID-19 tests for vaccinated travellers to the country, but daily caps on entrants will remain in place, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday. Japan has maintained some of the strictest pandemic border measures among major economies, requiring travellers to present a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of departure.
Parents urged to take children for their Covid jabs before school returns
Along with new shoes, pencil cases and PE kits, parents across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire are being advised to put the Covid-19 vaccine at the top of their children’s back-to-school to-do list. Schools across the region will start to return after the summer holidays next week, and mums and dads are being urged to make sure their child is protected against coronavirus before heading back to class.
China's jobless turn to car boot sales as COVID-hit economy stalls
Once considered too low-status for many, peddling wares on the street has made a comeback as people who lost their jobs or closed down their businesses seek new ways to make a living and work around China's relentless anti-COVID policies. Hospitality, tourism and after-school tutoring have been particularly hard hit.
Australia's COVID-19 vaccine rollout flawed, audit finds
The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine by Australia’s health department was “partly effective” but planning was slow and incomplete in the early stages, delivery to priority groups was flawed and it failed to meet targets, according to a review by the country’s National Audit Office. Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that he would call an inquiry into the federal government’s wider response to the pandemic “as soon as practicable”. The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) review, published last Wednesday, found that while the Department of Health and Aged Care undertook “largely appropriate” administration and logistics planning, that “initial planning was not timely”. It said that detailed planning with states and territories was not complete before the vaccine rollout commenced, and that it “underestimated the complexity of administering in-reach services to the aged care and disability sectors”. While 90% of the eligible population was vaccinated by the end of 2021, the planning and implementation of the vaccine rollout to priority groups “was not as effective” as for the population as a whole, the report said.
Exit Strategies
Hong Kong Could Tighten Social Distancing Restrictions If Covid Cases Worsen
Hong Kong health officials said tighter social distancing restrictions could be considered if rising Covid-19 cases worsen the pressure on the city’s health system. The city reported 7,884 new Covid-19 cases Wednesday, the highest number since the end of March. Increased hospitalizations have put pressure on the health-care system, prompting hospitals to scale back non-emergency services and the reopening of community isolation facilities. Expanding virus curbs would be seen as a step back for Asia’s financial hub, which has struggled to balance reopening its borders with mainland China and the rest of the world.
Covid Incubation Gets Shorter With Each New Variant, Study Shows
The longer a virus can replicate inside a person before causing symptoms, the harder it can be to stop because of the greater potential for the infected to unknowingly spread it far and wide. Among Covid-19’s pernicious features, its incubation period is longer than many other respiratory viral infections, including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and rhinovirus. The good news is the interval between exposure and the development of symptoms appears to be narrowing.
Scientists from Peking University and Tsinghua University in Beijing analyzed data from more than 140 studies to estimate the incubation period of Covid caused by different strains of SARS-CoV-2. It fell from an average of five days with an alpha infection to 3.42 days with omicron, according to a study published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open
Over 2 Million Americans Aren't Working Due to Long Covid, Says Brookings
Between two million and four million Americans aren’t working due to the long-term effects of Covid-19, according to a new Brookings Institution report released Wednesday. The inability to work translates to roughly $170 billion a year in lost wages, the report estimates. It follows a January Brookings Institution report that estimated long Covid was potentially causing 15% of the country’s labor shortage.
The report estimates that roughly 16 million Americans of working age—between 18 and 65—have long Covid, which most groups and doctors define as wide-ranging symptoms that persist for months following an infection and can include shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and neurocognitive issues.
Black Workers Seeing Above-Average Wage Gains After Pandemic Hit
After taking a bigger hit to employment at the start of the pandemic, US Black workers are now seeing above-average wage gains and moving into better-paying roles at higher rates than other groups, according to new research by the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers. Many Black Americans benefited as the US labor market bounced back from the worst of the Covid-19 crisis in early 2020, when millions of people lost their jobs in a matter of weeks. During the recovery, some workers gained the leverage needed to switch jobs and ask for better wages, the researchers found.
New Covid Billionaire Emerges Even as World Moves On From Virus
The world is largely moving on from Covid, with Singapore scrapping indoor mask rules, Japan welcoming more visitors and employees returning to offices from Madrid to New York. But in China, where strict anti-pandemic policies remain in place, the health emergency just helped produce the country’s latest billionaire.
Shares of Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co., a maker of medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment, have surged 60% since their Aug. 22 debut even with Wednesday’s slight decline, propelling the net worth of controlling shareholder Xue Min to $5.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The listing, which raised $1.6 billion, was the nation’s third-biggest offering of 2022.
UK Scraps Covid Tests for Asymptomatic as Cases Continue to Fall
The UK National Health Service said it will pause Covid-19 testing of staff without any outward symptoms as new infections decline and the country seeks to live with the virus. Asymptomatic staff testing, once considered a core component of the NHS’s pandemic infection prevention and control guidance, will be paused in most health-care settings, the UK Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement Wednesday. Routine asymptomatic testing will also be suspended in parts of the prison estate, some places of detention, and certain domestic abuse and homelessness settings, it said.
COVID-19: Booster vaccine shots for kids aged 5 to 11 in fourth quarter of the year
The Ministry of Health (MOH) added in a media release on Wednesday (24 August) that the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has also extended its authorisation of Moderna's Spikevax vaccine to very young children aged between six months and five years old. "A decision on the recommendation for vaccination of this age group is expected soon. If approved, we will time it together with the booster exercise for children aged 5 to 11, and administer them at the same centres for the convenience of parents," the ministry said in the media release. MOH will be setting up five dedicated vaccination centres across the island to administer booster doses for these children. Details will be announced at a later date.
Singapore eases Covid-19 restrictions, masks only on public transport
Singapore on Wednesday relaxed its social-mixing restrictions on COVID-19 and said that wearing masks won't be mandatory from August 29 except on public transport and hospitals as the daily hospital cases have halved in the country. Speaking at a press conference to announce the relaxation of the masks mandate, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that masks will only be mandatory in two settings, the first being healthcare facilities, residential care homes and ambulances, as well as indoor premises within hospitals and polyclinics. And the second being public transport, the Channel News Asia quoted him as saying.
100,000 doses of Janssen’s COVID-19 delivered to Ukraine under COVAX initiative
A total of 100,000 doses of Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine – Ad26.COV2-S – have been delivered to Ukraine this month under the COVAX initiative, and distributed to 22 regions in the country by the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced. Additionally, more than 100 medical workers and trainers across Ukraine have been taught by WHO to conduct further training on the use of Ad26.COV2-S, and Ukrainian healthcare workers have received over 23,000 copies of guidance materials on the use of the vaccine. Ad26.COV2-S – also known as JNJ-78436735 or Jcovden – was approved for emergency use by WHO and registered in Ukraine in July 2021 for the vaccination of adults aged 18-years-old and over.
COVAX offers Mexico 10 mln COVID shots for kids after president protests delays
The United Nations-backed COVAX vaccine program has offered Mexico 10 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 shots for children after the country's president vowed to complain to the U.N. over delays, a senior Mexican official said on Tuesday. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador this week said Mexico was owed $75 million after it received less than half the 52 million vaccine doses it was allocated under the COVAX program, which aims to distribute shots equitably worldwide
Singapore to drop most indoor mask requirements next week
Singapore will do away with requirements to wear masks indoors starting Aug. 29, as the country sees its COVID-19 situation stabilise further, the health minister said on Wednesday. For the first time in more than two years, people in the Southeast Asian city-state will no longer be required to wear masks indoors except on public transport and in high-risk settings like healthcare facilities. The health ministry also updated rules for non-vaccinated travellers, dropping a 7-day quarantine requirement starting next week.
Covid-19 Booster Campaign Is Expected to Launch Next Month
The Biden administration has completed plans for a fall Covid-19 booster campaign that would launch in September with 175 million updated vaccine doses provided to states, pharmacies and other vaccination sites. The administration is procuring the doses, which drugmakers are updating to target the newest versions of the virus. The administration has also informed states, pharmacies and other entities they can begin preordering now through the end of August, according to the administration’s fall vaccination planning guide. Vaccines would be shipped immediately following an expected authorization by federal drug regulators, who still must review and sign off on the shots, and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which still must review the data and sign off on administering the shots.
Partisan Exits
U.S. first lady Jill Biden tests positive for rebound case of COVID-19
U.S. first lady Jill Biden has tested positive in a rebound case of COVID-19 but is not experiencing any symptoms, while President Joe Biden continues to test negative for the virus, officials said on Wednesday. Jill Biden tested positive on Wednesday by antigen testing, following a negative test the previous day, and the White House's medical unit has notified close contacts, her deputy communications director said.
Misinformation is a common thread between the COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS pandemics – with deadly consequences
Since health officials confirmed the first COVID-19 cases, misinformation has spread just as quickly as the virus. Social media may have made the amount, variety and speed of misinformation seem unprecedented, but COVID-19 isn’t the first pandemic where false and harmful information has set back public health. Misinformation altered how people trusted their governments and doctors during the 1918 influenza pandemic. It fueled the 19th century smallpox anti-vaccine movements through some of the same arguments as those currently used against the COVID-19 vaccine. What sets the COVID-19 pandemic apart, however, is the sheer magnitude of damaging disinformation put in circulation around the world. Data shows that regions and countries where disinformation thrived experienced more lethal pandemic waves despite vaccine availability.
Djokovic missing U.S. Open over COVID vaccine status would be 'a joke' - McEnroe
Four-times U.S. Open winner John McEnroe said it would be "a joke" if Novak Djokovic is unable to compete at the U.S. tournament starting later this month due to his COVID-19 vaccination status. Djokovic has refused to take the vaccine and appears set to miss out on the year's last Grand Slam due to current U.S. rules that require travellers to show proof of full vaccination to board flights to and enter the United States.
Scientific Viewpoint
Singapore extends use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for kids
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in Singapore has extended the authorisation of Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine via the Pandemic Special Access Route (PSAR), for the prevention of COVID-19)in individuals 6 months to 5 years- administered as a course of two 25 microgram doses; 6 to 11 years- administered as a course of two 50 microgram doses; and 12 to 17 years- administered as a course of two 100 microgram doses. HSA has carefully considered the data from two clinical studies in children and adolescents, and assessed that the benefits outweighed the risks for use of Spikevax in individuals aged 6 months and above. In making this regulatory decision, HSA also consulted expert advice from the Medicines Advisory Committee and Panel of Infectious Diseases Experts. Safety data from the clinical studies also showed that adverse events in adolescents and children were similar to those reported in adults.
Over 2 Million Americans Aren't Working Due to Long Covid, Says Brookings
Between two million and four million Americans aren’t working due to the long-term effects of Covid-19, according to a new Brookings Institution report released Wednesday. The inability to work translates to roughly $170 billion a year in lost wages, the report estimates. It follows a January Brookings Institution report that estimated long Covid was potentially causing 15% of the country’s labor shortage.
The report estimates that roughly 16 million Americans of working age—between 18 and 65—have long Covid, which most groups and doctors define as wide-ranging symptoms that persist for months following an infection and can include shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and neurocognitive issues.
Moderna seeks FDA EUA for Covid-19 booster vaccine
Moderna has submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to obtain emergency use authorization (EUA) for mRNA-1273.222, its BA.4/BA.5 Omicron-targeting bivalent booster vaccine for Covid-19. The submission is made for a 50µg booster dose of the vaccine for usage in adults aged 18 years and above. mRNA-1273.222 acts on the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ initial strain and the Omicron’s subvariants BA.4/BA.5.
Five per cent of COVID-19 patients are likely to develop long COVID
Professor Jason Kovacic says it's likely the chances of developing long COVID-19 increase the more times you contract the virus.
Absolute vaccine effectiveness for third and fourth doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine against Omicron
In the current work, the researchers sought to determine the three-dose and four-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccine series aVE at the same point after vaccination. They calculated the aVE for the third and fourth doses of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine compared to receiving no vaccination towards Omicron, considering clinical outcome utilizing a set of logistic regression equations and VE estimations for a fourth dosage compared to a third dose described in an Israeli investigation. Based on information from the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the authors previously released a logistic regression equation that forecasts aVE, including waning with time, for the third COVID-19 mRNA vaccine dose irrespective of the initial course, against symptomatic infection and hospitalization associated with Omicron. Further, they used a study that reported VE per age against the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant to expand this equation to account for age variability in VE.
WHO advice on second booster doses for COVID-19
A new generation of coronavirus vaccine is being developed by Swedish researchers from the Karolinska Institutet. The vaccine is being specifically designed to be less sensitive to mutations and better equipped for any future strains. The vaccine showed promising results in mice in a newly published study in EMBO Molecular Medicine, and the researchers now hope to be able to take it to safety studies on humans. Matti Sällberg, professor at the department of laboratory medicine, Karolinska Institutet said:“This is a new generation of corona vaccine. “The idea is that it will give broader protection that more resembles that gained after an actual infection and will be a bit more future-proof than the vaccines currently in use.”
COVID-19 vaccine less sensitive to mutations developed in Sweden
A new generation of coronavirus vaccine is being developed by Swedish researchers from the Karolinska Institutet. The vaccine is being specifically designed to be less sensitive to mutations and better equipped for any future strains. The vaccine showed promising results in mice in a newly published study in EMBO Molecular Medicine, and the researchers now hope to be able to take it to safety studies on humans. Matti Sällberg, professor at the department of laboratory medicine, Karolinska Institutet said:“This is a new generation of corona vaccine.
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID shot 73.2% effective in kids under 5 - new data
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech's vaccine was 73.2% effective in preventing COVID-19 among children aged 6 months through 4 years, new data from the companies showed on Tuesday, two months after the U.S. rollout of the shots began for that age group. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized for children under 5 years of age in June, based on data that showed the vaccine generated a similar immune response as in older age groups. An early analysis based on 10 symptomatic COVID-19 cases in the study had suggested a vaccine efficacy of 80.3%. But experts had warned that the data was preliminary due to a low number of symptomatic cases.
Exclusive: AstraZeneca may not stay in vaccines, but CEO has no COVID regrets
AstraZeneca may not stay in the vaccine business in the long run, its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday, showing how quickly fortunes have changed for the drugmaker that produced one of the first COVID-19 shots but has since lost out to rivals. Production delays, probes by regulators following rare cases of severe side effects, and concerns about its relatively short shelf life compared with other shots have stymied adoption of the company's COVID-19 vaccine.
Moderna seeks FDA nod for booster shot aimed at Omicron BA.4, BA.5
Moderna Inc sought U.S. authorization for its COVID-19 booster shot tailored against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron and said if cleared it would be ready to deliver the doses in September. Its application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is based on pre-clinical data for the so-called bivalent dose that contains the dominant BA.4/BA.5 variants along with the original coronavirus strain.
Coronavirus Resurgence
Chinese mainland reports 380 new local confirmed COVID-19 cases
The Chinese mainland on Tuesday reported 380 locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 264 were in Hainan Province, the National Health Commission said Wednesday. Altogether 1,261 local asymptomatic carriers were newly identified on Tuesday, including 543 in Tibet and 336 in Hainan, said the commission in its report. A total of 718 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery on the Chinese mainland on Tuesday.
Covid-19: India logs 10,649 new infections, active cases reduce to 96,442
India has recorded 10,649 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the country's cumulative caseload to 4,43,68,195, according to Union Health Ministry data on Wednesday. Currently, the country's active caseload stands below one-lakh mark, that is, 96,442 infections. The active cases comprises 0.22 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.59%, the health ministry said. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.62% and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 3.32%. A total of 4,37,44,301 have been recovered from the coronavirus infection in the country since the onset of pandemic, including 10,677 recoveries recorded in the span of 24 hours.
Covid 19: How many lives did NZ's pandemic response save?
A new analysis has shown how New Zealand's pandemic response left it with one of the lowest rates of excess mortality in the world – sparing it the thousands of extra deaths seen even in "elimination" countries like Taiwan and Australia. But the Otago University public health experts who crunched the data say that, with the Zero-Covid era now well behind us, there's much more the Government could be doing to keep Kiwis safer. It comes as the Ministry of Health announced another 17 virus-related deaths today, and 3140 new Covid-19 cases.